SPEAKING OF CUSTARD:

Laura Bush, Smiling but Tough: In Last Solo Tour, First Lady Is on the Attack -- Demurely (Mike Allen, October 22, 2004, Washington Post)

The beginning of the end looked a lot like the beginning of Bush's first presidential race in 1999: Laura Bush, smiling in a chaotic coffee shop in New Hampshire, making a fuss over choosing her blend, then pouring her own cream. New Hampshire is home to lots of independent voters, and the first lady brought Cindy McCain -- wife of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who beat Bush in the New Hampshire primary of 2000 -- along on her bus trip Thursday. "A few years ago, Cindy and I were on different buses -- and her bus nearly knocked ours off the road," Laura Bush said at a "W Stands for Women" rally at Hopkinton Town Hall.

Last time the first lady typically traveled with her husband, but this time the campaign recognized her as a separate asset -- one with an approval rating of about 80 percent, compared with the 50 he polls on a good day. So Laura Bush hit the campaign trail solo back in June 2003 and since then has traveled to 33 states -- battlegrounds, plus states with cities big enough for large fundraising events. She raised $5.5 million for the campaign and headlined 25 rallies, 15 luncheons, 13 evening receptions and 12 dinners. She has also given 13 campaign speeches, including several in the "W Stands for Women" series, and made countless television appearances.

Her value to the ticket has been underscored by the occasional controversies around statements by Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, who on Wednesday apologized for telling USA Today that she does not know whether Laura Bush -- who has a master's degree in library science -- has ever had "a real job."

"It doesn't matter to me," Laura Bush said. "It didn't hurt my feelings. It was perfectly all right, and she apologized. But she didn't even really need to apologize. I know how tough it is. And actually, I know those trick questions, too." Later, she said in an interview , "I think she was trying to talk about herself and not about me -- I really do." [....]

[O]n Iraq, her message is as unyielding as her husband's. "Building a democracy is not easy," she said. "But we know it's right."