Marlo Thomas | 11/20/2008 11:00 pm

Marlo Thomas: Mr. Bush Is Bad for Laura's Book Sales

In response to: Are you interested in reading Laura Bush's upcoming autobiography? Why or why not?

Laura Bush wrote an essay in one of my books, and I was happy to discover that she’s a pretty earthy woman. Her story was about one of her earliest memories of lying on a blanket with her mother on their front lawn, looking up at the sky. "And what a sky it was," she wrote. "Mother knew some of the constellations, and she would point them out to me. But mostly we would just gaze up and talk." She carried on that tradition of enjoying the galaxy with her own daughters years later. That gave me a peek into what seems a very good woman and mother. Still, I probably won’t read her book. I’m really not interested in hearing one word more about HIM.

Read more about: George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Politics, Society

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Marlo writes with candid words, “I’m really not interested in hearing one word more about HIM.” Marlo, darling, you will miss out on better learning why you dislike George Bush. Learning of dislike is more important than learning of like. Easy enough to understand why we like a person, why we love a person. There is not too much of need to give thought to why like and love are so easy to give to others, and so very easy to receive from others. Dislike and hatred, these are emotions we should come well to know. These are complex emotions rooted in our genetically wired instinct of “fight or flight” and these are emotions which can inflict and do often inflict great harm. These emotions of dislike and hatred are powerful and sometimes fatal. These are feelings within we are to come to well know so we can leash those feelings or let loose those feelings in appropriate and productive ways. We are responsible exercise complete control over our dangerous feelings. Only way to guard against dislike or hatred consuming our hearts, minds and our spirits is to well understand what causes those feelings. I find quite often my dislike of another is not well founded or founded upon irrational thinking. This is a personal weakness which can lead to others disliking or hating us. Within my traditional culture we have an expression related to dislike and hatred, “shilombish okpulo” which is an unclean spirit. We believe when we experience dislike or hatred, we are being touched by shilombish okpulo. This is a spirit which destroys people by leading people to destroy themselves. People, a tribe, a society, a civilization, will not survive if not strong enough to drive away shilombish okpulo. To defeat this spirit, you must internalize this spirit then learn of how your personal weaknesses are exploited, and learn how to defeat those weaknesses, then cast out shilombish okpulo from your heart, mind and spirit. I want to know more about Bush. I want to better understand why he invokes such strong negative feelings within. Upon learning of how this happens to me, I will be a better and stronger person. Okpulot Taha Choctaw Nation

By Okpulot Taha on 11/21/2008 2:36 am

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Marlo, I thought you were better than that. Discretion is clearly not your forte. Such a shame that you would choose to publicly diss a busy woman, who took the time to contribute an essay to a book you assembled. I believe these were your words … “The Right Words told us about the remarkable journeys taken by people who I admired and were well known to all of us,” says Marlo. I think you should consider taking the time to write a letter of apology to Mrs. Bush.

By Lucinda Herbert on 11/21/2008 7:58 am

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Lucinda, I’m not sure I understand your post. Marlo seemed quite complimentary of Laura Bush, particularly when she chose the word ‘happy’ rather than ‘surprised’ in her comments. The story appears in Marlo’s book ‘The Right Words at the Right Time’. I have the book and checked it out…….yup, no indiscretion here, published in a book for all to see. Marlo, like much of the world just does not care for Laura Bush’s husband. I understand that; many people do not appreciate my husband’s wife.

By beth willis on 11/21/2008 11:42 am

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It seems Marlo that she may have turned out to be an interesting and likable woman if she hadn’t been suppressed by her marriage.

