And, as you know Mr. President, she has in her always friendly, warm and articulate manner, put her keen mind to work for America.

While she has been best known for her tireless efforts to promote global literacy, Laura Bush has been just as active on a range of issues -- from her "Women's Health and Wellness Initiative," to her fight to end oppression against women in nations such as Afghanistan, where she actually took the place of her husband in presenting the weekly presidential radio address in 2001.

But you know all of that, Mr. President.

But I want others to recognize how active she has been on behalf of people who need help and often can't fight for themselves. And we all recognize that while this is a kind and caring woman, she can be passionate and, in her own way, fight effectively for others. In fact, she is still fighting for the women of Afghanistan.

I can only imagine how proud you were of her performance on "Meet the Press" recently, where she deftly handled a range of issues in a way that seemed to me to be as competent and articulate as say, Sen. Hillary Clinton or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In fact, I was blown away by her ability to take anything Tom Brokaw asked of her and ace it.

What makes this all the more interesting is to see her just a week or so later, live in the White House showing the Christmas decorations to a national audience. I loved the part when the dog ran right past her, and she cracked a joke and never missed a beat.

So whether it's the Christmas tree or denouncing the disfigurement of young girls in a nation so very far away, Laura Bush is able to handle the task with grace and ease.

I guess it is a bit presumptuous to write a sitting president in a national column. But we all know this will never reach George W. Bush. But it just would not be fair, particularly given the tough years this nation and her husband have endured, not to at least recognize one of the greatest first ladies in American history.