Laura Bush's Last Days in the White House

She talks heart disease, Jenna's wedding, George's drinking and the Clintons.

ByABC News via logo
February 26, 2009, 6:13 PM

Feb. 1, 2008 — -- First Lady Laura Bush will be spending her last year in the White House working to raise awareness of heart disease, planning her daughter's springtime wedding and trying to stay above the political fray.

In a candid interview with "Good Morning America," Bush spoke about her work with Heart Truth; plans for Jenna Bush's Crawford, Texas, wedding; Bill Clinton's role in his wife's campaign and even her husband's former drinking.

Bush and GMA anchor Diane Sawyer wore red in honor of the "Red Dress Project," which encourages women to wear red on the first Friday in February as a national reminder that heart disease is the number-one killer of American women, claiming the lives of 480,000 U.S. women each year.

As a presidential spouse, Bush said that watching former President Clinton campaign for his wife "makes for great theater, there's no doubt about it."

Asked what she thought about his involvement on the campaign, Bush said "I think he's doing what comes very naturally to him, and that is defending his wife … Anyone would expect their spouse to do that. And, you know, whether or not they cross the line, I guess, other people have to judge."

On Monday Bush watched her husband give his final State of the Union address, which she described as "always slightly high-tension," with her twin daughters Jenna and Barbara at her side.

"It's actually very interesting because, of course, we're sitting in the gallery where we can look down and see everyone's response. We see the whole floor below, the Republicans standing up to applaud or … all of the looks from the other side [laughs]. And that was fun. It was fun. It was fun for us to talk about it later," Bush said.

As a loyal Republican, Bush says she'll support whoever wins the party's presidential nomination.

Despite great anticipation of a White House wedding, Bush says she's looking forward to Jenna's, which will take place at the family ranch in Crawford, Texas, this spring.

"I sort of halfway hoped it would be at the White House. But I always knew the whole time that Jenna wanted it to be at home. And I don't blame her. It'll be small and it'll be private, and you know, just be perfect for Jenna and just what she wants," said Bush, adding that the number of attendees would be "a couple of hundred of people actually."