Laura Bush's Coming-Out Party

"Laura Bush made the evening her own," writes DeNeen L. Brown in The Washington Post.

Elisabeth Bumiller writes in the New York Times: "She brought down a very tough house, and she humanized her husband, whose sagging poll numbers are no match for her own."

Deborah Orin writes in the New York Post: "Mrs. Bush's press secretary, Susan Whitson, said it was the president's idea to have his wife take over -- but he didn't know his wife's lines in advance.

" 'Those of use who work with Mrs. Bush know how funny and clever she is but this is the first time the rest of the world saw it,' said Whitson who admitted Mrs. Bush 'is one of the few people who could have gotten away with some of those jokes.' "

James Gordon Meek writes in the New York Daily News: "Nailing her status as the most popular of the Bush clan -- and funniest First Lady -- Laura Bush stunned and delighted partygoers Saturday night with a wicked and bawdy roast of her husband.

"While not profane, Bush's comedy routine could have been cribbed from a 'South Park' episode, and it ambushed thousands of journalists at the annual White House Correspondents' Association bash, who probably had low expectations."

William Douglas writes for Knight Ridder Newspapers: "The first lady's surprise skit brought down the house and illustrates her shifting role in the president's second term -- from a so-called traditional first lady whose primary duties were ceremonial, to a more active and visible partner with a meaningful portfolio. . . .

"She's been busy inside the White House as well. With a new chief of staff, press secretary, social secretary, and speechwriter, Bush has replaced about half of her major staff positions.

"And the extreme makeover didn't stop at her East Wing office.

"It reached down to the kitchen, where White House chef Walter Scheib III was canned earlier this year."

Leslie Hoffecker writes in the Los Angeles Times that "now that the election is over, and given that her approval rating is more than 30 points higher than her husband's, the administration is putting Laura Bush front and center on the public stage -- heading an initiative to keep at-risk children from involvement with gangs and drugs, traveling to Afghanistan to thank U.S. troops for their service and to visit with Afghan women training as teachers, even dropping by 'The Tonight Show' last week for a chat with Jay Leno."

Mark Silva writes in the Chicago Tribune that "the first lady certainly is playing a larger role in the second term of President Bush. . . .