|
Its officeholder is unelected, its colloquial title is unofficial, and its current
occupant is expected to fulfill for the entire nation a wide array of roles both symbolic
and concrete --- and sometimes in conflict with each other. Yet the U. S. women who have
been called First Lady during the last century have each managed to put a highly personal
stamp on their role of a lifetime as well as to often wield tremendous influence on their
husbands, and thus the country --- even if the voting public has never really known.
In this insightful and revealing work, Marton profiles 11 selected presidential couples of
the 20th century, from the Wilsons to Clintons (and a brief epilogue on the current
Bushes), into chapters detailing the impact and influences of the First Ladies. Eschewing
straight biography in favor of illuminating the inner workings of their nuptial and
political partnerships while in residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Marton reintroduces
us to women whose historically accepted public image only tells a fraction of their true
story.
What's most interesting are the wildly varying attitudes the women had toward being First
Lady and what they chose to do with their position. While some chose an active role for
themselves and even helped to very publicly shape policy (Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary
Clinton), others exerted their influences more behind the scenes (Rosalynn Carter, Edith
Wilson), used it as a pulpit to advance causes of their own interest (Lady Bird Johnson,
Jackie Kennedy), solidly supported their husband (Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan), and even
hated or disdained their roles (Bess Truman, Pat Nixon). In one amazing case that only
came to light long after, Edith Wilson literally ran the country at one point while
Woodrow lay gravely ill, making important decisions and casting a protective shroud of
secrecy (and drawing a physical curtain) that kept reporters, legislators, and even much
of the White House staff in the dark in a carefully orchestrated cover-up --- something
that could never be duplicated in today's mass media climate.
Other anecdotes are enlightening and entertaining: Rosalynn Carter's efforts to sit in on
Cabinet meetings; The Roosevelts completely separate and entirely unromantic, yet hugely
productive terms; Kennedy's spin doctoring and myth making in the wake of her husband's
assassination; Lady Bird Johnson's rock-solid shoulder for her much larger husband to lean
on; Hillary Clinton's very public embarrassments and setbacks when the harsh realities of
the "two for the price of one" campaign promise set in.
Marton's most heartbreaking chapter, though, chronicles the sad case of Pat Nixon. Tossed
aside by a cold, paranoid husband whose only true love was politics, the once vivacious
young woman became a withdrawn, bitter shell of her former self, suffering silently in her
loneliness and desolation. And of course, times have changed mightily since Bess Truman
thought that a political wife's role in public was limited to "sit beside her husband
and be silent and be sure her hat is on straight."
If readers take away one theme from HIDDEN POWER, it is that while a U. S. president hears
advice, direction, compliments, and criticisms from his Cabinet, advisors, and members of
both the Congress and his party, it is usually his wife who commands his ear the most ---
the person a "heartbeat away from the presidency" in more intimate terms than
just Constitutional succession.
"Nobody knows the president better than his wife," Nancy Reagan once opined,
perhaps while charting out Ronnie's public appearance with the help of her astrologer.
While some of these marriages thrived at the White House or reached new levels previously
unimaginable, none were ever even nearly the same after Inauguration Day.
--- Reviewed by Bob Ruggiero
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
|
