Just wanted to say that I thought Dana Cook's article on Lady Bird Johnson was a fitting tribute to the former First lady of our land. Despite all the pain and suffering that the country was going thru at the time, Lady Bird tried to bring some civility to our country.

Dana, thank you for a very nice tribute to Lady Bird. She's a fellow Texan of whom I am proud. She saw some very rough times from all kinds of vantage points and she left our land prettier and better than she found it.

Here's to Lady Bird! And here's to you for a lovely remembrance piece!

My father's best friend is an Episcopal priest who was very close to the Johnsons. When I was young, my family was invited to join him, staying in a guest house at the LBJ ranch. I remember my parents lecturing my little sister and I on behavior and manners the whole 5 hour drive out to the hill country. We were to spend the night in the guest house, and meet Mrs. Johnson the next morning in the big house for breakfast. My mother made my sister and I sleep in pink sponge rollers (miserable) and wake early to dress in church clothes and good shoes. I was as nervous as I can remember ever being at ten. When we got to the house for breakfast, Ladybird answered the door herself, in her bathrobe! Instead of being served, SHE made US pancakes! After preparing for what I imagined a proper audience with a queen, it felt like visiting my grandmother. There was a great silver saddle on a stand in the living room that I was fascinated with. My Dad caught me touching it and told me to leave it alone. Ladybird overheard and insisted he lift me up on it so I could try it out. It was a gift from Spain and noone ever got any use out of it!That morning is one of my most favorite childhood memories. Mrs. Johnson was so kind, and fun, and so gracious to let a strange family into her home and treat us like kin. It wasn't until I was much older that I realized the significance of having a photograph in my living room of Ladybird Johnson, in her bathrobe, sandwiched on her couch between my sister and I, in our Sunday best.

It was useful to hear her say that upon arriving in Washington, D.C., her mother (Lousiana Democrat Lindy Boggs, the wife of the late Louisiana Democrat Hale Boggs) was befriended by the wives of then-Senators Johnson and Gore, "and that the families have remained close ever since."

Indeed.

I am eagerly awaiting Helen Thomas' sympathetic recollections of another gracious First Lady from Texas, Laura Bush.

I was in sixth grade when LBJ became president. I still remember reading in my "Weekly Reader" about Mrs. Johnson's beautification efforts.

Look around...see that garden in front of your local McDonalds? Did you notice all the wildflowers growing along the interstate? Do you enjoy the color of the flowers planted near the parking lot? It all started with Mrs. Johnson's program, and her selfless and tireless efforts to enrich the lives of her fellow Americans.

I did not always support President Johnson, or his policires. But I will always be grateful for all Mrs. Johnson did for me. There have been few people in my lifetime I have respected more.

I have no doubt that when it's Laura Bush's time to depart this mortal coil, Helen Thomas (a class-act and a lady, just like the departed Mrs. LBJ) will have kind words to say. How often have we seen that a controversial/divisive President will at least have had the good judgment to choose a helpmate who can smooth over the rough edges of his administration and present a decent image to the public.

Of course, Lady Bird Johnson was just that - a lady in every sense of the word. The godmother of the current environmental movement, she lived long enough to see her pet cause become a part of the mainstream conversation. I wonder how many folks involved in Live Earth realized this?

I see you have stopped by to piss on the rug again. Have you made any progress in tracking down Osama bin Forgotten yet?

Pay tribute to the woman who was responsible for having "sexiest woman in the world" Eartha Kitt blacklisted -- which led to her exile in France -- after criticizing the Vietnam War at a White House dinner? You must be effing joking. "Civility" indeed.

Her outburst was typical of the times. Times change. People can kiss & make up, you know. Wounds don't have to fester.

What is striking about this colection of reminiscences is how utterly cold, formulaic and unfeeling the exerpt from Ms Clinton's book is, compared to all the others.

Per slingshot5150's observation, Senator Clinton is our national Rohrsache test. What we think of her seems to reveal more about ourselves than about her.

That said, I was in grade school when Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as President. He and his wife received mainly contempt from the Washington media for his folksy ways and hick (i.e., non-East Coast) accent. First Lady Ladybird's beautification initiatives were similarly trashed as silly, superficial, and loathesomely feminine, a way to waste The Taxpayers' Money ™ (a trademark of the Republican Party.) Back in the early 1960s, we were all expected to be tough guys, in order to fight the Red Threat. There was no room for wimps, and having a military background was considered de rigeur for a political career.

My point is that we now know better, and I'm glad so many people are coming forward with warm, affectionate stories and appreciation for Mrs. Johnson's loathesomely feminine initiatives. It's about time she got some respect.

I had no idea that Lady Bird Johnson was an early supporter of Head Start. Now that I know, I will definitely have to research her role in the program.

I am a graduate of Head Start (if the term "graduate" applies to a Pre-K program). My mother attributed my success in school to the fact that I had been made "ready" for it by Head Start. I am now a doctoral student.

I have never met Lady Bird Johnson, and now I never will. But through Head Start, she had an influence in my life and the lives of countless children. I wish that I had a way to thank her.