INTERVIEW: First Lady Laura Bush

New

York – First Lady Laura Bush has views of her own and when she was asked by TIME if she would have any objection to a gay couple staying with her in the White House or in Texas, she replied, “No, of course not.” And she says, “I’m sure we have” had a gay couple stay in the White House or in Texas. When asked whether she has an open mind when it comes to the gay marriage amendment, Mrs. Bush replies, “Sure.” Mrs. Bush sat down for an interview with TIME just before jetting off to Florida with the President last week in her East Wing office to speak about a wide range of topics, including gay marriage, stem-cell research and how she deals with criticism of her husband.

When asked about whether the swift-boat ads are unfair to John Kerry, Mrs. Bush replies, “Do I think they’re unfair? Not really. There have been millions of terrible ads against my husband.”

The First Lady was asked her thoughts regarding IVF treatments which often wind up discarding a fair number of embryos, “Whether or not people should donate their…Sure, I think that sounds all right with me,” she replied. And optimism in stem-cell research is good, “but not to say cures are at our fingertips, because they’re not with stem cells.” “I know what it’s like to have a parent suffer from Alzheimer’s. And to give people the idea that there is going to be a cure next year for Alzheimer’s—or for anything else—is just not right,” Mrs. Bush tells TIME.

On whether as an ex-smoker she is still tempted to smoke, Mrs. Bush responds, “Sure, of course. It’s very difficult to quit. And especially if you’re under a lot of stress. I’m not saying that I am.’ Regarding her plans during a second term: “Well, I’m very interested in intervention programs for students who haven’t learned to read by the time they get to middle school or high school or have such a low reading level that they’re academically unsuccessful. The amazing thing about it is, because they have a larger vocabulary, because they’ve lived longer, they can be taught to read or move up several grade levels pretty quickly. “

And on summer reading, Mrs. Bush says that she “loves to read mysteries for relaxation” and hasn’t read any of the books that have been written on her or her husband.