By Sherrie Crews on 11/21/2008 8:02 am

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Sherrie: What the hell is wrong with you?? You say Laura Bush MAY have turned out to be an interesting and likable woman if she hadn’t been suppressed by her marriage?>???? She IS an interesting and likable woman and she wasn’t suppressed by her marriage. I guess you must be a man-hating lesbian, if you feel that any woman can be suppressed by marriage. Jeeze, get a grip

By Irish Eyes NY on 11/21/2008 3:30 pm

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Dear Marlo, I think it’s right for you to choose what you put in your head. I’ve always heard, “be careful what you choose to put in your head… (including t.v. programs, movies, media of all types)”. It’s your time, your energy when you read or listen to anything. It’s your time and energy and I think you should be choosy about how you use it. There will be plenty of people who will read her book…. not me, but there will be plenty. Always a fan of That Girl! Maggie

By Murphy Mac on 11/21/2008 8:09 am

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Sure, she can choose, but she’s clearly tone-deaf when she publicly disses someone she made use of and helped to put quite a bit of dough in her pocket (the book was a best-seller). A little more class is what I expected of Marlo.

By Lucinda Herbert on 11/21/2008 9:10 am

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clarification — quite a bit of dough in Marlo’s pocket — not Laura’s

By Lucinda Herbert on 11/21/2008 9:11 am

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If Marlo’s book was a best-seller, I doubt very seriously it was because Laura contributed to it. Marlo has done so much good for people in this world (see St. Jude’s Hospital), that the mere mention of her name makes people want to buy her book. Marlo’s saying she doesn’t want to read another word about “him” is another way of saying what her “choice” is about what she wants to “put in her head”. I too think that Laura will never be hurting for money since her hubby has taken so much from this country, let his cronies pocket so much money, and still has all the connections with the oil industry to last him and Laura 4 lifetmes over! Let others who want to read about him buy her book and let those of us who prefer not to read about him, not buy it. I think Marlo’s class will always outshine most any of the rest of us any day, any time, any where.

By Murphy Mac on 11/21/2008 9:41 am

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You missed the point. Marlo asked a very busy woman to take the time to write an essay that would be included in the book that Marlo was compiling. Marlo then publicly says that she has no interest in buying this woman’s book. I just think it’s extremely poor manners. She would have been better off not opining. Laura could have declined from participating in Marlo’s project, given that both she and her husband, Phil Donahue, espouse political beliefs that are far to the left from where she stands —- but she didn’t. Nor did she qualify her contribution.

By Lucinda Herbert on 11/21/2008 12:01 pm

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I think Laura Bush has something to teach us all. Mainly how to rise above discomfort and discord instead of wallowing in it.

By Joyce Long on 11/21/2008 12:59 pm

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I wouldn’t be so certain about where Laura Bush “stands.” From what I’ve read, she was quite liberal (comparatively) before she married “him.” She has said that Roe v. Wade should not be overturned and that the idea of same-sex marriage should not be politicized. Hardly the notions of a right-wing zealot.

By steve-annie nyc on 11/21/2008 1:14 pm

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I never described her as a right-wing zealot. I do think, however, that she is gracious, discreet, intelligent, and most certainly well-mannered.

By Lucinda Herbert on 11/21/2008 1:49 pm

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I don’t know which “point” you think I missed. There was a “Question of the Day” which Marlo decided to answer and she did, as others who are on the “wowOwow” panel also answered. If Marlo had “qualified” the people who decided to contribute to her book by saying, “if you write in my book, I’ll buy any book you later write if you decide to write one”, then I can see where she erred. But, to my knowledge, she didn’t qualify her requests for contributions by saying that. I’m quite sure Laura Bush is a busy woman. I’m also quite sure Marlo is a busy woman. As for political beliefs, I don’t think Marlo gave that as a qualification for people contributing to her book either (i.e., contributors’ beliefs must be in line with mine, that being “Marlo’s and Phil’s beliefs”). Again, I maintain that Marlo can pick and choose the books she chooses to read, just as Mrs. Bush picked and chose the people she decided to contribute her writing to in their books. I don’t know you, Lucinda, but I have to respectfully disagree with you.

By Murphy Mac on 11/22/2008 8:42 am

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Lucinda, are you saying that Marlo Thomas dissed Laura Bush elsewhere, because she doesn’t diss her in the short passage of her response to the question. She also has an essay from the current president’s mother. Everybody don’t like somebody but everybody loves Marlo T. Peace and grace

By beth willis on 11/21/2008 2:48 pm