First Ladies (83 page)

136
. Julie N. Eisenhower, Letter to author, April 8, 1986.

137
.
New York Times
, September 21, 1972, p. 41.

138
. David,
Lonely Lady
, p. 163.

139
. David,
Lonely Lady
, pp. 163–164.

140
. West, “Pat Nixon,”
Good Housekeeping
(February 1971), p. 66.

141
. Gerald Ford,
A Time To Heat
(New York, 1979), p. 39.

142
. Seymour Hersh, “Nixon, Ford, Haig, and the Nixon Pardon,”
Atlantic Monthly
(August 1983), p. 64.

143
. Dudar,
New York Times Book Review
, November 12, 1978, p. 20.

144
. Letitia Baldrige to author, August 6, 1985.

145
. Julie N. Eisenhower's prominence in defending her father during the Watergate investigations can be included in her role as a campaigner—she was, once again, showing her father's fitness to hold national elective office.

146
. Helen McCain Smith to author, July 31, 1986. See also Julie Nixon Eisenhower,
Pat Nixon
(New York, 1986), p. 321.

1
.
New York Times
, July 16, 1985, p. 1.

2
. Seymour Hersh, “Nixon, Ford, Haig, and the Nixon Pardon,”
Atlantic Monthly
(August 1983), p. 62.

3
. Myra Greenberg Gutin, “The President's Partner: The First Lady as Public Communicator, 1920–1976” (Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan, 1983), p. 540.

4
. Betty Ford (with Chris Chase),
The Times of My Life
(New York, 1978), p. 55.

5
. Myra MacPherson, “Betty Ford: The Untold Story,”
McCall's
(July 1978), p. 22.

6
. Marvella Bayh,
Marvella
(New York, 1979), p. 93.

7
. Ellen Proxmire,
One Foot in Washington: The Perilous Life of a Senator's Wife
(Washington, D.C., 1963).

8
. Abigail McCarthy,
Private Faces, Public Places
(New York, 1972), p. 302.

9
. Jean Libman Block, “The Betty Ford Nobody Knows,”
Good Housekeeping
(May 1974), p. 88.

10
. Block,
Good Housekeeping
(May 1974), p. 88.

11
. Ford,
Times of My Life
, p. 66.

12
. Ford,
Times of My Life
, p. 205.

13
. Gutin, “President's Partner,” p. 536.

14
. Rosalynn Carter,
First Lady from Plains
(Boston, 1984), p. 100.

15
. Helen Thomas,
Dateline: White House
(New York, 1975), p. 273.

16
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 100.

17
.
New York Times
, September 5, 1974, p. 25.

18
.
New York Times
, September 8, 1974, P. 21.

19
.
New York Times
, December 8, 1974, section VI, p. 36.

20
. Lenore Hershey, “The New Pat Nixon,”
Ladies' Home Journal
(February 1972), p. 89.

21
. Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld,
First Lady's Lady: With the Fords at the White House
(New York, 1979), pp. 86–87. For a full history of the Equal Rights Amendment, see Joan Hoff-Wilson, ed.,
Rights of Passage
(Bloomington, 1986).

22
. Betty Ford, Grand Rapids Conference, April 18–20, 1984.

23
.
New York Times
, February 15, 1975, p. 31.

24
.
New York Times
, February 15, 1975, p. 15.

25
.
New York Times
, February 20, 1975, p. 31.

26
.
New York Times
, February 20, 1975, p. 32.

27
. Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld takes considerable credit for easing Betty Ford's anxieties about her role, but she does not indicate that any serious consideration was given to changing course. See
First Lady's Lady
, p. 92.

28
. Karen Keesling and Suzanne Cavanagh, “Women Presidential Appointees Serving or Having Served in Full-Time Positions Requiring Senate Confirmation, 1912–1977,” Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., March 23, 1978.

