Video conference: Anita McBride takes the floor
Anita McBride
According to Anita McBride, no one will ever comprehend what the presidential family of the United States goes through on a daily basis.
“No one will ever understand what the president of the United States and the first lady face every day,” said McBride, chief-of-staff to First Lady Laura Bush. “However, it is possible for their children to lead a life of normalcy in the White House.”
McBride, assistant to President George W. Bush, has directed a wide range of issues under First Lady Laura Bush’s time at the White House. These issues include education, global literacy, youth development, women’s rights and health, historic preservation and conservation and more.
“I have a real desire to improve the lives of the Afghani women,” McBride said. “They are the most courageous women in the world. You just cannot imagine living in those conditions and surviving.”
According to McBride, who has worked in corporate philanthropy, Afghan women do not want to be seen as victims.
“These women are lawyers, judges, carpenters and teachers,” McBride said.
McBride, who is also a member of the U.S. Afghan Women Council, joined students participating from the George Mason University Video Studio along with Steve Scully, the political editor for the C-SPAN networks, and students from the University of Denver.
McBride has worked on wide range of philanthropy issues and discussed her take on various issues around the world.
“I admire how former First Lady Hillary Clinton shifted her focus from healthcare to a global landscape, despite taking many blows at first,” McBride said. “It really isn’t easy to have such a controversial agenda.”
Other students who attended the discussion had their own questions to ask McBride.
“If you could pick any First Lady in the White House to work for, who would it be?” asked Lexi Ramage, a junior majoring in communication.
“I would love to work for Dolly Madison,” McBride said. “It would be very interesting and also Abigail Adams, since she was an early abolitionist. She sacrificed for this country. She is an extraordinary character.”
The distance learning course, which is produced by C-SPAN, is a unique opportunity for students to interview guests via video conference. The course airs on C-SPAN3 on Fridays at 5 p.m. and also streams online.