When Laura Bush upped sticks, left behind her native Texas, and followed her victorious husband - whom she endearingly nicknames Bushie – to the White House two years ago, many, including perhaps herself, thought she was a First Lady in marked contrast to the political whirlwind that was her predecessor Hillary Clinton. Laura would, it was thought, hover comfortingly in the background, looking after their new Pennsylvania Avenue home, plying her guests with hearty homemade Tex-Mex fare and dealing with issues close to her heart like literacy and health education. Of course September 11 changed all that, and the woman who had claimed for much of her life that she "was so uninterested in politics", has since found herself focusing her energy on helping a scarred nation come to terms with its loss, speaking out on the plight of Afghan women, and getting used to being at the centre of America's gravest crisis for decades.

For the full interview with America's First Lady see this week's issue of HELLO!