In a fascinating article in today's NY Post, Larry Getlen writes about a new book, Under This Roof by Paul Brandus, which details secret doings at the White House. One aspect was particularly surprising. I don't recall having ever heard of it. Here are excerpts, edited and pared by yours truly: "In 1914 Woodrow Wilson, our 28th president, lost his wife of 28 years. The following March he met a 42-year-old widow named Edith Galt. A whirlwind romance ensued, during which the president, 'in an attempt to impress her with his power and status, shared state secrets with her, a potentially foolish indiscretion.' Just nine months after they met, Galt and Wilson married. The first lady not only served her country by seeing our troops off to WWI for the Red Cross, but was also given unprecedented and wholly inappropriate access to classified information. 'She learned to code and decode messages for the president and other top officials, putting her at the very heart of the war effort and making her privy to the nation’s most important secrets.' After Wilson suffered a near fatal stoke in 1919, Galt secretly ran the country for 18 months, as her husband re-learned to speak and walk. The first lady, aided by White House chief usher Ike Hoover and various doctors and nurses, kicked-off 'the beginning of the deception of the American people.' Adopting a communications strategy of 'no details, no explanations,' Edith was so secretive that not even the vice president or the cabinet knew the full extent of the president’s condition. The country was being run by the unelected first lady, a woman who, just a few years prior, had been a simple housewife, then widow, with no experience in politics. Edith Wilson took it upon herself to 'screen all paperwork and visitors,' making her the sole decider as to which issues made their way to the president, and which were delegated elsewhere. As it became clear, over time, that the first lady was doing far more than hosting and charity work, the world was shocked. 'The Nashville Tennessean called Mrs. Wilson "the nation’s first presidentress." The Boston Globe’s phrase was more convoluted: "Acting First Man." The London Daily Mail called her, "the acting president of the United States.” She continued in this role until the end of her husband’s term. She admitted it was selfish, as she put the needs of her husband ahead of those of the country. Brandus sees her actions as more than just selfish: 'While no crime had been committed, Edith Wilson — a devoted wife trying to help her husband — certainly participated in one of the greatest cover-ups in history. By hiding her husband’s illness, by making decisions in his name, Edith Wilson — an acting president in all but name — placed the nation’s security and well-being in jeopardy. The condition of the nation, not its chief executive, should have been of paramount concern; astonishingly, for a year and a half, it was not.'"
I set up shop in Park Slope today. Beth stopped by, looking to feed her Phillip Roth addiction. Unfortunately, I have none of his work at present. She mentioned she was from Port Huron, Michigan, which is northeast of Detroit. I told her I went to Western Michigan. She did too, graduating in the mid '60's, more than a decade after I did. These days she's working for a law firm that sues pharmaceutical companies. We reminisced for a while. Her dad owned both a rock club and a disco. I said that the second part of Close to the Edge was set in a disco -- and she bought it -- my only sale of the day. My thanks. Go Broncos! Unfortunately, they've begun the season 0-4, two of the losses to Michigan St. & Ohio St.., who are both ranked in the top five.
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