Laura Bush has handled her role as First Lady with a quiet strength.

It has been consistently obvious the love she has for her family and for those who have served both her and the President.

She has never put herself in a position of embarrassing or appearing to usurp her husband and has always had a clear understanding that the voters did not elect Laura but rather George Bush.

This has been evidenced once again in Mrs. Bush’s recent trip to Afghanistan, and this subsequent piece the First Lady wrote for the Wall Street Journal:

This week has been a study in contrasts. On Sunday, I was in one of the most remote areas of Afghanistan – where unpaved roads are lined by tin-roofed shanties, and most people live without running water or electricity.

Today, I am in the City of Light. Yet while the circumstances of these visits could not be more different, their purpose is the same: to reaffirm the world’s commitment to the people of Afghanistan.

This morning, a delegation representing 80 countries and multilateral organizations will gather here for the International Conference in Support of Afghanistan. This event is a chance for developed nations to learn more about the challenges facing Afghanistan – and to offer the political and economic assistance it needs to recover from decades of war and oppression.

There was no fanfare, no constant photo-ops. Just a woman who is very comfortable in her own skin working for a cause in which she truly believes.