Mrs. Bush Joins First Lady for Tea, Tete-a-Tete

She’s new at this gig, but Laura Bush showed she could handle herself at the White House when she stopped by for tea with Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday.

As Mrs. Clinton sought to shoo the media away--”We’re going to go in and have a visit,” she said--Mrs. Bush turned ever so slightly toward the cameras. No words, just body language that said, no, I’d like to take a few questions.

She wasn’t exactly in need of a tour, she said; she’d been to the White House on many occasions, not just as the daughter-in-law of former President Bush, but also for dinners attended by her husband, the governor of Texas. “I feel like I sorta know it,” she said. “I have slept in the Lincoln Bedroom, and the Queen’s Bedroom.”

She got a tour anyway, of the second- and third-floor residences, said the first lady’s spokeswoman, Erika Batcheller. The tour came after tea in the Yellow Oval Room.

The Bush camp offered few details. “Mrs. Clinton invited her to have tea and look around the White House,” said spokeswoman Karen Hughes.

Even Mrs. Bush’s fashion statement emphasized her quiet, low-key style. She opted for a lavender wool suit, her skirt and blue pumps a contrast to Mrs. Clinton’s black pantsuit and electric-pink blouse.

Not everything was totally smooth. There were the seven minutes Mrs. Clinton spent cooling her heels in the south vestibule waiting for Mrs. Bush; she passed the time by waving playfully to reporters.

Then, there were those two steps Mrs. Bush took in the wrong direction as she and Mrs. Clinton turned to go indoors. Mrs. Clinton, holding Mrs. Bush’s hand, gently steered her back in the right direction.

And in between, there was the car door that wouldn’t open.

Mrs. Clinton strode out, coatless and confident in freezing temperatures, to meet Mrs. Bush. Then she watched with rising concern as an aide tugged at the car door with no success. “We’ve got a frozen door here,” Mrs. Clinton called to a Secret Service agent, who helped out.

Finally freed from the car, Mrs. Bush--also coatless--chimed a cheerful hello. “I’m glad to see you,” Mrs. Clinton replied, clasping the hand Mrs. Bush extended.

That first handshake morphed into side-by-side hand-holding and small talk until they went inside.