Laura Bush: Hey, You Ever Notice the Media Has a Double Standard When It Comes to the Obamas?

Yes, we're all painfully aware.

President Obama benefits from a double-standard in the press compared to her husband, Laura Bush said today — and Michelle Obama has managed to escape the pigeon hole Bush and other first ladies have gotten jammed in.

Asked on “Fox News Sunday” if the press would have been howling over the White House’s reaction to the BP oil spill even louder if it happened on George Bosh’s watch, the ex-First Lady said, “I think that’s right, probably.” And she didn’t think anyone should be surprised. “But you know, it’s just — that’s just how it is.”

It’s not just just President Obama who’s getting a break from the media, she said. Michelle Obama has escaped being stereotyped the way Laura was as “mumsy” staying home baking cookies.

“The press in general typecasts every woman that lives in the White House, the other first ladies, because always our first ladies have been a lot more interesting, a lot more complicated, than their box that they’re sort of put in,” Bush said.

But not Michelle.

“I think that she’s — and maybe this is just her age, that she’s younger,” Bush said. “But I think she’s been given the benefit of doubt more by the press than former first ladies,” Bush said.

Better look out, Laura, or you'll be called raaaaacist!

Of course nothing is ever Obama's fault since he's not responsible for anything, unlike Bush.

“I think that, you know, one of the things that happened when George was president was that everything, including the weather, became his fault,” she said.

Here's her interview today with Chris Wallace.

Hey, At Least She's Got a Pink Ribbon On

Good Lord, how depressing are these photos?

Via A Tangled Web.

Laura Bush in Saudi - promoting greater cancer awareness, meeting breast cancer survivors and attending the signing of a memorandum of understanding under which Saudi Arabia will formally join the US-Middle East Partnership for breast cancer awareness and research. Her four-nation tour which began in the United Arab Emirates includes Kuwait and Jordan. It also aims at restoring the 'US image in the Middle East battered by the US-led invasion of Iraq'.

It was quite hard to find this image. It was in todays Sun newspaper under the flippant headline 'Didnt she do Veil" . The Sun loves a good piss take. But at least it drew attention to something. Other outlets prefered to run images of just Laura Bush (below) - unsurprisingly since the image says a lot more about womens status than it does about cancer and noone wants to make a contentious statement about the obvious do they?

Then there's this groupshot:


H/T reader Daphne, who adds:

Mrs. Bush and 4 burkha clad women on a couch together while she was in the country doing breast cancer awareness.

The pictures point up he stark differences between islam and the west. The pink bow on the burkha is heartbreaking.

More on Laura Bush's visit here.

UPDATE: LGF links. Thanks!

UPDATE II: As LGF notes, via Debbie Schlussel, these photos apparently were taken in the UAE, not Saudi Arabia.

Also at American Thinker, Gates of Vienna.