Lesley Stahl

Lesley Stahl was one of the finest reporters ever on the Washington scene during her years as the CBS White House correspondent during the Carter, Reagan and Bush #1 years.

People who give their time (not just money) to causes

I Admire:

Really tough interviewers like Mike Wallace and Tim Russert

I Love(d) Watching:

One of my heroes is the person who invented TIVO. TIVO makes one of my great daily pleasures possible: watching Jon Stewart every night, and now the Yankees (this is how Aaron and I keep our relationship alive!), and John Adams on HBO.

I haven't been to the movies in a while, partly because there hasn't been anything I've wanted to see. But now I hear The Visitor is excellent. Since it's directed by the man who directed The Station Agent, I'm going to do everything I can to see it this weekend. Same for South Pacific at Lincoln Center.
“Portraits of a Lady” about a group of artists who each painted a portrait of Sandra Day O’Connor. In the film she talks all the way through the sitting -- revealing how down-to-earth, how Western (in the cowgirl sense), and how funny she is.

I Like the Feeling Of:

My new mattress! Which is what I asked for for my last birthday. "A mattress? Really?" -- was my husband's reaction. "Well, you asked …" He got me the mattress they have at Westin Hotels. I swear I'm sleeping better.

My Tool:

The Kindle, a small, light weight electronic "book" with today's newspapers and magazine

I Use:

Dental floss. I am so boring.

What Wows Me:

Anything my daughter does!
It used to be Roger Clemens on the mound, now it's Wendy Whelan on the ballet stage

Favorite Quote:

I read the profile of George Clooney by Ian Parker in "The New Yorker" yesterday, and actually underlined a few choice descriptions. "[His] air of pre-therapeutic times ... [He was] feeling pretty good about his hair …" And the overall sense of "courteous roguishness." I have met Clooney; Parker nailed him.

My Foods:

Don’t touch red meat (hate it), love veggies but I’m a loon about everything else. I never eat fruit (once bit into a peach and found half a worm), so instead of berries, I order ice cream; instead of orange juice, I order wine. Oh wait! Aren’t grapes fruit? I have to rethink this.

Anything with caramel or butterscotch

I Want to Own:

A sailboat, as long as I’m not responsible for its upkeep

My Dream Experience:

Sleeping late.

My Remedies For:

An impending cold: Oscillococcinum. Little pellets that melt under your tongue that seem to work

Insomnia: a long book on tape

Aggravation: pounding on a piano

Daily wear and tear: writing in a diary which also helps clarify what you really think about politics, the office, friends… husbands

The First Thing I do In the Morning Is:

Turn on NPR

I Love(d) Reading:

Everything written about the presidential campaign in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, New Yorker, etc etc

Riding with John Wayne

Harriet and Isabella by Patricia O’Brien, an historical novel about Harriet Beecher Stowe

All the popular books about the founding fathers, especially Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Linda Fairstein’s Killer Heat

The Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan

My Shoes:

Never thought I’d be the sensible-shoe type, but -- alas, while I’ve always worn almost exclusively tall, open toe sling backs (Bruno Magli), I’ve lately been buying flats. Not sexy, but at least I can walk!

I Miss:

I miss Bobby Short. The old Eddie Bauer. And Clinique's Ginger Snap. Have you noticed that whenever you find a lipstick color that you really love, they stop making it.

Mostly, though, I miss the watch my mother gave me and my father's cufflinks, both of which were stolen when our apartment was burglarized.

I’m Addicted To:

List making (Secret: I have CLD. Compulsive List Disorder!)

Crossword puzzles

I Love Listening To:

Anything by Lyle Lovett
Cabaret at the Algonquin. Especially Wesla Westfield
Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jew Boys

I Wish I Lived:

Somewhere with room and maid service

I Hoard:

Earrings