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Anita Perry: the 53-year-old first lady of Texas on small-town values, getting burned by the press, what we don't understand about the governor, and her reaction to "Adios, mofo.".

Article Excerpt
So are the Hutchisons back on your Christmas card list? They were never off.

Really? You can separate the personal from the political? I can separate it. I'll be honest with you, though. The list has 10,000 to 25,000 names on it. Can I absolutely, positively say they're on there? I think so.

I didn't mean it in the literal sense. Yeah, they would always be on my Christmas card list.

Okay, what about the Strayhorns? Absolutely. If I saw Carole right this minute, I'd ask about her children and grandchildren.

It must be difficult, not as the first lady but as a wife, to turn on the TV and hear someone like the comptroller say such unkind things about your husband. "Drugstore cowboy" was a little too much for me, because when I met him, he was a cowboy, a real cowboy. He had his own horse, and he could saddle it and take care of it. He broke his arm putting his pony in the trailer when he was sixteen. I've actually seen him round up cattle, work cattle, brand cattle, immunize cattle. So he's not a drugstore cowboy to me.

That's only the beginning of what's going to be a difficult, nasty campaign. Are you prepared for what's coming? I am. I'm ready. We've never had an easy campaign, really. Some may have been a little bit lighter than others--maybe a candidate might not have been as well funded or as serious--but we've always had difficult campaigns. That's prepared me. And I'm looking forward to this one.

Are you looking forward to another four years? Because there's a perception out there that maybe you'd rather return to private life than be the longest-serving first lady in Texas history. I've actually just had a person say that to me. A friend of mine said, "Aren't you tired of all this?" I said, "No, I'm not." I like private life, but I love this life.

Even with all the intrusions? You're living in a house that's inherently more public than any place you would be if you were not first lady. I know it's not going to be forever. Presidents continue to have Secret Service protection, but there will be a time when we'll drive out that back gate and go back to our private life. It's a passage.

May as well make the most of it while you're here, right? Tell me some of the...

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