SHORT TAKES : First Lady Sees Female in Office

WASHINGTON — First Lady Barbara Bush says it’s not unlikely a woman will be elected U.S. President in her lifetime--but she’d better be a Republican.

In an interview scheduled for broadcast tonight, David Frost asked Mrs. Bush if it might be 25 years before a woman moves into the White House as President, rather than a presidential spouse.

“I don’t know. I plan to be around, so, let’s see, I’m 65. I’m going to vote for her if she’s a Republican. And it might not be 25 years,” she said. “I might not still be voting past that time.”

Frost interviewed President Bush and his wife Dec. 16 in the White House for the program “ . . . Talking with David Frost,” on Public Broadcasting System stations.