Posted by Dan Ewert : 3/28/2003 02:30:00 AM (Archive Link)
Speaking of Clinton, check out the book I’m reading right now… it’s called Dereliction of Duty and it’s written by an Air Force colonel who had the responsibility of carrying around the nuclear launch codes during several years of Clinton’s second term. Since he often had to be close by the president, he had the opportunity to observe many things. Things like Bill’s putting off the decision to launch air strikes (we’re talking planes on the runway and ships standing ready and all waiting on a simple ok from the prez) because he was too busy watching a golf tournament. My favorite story thus far was about a young aide who was spearheading the plans for a presidential visit to the Phillipines. He seriously wanted to divert an entire carrier battle group from Australia for the sole purpose of giving Bill a good photo op with the sailors on the carrier’s flight deck because it would be “awesome.” It took several days before the aide could be convinced that this was a bad idea from economic, military, and diplomatic standpoints. Not a direct Clinton story, no, but indicative of the crew he ran and just how well they understood things, especially military things.

Ok… no, that’s not my favorite story, this is, and I’ll just quote:

“The Clinton staff could be publicly embarrassing as well. During the May 1997 presidential visit to Holland, our Dutch host rolled out the red carpet. Each Royal Palace room was stocked with food and a complete liquor bar for every staff member. A very thoughtful gesture, I thought, since we getting in so late—a snack and a drink sounded great. The next morning, as we were leaving for Air Force One and our next country, the Dutch military aide pulled me aside to complain. ‘Your people took all of the liquor,’ he said under his breath, obviously embarrassed for me. ‘And they stole crystal and china, too,’ he added. He was completely floored by the audacity of the Americans from the White House. I apologized for the White House staff. But I’d seen it before. This presidency was about them.”

Classic! You can check out details of the book here and here. It’s a pretty quick read and has all sorts of amazing (in a bad way) anecdotes.