Whether mourning the loss of the current Presidential administration or counting the minutes until the new one takes over, all Americans are preparing to party (though not exactly like it's 1999) on January 20. You can take a look at the official document of the second Bush administration's legacy at the official site of The White House. Whether this heartens or disheartens you, once you've had enough, visit the First Lady's site.

First Ladies also leave legacies. Abigail Adams, Florence Harding and Hillary Clinton were known as powerfully insightful political partners to the President. Eleanor Roosevelt and Rosalynn Carter were forces to be reckoned with socially, as in their own social ways were Dolley Madison, Mamie Eisenhower and Jackie Kennedy. While Julia Grant was known as a lavish (to some, excessive) hostess, Lucy Hayes was Temperance. Did people who joked about Nancy Reagan's astrologer know about Mary Todd Lincoln's consorting with spiritualists? And did you know that Laura Bush has been amassing place settings?

Presidential China is not a new, frivolous development -- indeed, it is a time-honored tradition. As each administration takes residency, they impart their own style to the residence -- not that different, other than scale, from setting up housekeeping anywhere else. Just as we have presidential pets from horses and goats to scruffy dogs, so do we have china patterns, stemware, art, et cetera. Lest your social conscience be saluting, note: the Bush legacy china, along with other items, was purchased with funds from The White House Historical Association, The White House Endowment Trust, and The White House Historical Trust, each of which, as Mrs. Bush noted, are privately funded for the purpose acquiring objects for the White House.

There are two patterns of Bush legacy china. The first, The George W. Bush State China, features a green basket weave detail with gold trim, anchored by a golden eagle. There are 320 14-piece formal place settings which are appropriate for State occasions. The second pattern, which is not a formal State service, is called The Magnolia Residence China and features alternate patterns of either a single centered magnolia blossom or a rim treatment of magnolia leaves and insects. The magnolia pattern was inspired by a magnolia tree that is regarded as the oldest botanical resident of the White House lawn and is believed to have been planted by Andrew Jackson (though there is no definitive proof of this), and the insects that share the tree's living space. On the china and, presumably, in the plants these include butterflies, dragonflies and ladybugs.

For both patterns, the primary color palette is green. Mrs. Bush noted that, in working to develop the two patterns, she chose green both to contrast with the palettes of the china from previous administrations (red from the Reagans, yellow from the Clintons, both still in service) and to work with any season or decor. Alert citizens will remember that the Magnolia pattern, with its botanical and entomological references, is in the tradition of Lady Bird Johnson's wildflower china. Truly alert citizens will appreciate that the Bush State service references what is known as the "Madison era china," only a few pieces of which survive.

During no time in our recent history has the role of the First Lady been so pivotal. Though First Ladies have often exerted influence on the domestic and international stages, we now have a former First Lady who went on to become a United States Senator and, in all probability, will become Secretary of State. First ladies do a lot more than plan luncheons, but this new china is one Bush legacy that both Michelle and Barack Obama can put to uses practical, aesthetic and State.