29
.
New York Times
, August 10, 1974, p. 19. Rebekah Harkness, the philanthropist and dance enthusiast, was quoted immediately on Gerald Ford's inauguration: “I feel confident that because [of Betty Ford's past] she will work for the betterment of the arts and dance.”

30
. Jane Howard, “The 38th First Lady Not a Robot at All,”
New York Times Magazine
, December 8, 1974, p. 36. Betty consulted with experts, according to Howard, because she “didn't want to get [information] second hand from men—or comment just on the beautiful walls.” On the attention given to Betty Ford's dancing in China, see John J. O'Connor, “Coverage of Ford in China: Was It Journalism?”
New York Times,
December 8, 1975, p. 63.

31
.
New York Times
, October 10, 1975, p. 39.

32
. Weidenfeld,
First Lady's Lady
, pp, 86–87.

33
.
New York Times
, September 5, 1974, p. 25.

34
.
New York Times
, January 14, 1977, p. 21.

35
.
New York Times
, December 17, 1974, p. 43.

36
. Lewis Gould, “Modern First Ladies in Historical Perspective,”
Presidential Studies Quarterly
(Summer 1985), p. 536.

37
. Abigail McCarthy, “Hers,”
New York Times
, November 30, 1978, p. C2. McCarthy noted that the book is about southerners “who are poor, isolated, and driven” but the women in the book often emerge as business partners because of “close knit families and domestic help.”

38
. Rosalynn Carter to author, June 19, 1984.

39
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 10.

40
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 17.

41
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 15.

42
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 27.

43
. Rosalynn Carter to author, June 19, 1984.

44
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 29.

45
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 44.

46
. Carter,
First Lady
, pp. 44–45. Betty Glad,
Jimmy Carter: In Search of the Great White House
(New York, 1980), p. 138, demonstrates that the Carters were less principled in their anti-segregationist stance than Rosalynn indicates.

47
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 49.

48
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 105.

49
. Rosalynn Carter to author, June 19, 1984.

50
. See Edna Langford and Linda Maddox,
Rosalynn: Friend and First Lady
(Old Tappan, NJ., 1980), pp. 50–53 for an account of this trip from the viewpoint of Langford, whose daughter had married Rosalynn's son.

51
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 117.

52
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 117.

53
. On Rosalynn Carter's White House staff, see
New York Times
, January 11, 1977, p. 20;
New York Times
, December 31, 1979, p. D2; Scott Kaufman,
Rosalynn Carter: Equal Partner in the White House
(Lawrence, 2007) p. 36.

54
.
Newsweek
(June 13, 1977), p. 17.

55
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 188.

56
.
New York Times
, July 20, 1977, section III, p. 2.

57
. Meg Greenfield, “Mrs. President,”
Newsweek
(June 20, 1977), p. 100.

58
.
Newsweek
(June 13, 1977), p. 17.

59
. Rosalynn Carter to author, June 19, 1984.

60
. Carter,
First Lady
, pp. 278–279.

61
. Marjorie Hunter, “Mrs. Carter in Capitol Debut,”
New York Times
, February 8, 1979, p. 1.

62
.
New York Times
, February 3, 1979, p. 2; and February 8, 1979, p. 1.

63
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 279.

64
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 279.

65
. Letter of Madeline MacBean (later Edwards), Personal Assistant to Rosalynn Carter, to author, July 23, 1984.

66
.
Newsweek
(June 13, 1977), p. 17.

67
. William Shannon, “The Other Carter Is Running,”
New York Times
, September 15, 1976, p, 45.

68
.
New York Times
, August 13, 1978, p. 79.

69
. Cyrus Vance,
Hard Choices
(New York, 1983), p. 218.

70
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 239.

71
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 243.

72
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 245.

73
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 265.

74
.
New York Times Book Review
, April 15, 1984, p. 7.

75
.
New York Times
, June 11, 1976, p. 1.

76
. Rosalynn Carter to author, June 19, 1984.

