Rosalynn on the Road

Asked by an American if he wanted to meet Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, one Mexican official said, "No, but Mrs. Carter, yes."

Suave and witty as ever, Kissinger had just gracefully proposed a toast to "the health and success of President-elect Jose LOpez Portillo." The guests at the elegant reception given by the Secretary and his wife Nancy in Mexico City last week raised their glasses, then waited expectantly to see how the trim, attractive woman in the turquoise evening gown would handle herself. Taking the microphone, Rosalynn Carter began to speak--and the assembly and the evening were hers.

"I do not speak much Spanish," she conceded, in Spanish. "But when my husband is President next year, I am going to study more, and then return and visit you again. Thank you very much." Although Rosalynn and Jimmy have visited Mexico many times, her Spanish was rusty (as is Jimmy's), and she practiced her phrases with the maids in the U.S. embassy.

On Stride. LOpez Portillo's inauguration was the next First Lady's first venture on the international diplomatic circuit. Although she was not part of the official U.S. delegation, which was headed by Kissinger and included Jack Ford, Rosalynn was carefully singled out for attention by the new Mexican President and his wife Carmen.

In Mexico City, Rosalynn displayed the even temperament and stamina she had shown on the campaign trail. Nothing seemed to throw her off stride, not even the 7,349-ft. altitude of Mexico City, which does in many tourists, nor a rash of antigovernment bombings that erupted just before her arrival. During LOpez Portillo's inaugural speech in the National Auditorium, Rosalynn applauded as the new President appealed for unity and austerity to solve Mexico's deepening economic problems.

Earlier, visiting the National Museum of Anthropology, Mrs. Carter showed knowledge of pre-Hispanic culture--and a ready sense of humor. Pointing to an Indian mural that included a figure with circles issuing from its mouth, Museum Director Dr. Ignacio Bernal jokingly explained, "We call him the politician--the circles represent speech." "Oh," said Rosalynn. "You know, when Jimmy is talking too long, I often look for a signal to give him to stop. Maybe this is what I'm looking for."

Summed up one highly placed Mexican official: "It's actually refreshing for us to have someone of this stature who looks you in the eye and is really interested in what you say, not just going through the usual bland formulas we've created over the years in this business."

Rosalynn Carter may well turn out to be an active presidential wife in the mold of Eleanor Roosevelt, her heroine. "There are so many things that need to be done," she says. "It excites me to think that I could help." She is working with the National Association for Mental Health, and she wants to improve programs for the elderly. She has also promised to "do what I can" to help pass the long-stalled Equal Rights Amendment. She very likely will sit in occasionally on Cabinet meetings and expects to hold issue-oriented press conferences on her own.

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