Amidst all the firsts surrounding Nancy Pelosi’s election as the first female speaker of the House, her husband Paul has had a few firsts of his own.
Witness last week’s annual First Lady’s Luncheon at the Washington Hilton, held by the Congressional Club, the nearly 100-year-old organization of congressional spouses.
Part of the event’s tradition is the “runway,” or “catwalk,” as Laura Bush referred to it, which runs down the center of the room. One club member explained that the “much-dreaded” ritual enables all the guests to see the first lady, spouses of the Cabinet, Supreme Court, leaders in Congress and the leaders of the club as they promenade toward the head table while being introduced over the loudspeaker. Typically, male military escorts walk arm in arm with the wives down the catwalk.
Well, for the first time ever, a speaker’s husband walked the walk. He had a female military escort, and “a huge grin on his face, obviously enjoying himself immensely,” one attendee said. Perhaps it was the 2,000 guests — mostly women — giving him a raucous round of applause as he made his way forward and took his seat in the chair Jean Hastert occupied for years.
The theme of this year’s luncheon, hosted by Linda Bachus, wife of Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., was “Soul of the South.” Ruben Studdard, 2003 winner of “American Idol” and an Alabama native, provided the entertainment to Bush and the assembled guests.
The luncheon marked another first for the club as well. Vivian Bishop, wife of Georgia Democrat Sanford Bishop and the club’s new president, became the first African American to preside at the luncheon. Other black women have served on the board during the club’s history, including the wives of Thurgood Marshall, Melvin Watt and Charlie Rangel. Next year’s chairwoman for the luncheon will be another African-American: Alfredia Scott, wife of David Scott, also a Democrat from Georgia.
