President Clinton Gives the Nation a Tour of the White House

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Tonight on Fox there was a surprisingly good show. It was called “The White House: President Clinton’s Gift to the Nation,” or something like that. Mr. & Mrs. Clinton showed some of their favorite places throughout the house & grounds, and at one point Chelsea showed up and pointed out some of her favorite pictures on one of the walls. I was especially intrigued by the footage of some of the private, residential portions of the house. They actually showed the Clintons’ solarium (basically a nice family room), President Clinton’s “music room,” and a handful of other private places.

Some observations:

First, it was refreshing to see Chelsea speak to the camera. I honestly think it was the first time I had ever seen her speaking. She has a bit of a low voice for a woman her age… I also notice that she said “my father” rather than “my dad.” I, too, say “my father” instead of “my dad,” primarily because my father is a bit of an asshole and I don’t like to call him “my dad.” I wonder if Chelsea’s relationship with her father isn’t similarly strained.

Second, I was appalled at what Hillary had done to the grounds. :eek: They were decorated hither and yon with sculptures that looked like they would be more in place in the Museum of Modern Art. :eek: I hope Laura Bush plants some pachysandras or something.

Third, they showed some footage of volunteers decorating the house. As it turned out, the house was being decorated on the same day that Chretien of Canada was there on a visit. As Clinton was smiling and schmoozing with the volunteers (and also introducing the kitchen staff to the cameras), Chretien seemed visibly uncomfortable. I wonder if Canadian politicians tend to keep a bit of distance between themselves and the hoi polloi. Or maybe Clinton’s good-old-boy shtick had grown tiresome on Chretien. Any Canadians care to venture an opinion?

Finally, I’d like to add that it was quite interesting to see the parts of the White House that aren’t on The Tour; especially the private, residential quarters. I really wanted to see their private bedroom, but I gather that Bill & Hillary probably have separate bedrooms by now, and not even Fox is going to broadcast that :D.

2

Shoot, I’d like to have seen that show. Do First Families have free rein (reign) with the rooms they live in, do you know?

You’re probably to young to remember this, but Jackie Kennedy did a TV White House tour too. It was the first time I heard her speak more than a few words, and I remember her soft, monotone voice, and the way she said Jack – very drawn out, like she didn’t want to let his name leave her lips. (Sorry, but for a long time I thought they were quite romantic. Sigh.)

It’s a beautiful building, something we can be proud of.

3

Auntie Pam-

AFAIK, every president basically has free reign to do as he/she pleases with the private quarters of the White House, at taxpayers’ expense, of course :D. In fact, the Clintons’ restored a couple portions of the White House that aren’t private; apparently a couple of historically-signifigant rooms that had fallen into neglect (or were being used by Secret Service as offices, etc.).

And yes, I’m too young to remember Jackie Kennedy’s televised tour of the White House, as my mother would have been in Junior High School at the time :wink: .

4

I only got to watch part of the show. I think a lot of what they were saying was scripted, which may explain why Chelsea referred to Bill as “my father”. Of course, her upbringing may have something to do with that. I haven’t heard too many rich people refer to their parents as “mom” and “dad”. It’s usually “father” or “mother” because it sounds more proper.

What I thought was real interesting was the story behind the Lincoln bedroom. It turns out that it was never their bedroom, it was actually his office. After he died, the staff decided that to make it into a bedroom in his honor. His wife purchased the bed for him as a gift for his second term, but he apparently never got the chance to use it. From what Bill was saying, it sounds like any room on that floor can be used as an office, including the Lincoln bedroom, but that it has been kept a bedroom out of respect for the fallen president.