I've never gone fishing with her, which is how you really get to know someone, but years ago I did sit next to her at dinner, one of those Washington black-tie occasions that are nobody's idea of a wild good time. The conversation tends to be stilted, everybody's beat, you worry about spilling soup down your shirtfront. She, being First Lady, led the way and she being a Wellesley girl, the way led upward. We talked about my infant daughter and schools and about Justice Harry Blackmun, and I said how inspiring it was to sit and watch the Court in session, and she laughed and said, "I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to show up in a courtroom where a member of my family might be a defendant." A succinct and witty retort. And she turned and bestowed her attention on House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who was sitting to her right. She focused on him and even made him chuckle a few times. I was impressed by her smarts, even more by her discipline.