Although I never met the late President Bush, I worked in his administration, at the Office of the U. S. Trade Representative as a trade…
Although I never met the late President Bush, I worked in his administration, at the Office of the U. S. Trade Representative as a trade specialist.
While USTR’s building is not on the White House grounds, staff were treated as White House staffers. This meant invitations to the Fourth of July picnic on the White House lawn and the annual Christmas party.
Christmas was special at George and Barbara’s White House. Staff received not only a card but a frameable copy of the Christmas drawing of the White House. Mine is framed and hangs in the main floor of my house.
Then came the Christmas staff party. With so many staff and political appointees visiting, the procedure was to hand out timed entrance tickets. But once inside the White House, one could roam about the East Wing practically at will — nobody was there to push you along to the exit.
There were no velvet ropes to keep us hoi polloi from touching anything. Quite the contrary (and this must have been Barbara’s idea); we were truly welcomed into the Bushes’ home.
