News analyst Cokie Roberts had a glow to her as she greeted admirers after her talk at the Sun Valley Writers' Conference on Saturday, Aug. 19. After all, this is a woman who likes talking to people and likes when an audience is receptive. It is not always thus for the multi-award winning, ABC and NPR political news analyst. Often she must contend with the likes of George Will and Chris Matthews. They should know better.
Born Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborn Boggs in New Orleans, Roberts grew up in the 1940s and 1950s in Washington D.C. Her father, Hale Boggs, was elected to Congress when he was 26. Her mother, Lindy Boggs, was just 24.
They were hardly the first in the family to go that route. In fact, her ancestor William Claiborne became a member of congress in 1790. As the sole representative from Tennessee, he was instrumental in breaking the electoral tie between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson. Claiborne became the first governor of the Louisiana territory. Thereafter, a Claiborne was active in Louisiana politics in every generation, right through to her mother.
After her father was killed in a plane crash, her mother ran for his office and served nine terms in Congress. Fittingly, Robert's 1998 book of essays is called "We Are Our Mothers' Daughters."
Married to fellow journalist Steven V. Roberts, with whom she wrote "From This Day Forward," she collaborates with him in a number of areas: children, grandchildren and a weekly syndicated newspaper column.
Her talk at the Writers' Conference was centered on her latest tome, "Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation."
Roberts said that while the men who would be known as the Founding Fathers were away in Philadelphia—or in Benjamin Franklin's case in Paris—deciding how and where to attack and defend against the British, the women were raising children, taking care of the farms, paying the bills, fighting off the enemy, hiding out and writing copious letters.
Without the latter, Roberts would still be in the dark, and so would we, about the efforts of these pioneering women. Through letters and journals she gives light to the subject and in so doing has given long-overdue recognition to women such as Eliza Pinckney, Sarah Jay, Esther Burr, Deborah Franklin, Annis Stockton, Abigal Adams, Mercy Warren, Martha Washington, Elizabeth Hamilton and many others.
"The country was saved in large part by the valor of these women," she said. "History is so fundamentally fascinating. You can't just learn about it and not share it."
She began her quest into the subject when she realized there was nothing already written about the women and their interconnected stories. During research for "From This Day Forward," she read the letters of Abigail and John Adams and included them in the book, which looked at the state of marriage. It sparked her interest.
"I came to realize my ignorance and spent a couple years researching and writing. They've been wonderful to learn about."
Smaller in person than she appears on television, Roberts is still an imposing figure. Her voice alone carries with it the weight of a connected Washington insider. She is so personable and straightforward that it's nearly impossible to discuss everything with her one would want.
When asked if she sometimes thinks she juggles an awful lot of balls, she said, "Once you've raised children while working full-time, everything else is easy. That's such hard work."
Cokie Roberts greets admirers at the Sun Valley Writers' Conference earlier this month. Photo by Barbi Reed, courtesy Sun Valley Writers' Conference
