Laura Bush: First gentleman should 'stand back and be quiet'

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (UPI) —

Former first lady Laura Bush suggests that any future first gentleman in the White House "stand back and be quiet."

Bush was interviewed for C-Span’s "First Ladies" series. The interview will be broadcast Monday.

She suggested the news media pays too much attention to the clothes, hairstyles and makeup of presidential wives.

"But I don’t think we can get around it" she said. "Maybe when we finally have a First Gentleman and maybe we should be that way about the first gentleman also and really critique the way they look all the time, their choice of tie or their hairstyle or whatever," adding as an afterthought "their weight."

Bush was asked to give advice to any future presidential husband.

"Stand back and be quiet. I don’t know," she said. "It will be interesting when it finally happens what the First Gentleman will do. I hope they’ll take on men’s health, perhaps."

Mrs. Bush was generally more popular than President George W. Bush during his time in office.

Bush said that if she disagreed with her husband on anything she would "just tell him." But she said the news media engaged in a "parlor game" of trying to find out her opinions.

"You didn’t elect me. I don’t have to even tell you what I think about an issue," she said. "But on the other hand, there are plenty — there is plenty of debate on all the issues and I didn’t have to be one of the people debating the president."