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I said, “There's no earthly reason why it should be established as an inalienable right of the press to interview the lady who happens to have married a man who happens to have become President. I'm speaking not only for you two, but for people for the next fifty years who will be President. Their wives are not selected for their publicity interest.”
He said, “I think you're right. There's no reason why you should do it, Bess.”
They both said, “We're greatly relieved.” “I thought you'd say I had to do it,” said Mrs. Truman. The pressure had gotten to that point. Mrs. Roosevelt had thought her own press conferences a great success. She believed, and I think she was probably right, that they contributed a great deal to her personal prestige, not that they were always friendly either. But she did have facility for handling them and for making the kind of answer that didn't make an unfavorable reaction.
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