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Between times, she keeps tabs on two other careers. The Post is airmailed to her every day, and she reads it closely and critically. The governor, who amiably accepts his role as a Cabinet member's husband, divides his time between Houston and Washington, and young Bill telephones twice a week. Jessica comes down every weekend. In the spare moments of nine days, Oveta and a decorator furnished her eight-room apartment luxuriously, with impeccable Chinese antiques, genuine Matisse paintings.
Beyond a few generalizations (e.g., she will bury Oscar Swing's dream of socialized medicine, is seeking a way to broaden the base of social security), Mrs. Secretary Hobby has made no official pronouncements. Her work has been confined to cutting the budget, and routine command decisions (clearing the way for the appointment of eleven assistants of her own choosing, moving the office hours ahead half an hour). But Oveta's friends and admirers are certain she will have some surprises once she gets the hang of her job. Said one last week: "She'll stay in harness a long time until she learns all the bends in the road. Then I predict she'll come out with some spectacular, original, and very important development in federal welfare."
Whatever Oveta does, she can be depended upon to do it thoroughly. When a reporter asked Will Hobby if he didn't think his wife was just about the smartest member of the Cabinet, the governor gave a characteristic reply: " 'Course she is." he said. "But if she weren't, she'd have them thinking she was."
*The Children's Bureau's Infant Care, which is published in eight languages, has sold 8,519,000 copies (at 20¢ a copy) over the past 39 years. *Jan. 19 is also the birthday of her two children. * Last year Oveta Hobby was eleventh on the list of the world's best-dressed women, in a tie with Mamie Eisenhower. *"Call me Madam," said Frances Perkins, the first woman Cabinet member, on her first day in office—and gave herself a title she has regretted ever since.