Reply #4: I shook Bill Clinton's hand twice at the White House

[kwassa]

A close friend worked at the White House, so I got the West Wing tour after hours that most tourists never see, including the Oval office. The West Wing is much smaller and more cramped than the TV show, by the way, which adds lots of rooms that don't exist. I also got the Chrismas tree tourist tour in the public rooms of the White House.

Also went to two White House staff parties for the families of staffers on the South Lawn, and shook Bill's hand both times. He loves to work the crowd. One was on the Fourth of July, and something about watching the huge fireworks display (the lawn faces the Washington Monument) from in front of the White House after shaking the President's hand on a hot summer evening with music piped in of Ray Charles singing further down the mall is something I will never forget. I never felt more patriotic, and I don't ususually get into that stuff. Impossible to beat.