Probably one or two librarians were excited to see one of our ranks in the White House, even as the spouse of the president. In fact, American Libraries had her on its cover, calling her the First Librarian, and featured a mostly apolitical interview with her a few months ago. Me, not so excited.
However, I really like the way she came to Michelle Obama's defense and even said nice things about Hillary Clinton in an ABC News interview. This has to do with Ms. Obama's statement that her spouse's campaign made her "really proud" of her country for the first time. Ms. Bush gave her assessment of what she thought Ms. Obama meant, "I think she probably meant 'I’m more proud.' That’s what she really meant." and acknowledged the physical and emotional rigor of the campaign. Of course I personally prefer a candidate's spouse who hasn't been so proud of America, but that's just me.
Still, I appreciate the sophisticated understanding of what is behind the quote, and not just taking it at face value and exploiting it. Librarians are supposed to be able to apply our critical thinking skills to media and our experience, which is what Ms. Bush did. Or it could also be that the Bushes aren't overly fond of the McCains!
Thanks to Eric for telling me about this story.
PS Though American Libraries is the "official organ" of the ALA, I suspect its general editorial point of view is somewhat more conservative than that of the membership of ALA.