What: An Evening With Liz Carpenter
When: Thursday, October 19, 2006
Ms. Carpenter will sign books from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m.
Speech is at 6:00 p.m.
Where: LBJ Auditorium
2313 Red River St.
Contact: Anne Wheeler, Communications Director
(O) 721-0216 (Cell) 731-2351 anne.wheeler@nara.gov
Admission: Event is for Friends of the LBJ Library
“If you do any kind of public speaking, this book should be your bible.” - Dave Barry, Author, Humorist
“Liz is the Tilt-a-Whirl at the State Fair with all the lights on and the music playing. The only difference between Liz and a Tilt-a-Whirl is that with Liz, the ride never comes to an end.” - Ann Richards
Get ready for a night of laughter, joke-telling, and a political insight or two. Liz Carpenter will share quips and stories with fellow Friends of the LBJ Library from her new book, Presidential Humor: For candidates, speechwriters, and voters, preachers, housewives, janitors, hecklers, and other political types.
In her latest book, Carpenter, age 85, gives humor to the highest office in the land, based on her inside knowledge of the White House (she’s known thirteen presidents), years of working in Washington, D. C., and expertise in American history.
Her fascination with humor began years ago, after working as a political reporter, press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson, and a speechwriter. She started collecting anecdotes of public figures. Then Lyndon Johnson found out and sent her a message, “Tell Liz to add some jokes.” So, the White House humor group was born, meeting each Thursday during the Johnson administration.
Presidential Humor is filled with witty one-liners, jokes, and political cartoons. Carpenter says, “… the Presidents who have fared the best are those that have a sense of humor.” Each chapter is about a specific category and Carpenter urges readers to steal, borrow, or adapt in any funny way possible. A sneak preview: “LBJ at a barbecue honoring Chancellor Erhard said, ‘Mr. Chancellor, in a few minutes now, I am going to turn you over to the American press. And then I think you’ll know how the deer feel.”
Born in Salado, Carpenter is a sixth generation Texan and is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin where she was (no surprise here) the first female vice-president of the UT student body. She began covering the White House and Congress for the Austin American Statesman in 1942.
During the Johnson presidency, she was executive assistant to the Vice-President, White House staff director, and press secretary for Lady Bird Johnson. Carpenter was in Dallas when President Kennedy was shot and she wrote the 58 words that Lyndon Johnson spoke to the nation when he landed in Washington, D. C., after the assassination.
Carpenter helped found the National Women’s Political Caucus, served on the International Women’s Year Commission, White House Conference on Aging, was Assistant Secretary of Education for Public Affairs, and is a member of the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.