White House Confidential by Gregg Stebben

Author:Gregg Stebben
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2016-09-26T04:00:00+00:00

CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENCY: THE DAY THE LOVE AFFAIR ENDED

Today, as we all know, the Senate has one hundred members, but when George Washington was president, the Senate was a small, intimate group of just twenty-six.

This made it easy for all of the members and the president to have a close, conversational relationship.

But keep in mind that despite the warm reception George always got when he visited the Senate, the Constitution is also quite clear about the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. And George found out exactly what this meant on the day he appeared before the twenty-six senators, as he had always done, and made his pitch about the bill he wanted them to sign, as he had always done.

Unlike all his previous encounters with the Senate, on this day, the members did not rush to give him the vote he wanted.

Instead, they squirmed and fidgeted and stared at their shoes while George stood before them in uncomfortable silence.

Then, finally, one senator explained to the president that it was their right to discuss the bill in private before voting on it. At which time a stunned George Washington took the hint and headed for the door.

“I CHANGED MY MIND”

While Harry Truman was president, it became obvious the White House needed major renovation work done after Harry, and the bathtub in which he was soaking, almost fell through the floor and into the middle of a reception Bess was holding for the Daughters of the American Revolution.

While it was true the house did need a new foundation, reinforced beams, steel framing, fireproofing, air conditioning, and the latest in communications technology, it was Truman’s idea to add a balcony to the second floor of the South Portico so he and his family and their guests could sit outside and enjoy Washington’s evening breezes.

Truman, however, didn’t anticipate the expense of the balcony project or the controversy and problems the addition would create, especially for the Treasury Department. After all, there were millions of twenty-dollar bills in circulation that showed the White House without a balcony, and what on earth were they going to do about that?

But Truman put his foot down, got his way, and got his balcony. He and his family moved out of the White House for twenty-seven months, living across the street at Blair House while the executive mansion could be gutted and rebuilt.

Here’s the punchline of the story: two days after the White House project was complete, Harry Truman announced he wouldn’t seek reelection.

LINCOLN-KENNEDY COINCIDENCES?

You’ve heard them before:

• Both had seven letters in their last names, both were over six feet tall, and both were athletic.

• Both were shot in the head on a Friday, and both were seated beside their wives when shot.

• Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre, and Kennedy was shot in a Lincoln limo, which is made by Ford.

• Lincoln was in Box 7 at Ford’s Theatre, and Kennedy was in Car 7 of the Dallas motorcade.

• In both cases, the assassin had three names with fifteen letters: John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald.

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