Margaret Truman by The President's House: 1800 to the Present : The Secrets, History of the World's Most Famous Home

was neither glamorous nor powerful, but she was capable and, equally important, loyal.
    JFK remarked one day to his favorite speechwriter, “If I said, ‘Mrs. Lincoln, I have cut off Jackie’s head. Would you please send over a box?’ She would [reply] ‘That’s wonderful, Mr. President. I’ll send it right away. Did you get your nap?’ ”
    Mrs. Lincoln had far more power than most White House watchers suspected. People could get to see the president through her door when they were turned away by JFK’s appointments secretary. But the biggest surprise came when Mrs. Lincoln published her book. While her portrait of JFK is affectionate on the whole, it revealed just how much this bird-like woman saw and remembered. Her JFK did not always wear his famous smile. He often blew his stack and berated everyone in sight, including innocent bystanders. At the same time, the book is a touching story of a country girl from the plains of Nebraska who fulfilled a lifelong hunger for glamour and excitement by getting a job in the White House.
    XII
    In his memoir of his days in William Jefferson Clinton’s administration, Secretary of Labor Robert Reich offers this glimpse of the White House staff.
    The Secretary of Transportation phones to ask me how I discover
what’s going on at the White House. I have no clear answer. . . .
The decision-making “loop” depends on physical proximity to B—
who’s whispering into his ear most regularly, whose office is closest
to the Oval, who’s sitting or standing next to him when a key issue
arises. . . . In this administration you’re either in the loop or out of
the loop, but more likely you don’t know where the loop is, or you
don’t even know there is a loop.
    The Clinton White House may have been more chaotic than most, but in any administration there are always a few aides who are determined to be in the “loop” at all costs. George Stephanopoulos spent four years in the Clinton White House as the president’s senior adviser. Young, bright, and photogenic, Stephanopoulos was quickly singled out by the press as one of the stars of the White House staff. Eventually, however, he began to sour on life in the West Wing. Everywhere he looked, including the mirror, he saw vanity, ambition, and a love of power. Add in the long hours, the constant stress, and the ups and downs of presidential moods, and Stephanopoulos decided to preserve his sanity by bailing out at the end of Clinton’s first term.
    XIII
    Some stars, such as Karl Rove and Condoleezza Rice, have emerged in George W. Bush’s West Wing, but so far no one seems to have become a golden boy (or girl) or a grandstander. There have been rumors of intrigues and rivalries, backstabbing and betrayals—some of which may actually be true. Such things happen even—or perhaps especially—in the White House. But we will have to wait a few years for insider books to be written and historians to mull over diaries and letters and E-mails before we really know what’s been happening. Meanwhile, I continue to believe that, whatever their political views or personal agendas, most of the small army of men and women who work in the West Wing have a genuine commitment to the country. They may never experience the close personal relationship that John George Nicolay and John Hay enjoyed with Abraham Lincoln, but there is a bond of mutual respect and affection. There is also the realization that grueling hours and constant crises are not a bad trade-off for the privilege of serving the president of the United States.
    Questions for Discussion
    What qualities should a president look for in selecting staff members?
    Why is the job of appointments secretary so important?
    Why are White House staff members apt to resign after a year or two on the job?

A 1982 photo of the residence staff in the State Dining Room. Do a head count
and you’ll see why