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Poll Finds Mrs. Bush Widely Popular
By WILL LESTER
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - The public has a positive impression of first lady Laura Bush after her first six months in the White House, a new poll says, even though many say they don't know a lot about her.
``She seems low-key, but she seems to have some steel to her. Unlike other first ladies, there's not that much in the press about her personal life,'' said federal worker Robert Little as he took a lunch break on the National Mall. ``I don't know that much about her.''
Mrs. Bush has made a positive impression on the public during her six months in the White House. Sixty-four percent have a favorable view, according to the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. And she isn't running into the resentment faced by Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 1990s.
``Laura Bush has got very wide acceptance ... she's almost the anti-Hillary,'' said Carroll Doherty, editor of the Pew poll. ``She's not nearly as divisive, broadly accepted, but she hasn't yet made a strong impression on the American people.''
When people were asked which presidential wife has embodied the role of first lady, they were more likely to mention Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush or Hillary Rodham Clinton than the current first lady. Political analysts suggest this may reflect a lack of knowledge about Mrs. Bush.
She plays host to a White House summit on early learning at Georgetown University later this week, and to the National Book Festival in September - highlighting her interest in education and reading.
Men were just as likely as women to have a positive view of Mrs. Bush. One-fourth of Democrats saw her unfavorably in the poll. Half of Republicans viewed Mrs. Clinton unfavorably early in her husband's term and more than a third of men viewed her unfavorably.
By WILL LESTER
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - The public has a positive impression of first lady Laura Bush after her first six months in the White House, a new poll says, even though many say they don't know a lot about her.
``She seems low-key, but she seems to have some steel to her. Unlike other first ladies, there's not that much in the press about her personal life,'' said federal worker Robert Little as he took a lunch break on the National Mall. ``I don't know that much about her.''
Mrs. Bush has made a positive impression on the public during her six months in the White House. Sixty-four percent have a favorable view, according to the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. And she isn't running into the resentment faced by Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 1990s.
``Laura Bush has got very wide acceptance ... she's almost the anti-Hillary,'' said Carroll Doherty, editor of the Pew poll. ``She's not nearly as divisive, broadly accepted, but she hasn't yet made a strong impression on the American people.''
When people were asked which presidential wife has embodied the role of first lady, they were more likely to mention Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush or Hillary Rodham Clinton than the current first lady. Political analysts suggest this may reflect a lack of knowledge about Mrs. Bush.
She plays host to a White House summit on early learning at Georgetown University later this week, and to the National Book Festival in September - highlighting her interest in education and reading.
Men were just as likely as women to have a positive view of Mrs. Bush. One-fourth of Democrats saw her unfavorably in the poll. Half of Republicans viewed Mrs. Clinton unfavorably early in her husband's term and more than a third of men viewed her unfavorably.
