Laura Bush Said WHAT??

I admit that I did not hold Laura Bush in the highest esteem. After all, she married Dubya. That was about all I needed to know about her. And she seemed like such a Stepford Wife, not to mention downright boring. But honestly, I pretty much dismissed her out of hand because, as I said, she was married to George W. Bush. How could someone so smart do that, I wondered? Then again, he was a two term president (still don't know how THAT happened), so there's that, and they do seem to have a good relationship, from what I have seen on tv (when I could watch that long).

So imagine my surprise, no, SHOCK, when I saw this article mentioned by a Facebook friend, "Laura Bush Tells Larry King She Supports Gay Marriage, Abortion Rights." Yep, that's what she said:

One of the best things about marriage (whoever it is between) is that the two partners are allowed to disagree sometimes. First Lady Laura Bush gave a perfect example last night while she was on Larry King Live to promote her new book. King began asking the former first lady about her views on gay marriage and abortion laws and it turns out that, on both topics, she disagrees with her husband as well as the majority of social conservatives in the country.

In her new book, Bush discusses how she asked her husband not to make gay marriage an important issue in the 2004 election. After mentioning those passages, King pressed Bush to clarify whether or not she supported the legalization of gay marriage and clarify she did.

“Well, I think that we ought to definitely look at it and debate it. I think there are a lot of people who have trouble coming to terms with that because they see marriage as traditionally being between a man and a woman. But I also know that when couples are committed to each other and love each other, that they ought to have, I think, the same sort of rights that everyone has.”

Holy moley. I am telling you, I never saw this coming from Mrs. Bush. Ever.

Get this:

For the record, that makes Laura Bush a stronger supporter of gay marriage than Barack Obama. However, the surprises from the interview didn’t end there. After talking more about gay marriage, the discussion moved to abortion where Bush had an equally liberal viewpoint.

“I think it’s important that it remain legal, because I think it’s important for people for medical reasons and other reasons.”

Afterwards, King asked Bush if the discussions she had with her husband on the two topics were argumentative. She said no because the former President understands her viewpoints and she understands his, which would imply that the conversations going on at the Bush family dinner table are more civil than 99% of those in the media on these subjects.

Clearly though, this interview showed promise for the future of the American marriage. If Laura and George can keep things going strong despite these inflammatory issues, then those fearing marriage’s demise don’t need to worry at all.

I know, right? I guess it's a good thing she wrote this book, because I sure didn't know her positions were so progressive. It also says a lot about her marriage, not to mention George Bush. Wow, never saw THAT coming, either. He clearly respects her and her opinion. I would think their marriage is a good role model for their daughters. And I never thought I would be saying THAT, either.

Here is the clip from The Larry King Show:



This was eye opening for me, I can tell you. It really changed my admittedly superficial impression of Mrs. Bush. I have to give her props, though - she's more liberal than Obama on gay marriage (though like I've been saying, he isn't all that liberal on that issue). Who knew? I know I didn't, and I couldn't be more surprised. How about you?