WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (AFP) - Soft-spoken and self-effacing, Laura Bush has come into her own during the past four years and become an extremely popular first lady, a reassuring presence behind her husband President George W. Bush.
The 57-year-old former librarian and school teacher enjoys high ratings among the American public with 73 percent of those polled in a recent Gallup survey saying they held a favorable view of the first lady.
Laura Bush has always made clear her desire to remain in the shadow of her husband and the president jokes repeatedly on the campaign trail about how pleased he is that she did not hold him to a promise he once made that she would never have to make a speech.
Laura Bush has played an increasingly prominent public role since the September 11, 2001 attacks, after which she was dubbed "consoler-in-chief."
Active in education issues, she has been involved in her husband's re-election campaign for several months now, aiming to present a softer image of George W. Bush.
She underscores the president's "toughness, his discipline, and his focus," but says her mission is also to "spread the word" about the qualities of the president's heart.
"It's important for Americans to see my husband like I see him," she has said.
She also knows how to keep him in check.
When Bush said he wanted Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" for the September 11 attacks, Laura reportedly let her husband know she thought he had gone too far by whispering in his ear: "Bushie, you gonna git 'im?"
"I am not George's adviser. I'm his wife. I don't advise him about policy, but we do talk about issues and personalities," she has said.
Regularly praised by her husband for her support, the auburn-haired blue-eyed Laura presents herself as a dutiful, unpretentious spouse and mother to their twin daughters Jenna and Barbara.
Laura Bush has the advantage of symbolizing the traditional American wife, according to Stephen Hess, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
"She's a huge asset and we look forward to having her campaign as much as possible," said Matthew Dowd, chief strategist of the Bush-Cheney campaign, describing Laura Bush as the most popular first lady in the last 25 years.
"I think she appeals across the board, she appeals across the country, she appeals to our base, she appeals to swing voters, she appeals to Democrats," said Ken Mehlman, the Bush campaign manager.
A former Democrat, Laura Bush was born on November 4, 1946 and raised in Midland, Texas. She is the only child of an accountant and a housewife. She and George W. Bush hail from the same region and even briefly attended the same school.
But they met only in 1977, at a barbecue at a friends' house. They got married a few months later.
Laura Bush is credited with persuading her husband to abandon alcohol and rediscover his Christian faith.
10/31/2004 02:38 GMT - AFP