77
. Abigail McCarthy, “Hers,”
New York Times
, November 30, 1978, p. C2.

78
. Carter,
First Lady
, pp. 289–290.

79
. Carter,
First Lady
, p. 340.

80
. Siena Research Institute, “First Ladies Poll.” See
Appendices II
and
IV
.

81
. Carter,
First Lady,
pp. 290–292.

82
. Walter Shapiro, “Madeleine Lee, Meet Nancy Reagan,”
Washington Monthly
(March 1981), p. 49.

83
. Betty Friedan,
The Feminine Mystique
(New York, 1963). Friedan did not, of course, compose her book in a vacuum—she had, no doubt, been influenced by authors such as Simone de Beauvoir, whose book
The Second Sex
appealed in English in 1953.

84
. Marabel Morgan,
The Total Woman
(Old Tappan, New Jersey, 1973).

85
. Gloria Steinem, “Finally a Total Woman in the White House,”
Ms.
(March 1981), p. 13.

86
. Nancy Reagan (with Bill Libby),
Nancy
(New York, 1980), p. 122.

87
. Lawrence Leamer,
Make Believe: The Story of Nancy and Ronald Reagan
(New York, 1981), p. 64.

88
. Lou Cannon,
Reagan
(New York, 1982), p. 142.

89
. Cannon,
Reagan
, p. 146.

90
. Siena Research Institute, “First Ladies Poll.” See
Appendix IV
of poll conducted in 1982. Nancy did best on the item “value to the President,” ranking eighth out of 17.

91
. Learner,
Make Believe
, pp. 290–291.

92
. Learner,
Make Believe
, p. 291. Also see Ronnie Dugger,
On Reagan: The Man and His Presidency
(New York, 1983), p. 122.

93
. NBC documentary on Nancy Reagan, June 24, 1985.

94
. Leamer,
Make Believe
, pp. 346–347.

95
. Siena Research Institute, “First Ladies Poll.” It should be emphasized that this poll was taken during Nancy's first year in the White House.

96
. Alfred Descheidt designed a “Queen Nancy” postcard in late 1981. See
New York Times
, February 28, 1982, section III, p. 19.

97
. NBC documentary on Nancy Reagan, June 24, 1985, showed Nancy Reagan continuing to talk about designer clothing but limiting herself to off-camera remarks.

98
. Learner,
Make Believe
, p. 359, supplies the lyrics of Nancy's song on second hand clothes.

99
.
New York Times
, April 25, 1985, p. 1; April 26, 1985, p. B6.

100
.
New York Times
, March 26, 1985, p. A20.

101
. NBC documentary on Nancy Reagan, June 24, 1985, showed several White House staffers making these judgments.

102
.
New York Times
, July 16, 1985, p. 1.

103
.
New York Times
, July 17, 1985, p. 1; MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, July 15, 1985.

104
.
New York Times
, July 21, 1985, p. 22.

105
.
New York Times
, July 13, 1986, p. E7.

106
.
New York Times
, February 28, 1986, p. A12.

107
. Donald T. Regan,
For the Record: From Wall Street to Washington
(New York, 1988), p, 72.

108
. Nancy Reagan,
My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan
(New York, 1989), p. 316.

109
.
New York Times
, December 15, 1988, p. B20.

110
.
New York Times
, July 12, 1986, p. A6.

111
. Donnie Radcliffe,
Simply Barbara Bush: A Portrait of America's Candid First Lady
(New York, 1989), p. 73.

112
. Radcliffe,
Simply Barbara Bush
, pp. 84–85.

113
. Radcliffe,
Simply Barbara Bush
, p. 87.

114
. The others: Eliza Johnson, Mamie Eisenhower, and Rosalynn Carter.

115
. Radcliffe,
Simply Barbara Bush
, p. 105.

116
. Radcliffe,
Simply Barbara Bush
, p. 113.