Editing Barbara Bush (section)

=== White House life and ceremonial activity ===
[[File:Mrs. Bush and Raisa Gorbachev deliver Commencement Addresses at Wellesley College - NARA - 186412.tif|thumb|Bush with [[Raisa Gorbacheva]] at [[Wellesley College]] in 1990|alt=Barbara Bush and Raisa Gorbacheva stand smiling and clasping each other's hands. Bush is wearing a graduation robe.]]
The Bushes moved into the [[White House]] on January 20, 1989, and Barbara became the first lady of the United States.{{Sfn|Schneider|Schneider|2010|p=334}} She was the oldest First Lady to live in the White House to that date, taking the position at age 63. The only First Lady older than her to that point, [[Anna Harrison]], did not live in Washington during her husband's term.{{Sfn|Caroli|2010|p=289}} She did begin purchasing designer gowns, but this went unnoticed by the press.{{Sfn|Beasley|2005|p=191}} Bush described the position of First Lady as "the best job in America"{{Sfn|Schneider|Schneider|2010|p=334}} and "the most spoiled woman in the world".{{Sfn|Kilian|2002|p=141}} She was also the last Second Lady to become First Lady until [[Jill Biden]] in 2021.{{Sfn|Schneider|Schneider|2010|p=334}}<ref name="Biden-Bush">{{Cite web |last=Chamlee |first=Virginia |date=2021-10-21 |title=Jill Biden reflects on Barbara Bush and what it means to be first lady: 'Nothing can prepare you' |url=https://people.com/politics/jill-biden-reflects-on-barbara-bush-and-what-it-means-to-be-first-lady/ |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=People |language=en |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002235442/https://people.com/politics/jill-biden-reflects-on-barbara-bush-and-what-it-means-to-be-first-lady/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Wishing to avoid the example of Nancy Reagan, Bush ensured that Vice President [[Dan Quayle]] and Second Lady [[Marilyn Quayle]] were involved in social affairs.{{Sfn|Page|2019|loc=Chapter 12}} Shortly after becoming First Lady, Bush was diagnosed with [[Graves' disease]], which gave her [[double vision]] and caused her to lose weight.{{Sfn|Kilian|2002|p=127}} Both the condition and the treatment (which included [[methimazole]], [[prednisone]], and [[radiation therapy]]) brought her discomfort. The public was aware of her diagnosis, though she publicly denied it was seriously affecting her. Her husband was diagnosed with the same autoimmune disease in 1991.{{Sfn|Page|2019|loc=Chapter 16}}

Bush loved the White House, admiring the historical significance of each room.{{Sfn|Kilian|2002|p=121}} She also liked that her husband worked in the same building that they lived in, given the problems of previous years when he was often away for long periods of time.{{Sfn|Schneider|Schneider|2010|p=334}}{{Sfn|Gutin|2008|p=59}} Her day-to-day activities often included charity work, meetings, or interviews until 6pm, at which point the Bushes would host company and Barbara would give tours of the White House.{{Sfn|Kilian|2002|p=121}} She also exercised in the White House pool, swimming 72 laps to complete a mile each day.{{Sfn|Kilian|2002|p=128}} She sought to engage in normal activities while living in the White House, patronizing local businesses and walking her dog along [[Pennsylvania Avenue]].{{Sfn|Anthony|1990|pp=423–424}} She believed it was important for her to leave the White House grounds during the day to avoid feeling trapped or isolated. She theorized that if she went in public enough, people in the area would grow used to her presence.{{Sfn|Kilian|2002|p=121}}
[[File:Stowers MOH ceremony - Palmer and Bush.JPEG|thumb|Bush presents a posthumous [[Medal of Honor]] to the sister of a [[World War I]] veteran in 1991.|alt=Bush, seated, hands a plaque to the woman sitting next to her.]]Bush was generally skeptical of reporters and the press,{{Sfn|Beasley|2005|p=185}} feeling that she was entitled to have a private life separately from her public life.{{Sfn|Beasley|2005|pp=186–187}} Though she did not hold regular press conferences, she worked to develop relationships with several individual reporters. When dealing with the press, she imposed her policy of "if I said it, I said it", in which her staff was not allowed to explain or justify her statements to the press.{{Sfn|Gutin|2008|pp=37–38}} Bush's press secretary, Anna Perez, was the first Black woman to hold a high ranking position in the [[East Wing]] of the White House.{{Sfn|Caroli|2010|p=290}}{{Sfn|Beasley|2005|p=196}}

On June 1, 1990, Bush gave a commencement speech to the graduating class of [[Wellesley College]]. Her selection as speaker was controversial among students, many of whom felt that Bush was not representative of a successful woman and was only selected because of her husband's accomplishments. The controversy became a national debate.{{Sfn|Feinberg|1998|pp=7–8}} Publicly, she dismissed it as "much ado about nothing" by twenty-year-olds,{{Sfn|Anthony|1990|p=434}} but privately she was angered by the protest. The media attention leading up the speech was such that when the day came, it was the first speech by a first lady ever to be nationally broadcast live.{{Sfn|Page|2019|loc=Chapter 14}} Bush chose to invite First Lady of the Soviet Union [[Raisa Gorbacheva]], who had a visit scheduled to the United States with her husband, to join her at the commencement.{{Sfn|Anthony|1990|p=434}} Upon giving the speech, Bush was well received by the students and the public, who responded positively to her message of prioritizing personal fulfillment and relationships.{{Sfn|Page|2019|loc=Chapter 14}}{{Sfn|Feinberg|1998|pp=8–9}}