What do Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush have in common? Besides being former first ladies, both are former Girl Scouts.
Clinton, current U.S. secretary of state, and Janet Napolitano, head of the Department of Homeland Security, also have something in common with former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. That's right, all are former Girl Scouts.
So are Sally Ride - the first American female in space - and Lt. Col. Eileen Collins - the first female space shuttle commander - and a dozen current and former astronauts.
The list of former Girl Scouts in government includes U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, and dozens of other women in Congress.
And note Lou Hoover - wife of Herbert Hoover - was president before she was first lady. She served as president of the Girl Scouts while her husband was secretary of commerce.
Perhaps all this is just coincidence. After all, over the 100-year history of the Girl Scouts in America, more than 50 million females have been part of the organization.
But more likely, the leadership and character these people learned from being part of Girl Scouts had much to do with their later success.
What is obvious is that, for more than a century, Girl Scouts have helped members get off to a good start in life. For an organization with more than 2.3 million current members, that's a positive sign for the future.
