Motherly? I would say DECENT —she treated her subordinates decently.
This article has this amazed tone because a core liberal assumption is that conservatives are not simply misguided or wrong but are seen as consciously choosing EVIL over good —a very simplified view.
I’m not a big W fan, but he treated them this way also. And so did Reagan.
Ever hear the SS talk about CARTER? Or Hillary? She once hit her limo driver in the back of his head with a Bible for NOT running a red light during a drive following church during the Monica Mess.
I have heard some stroies from people who had worked with George H W Bush and Barbara. They treated the staff like extended family.
Here’s to having grown-ups in the White House again.