White House Arrival Ceremony, Fife & Drum Corps

White House Insider returns to the White House South Lawn on Wednesday, for the Obamas’ second State Visit Arrival Ceremony – for President Calderon of Mexico. This will be the first time I experience this event as a guest, rather than as the organizer. I’m the ONLY person, other than Presidents and First Ladies, with eight years of participation in these events, so I know all the behind the scenes scrambling that goes on that morning. And, there’s some nice symmetry, since I now LIVE in Mexico, so I’m more familiar with Mr. Calderon than most Americans.

The White House Visitors Office coordinates with the Social Office and the Military District of Washington to arrange all the details – and there are plenty. Arrival Ceremonies are highly choreographed diplomatic welcomes hosted by one Head of State for another. At precisely 9:25 a.m. the visiting dignitary and spouse step into a limo – you know, the kind with the little country flags on the front bumper – at Blair House, the President’s guest house, across Pennsylvania Ave from the North Front of the White House. The moment they depart, the Blair House manager calls the White House and alerts them. Precisely five minutes later they arrive at the South West Gate, and the limo rolls slowly up the driveway.

The President and First Lady step out of the South Door of the White House, above them on the Truman Balcony the herald trumpets play a fanfare, and the car arrives. Secret Service officers from the Dignitary Protective Division open the doors, the guests step out and there are handshakes all around. The President gestures for the head of state to step with him to a low platform with a lectern. The First Lady and guest spouse step to an area near them on the Lawn. All around are personal guests of the President, members of the Head of State entourage and security, Members of Congress, the press, and on the South part of the Lawn, thousands of invited guests stand in the sunlight taking photos of the pageantry.

In the Clinton years, the first Arrival Ceremonies we did had the press riser directly in front of the platform. Then the President asked us to add in an area for his friends in front of them. He said if he had to look at somebody, he’d rather be looking at friends when he spoke. Made sense to me! We called this area the “gold rope” area, because we never wanted to use the term “VIP.” I thought everyone who came to the White House was a VIP and we didn’t want any guest to feel less special than another. We used to put little sticky dots (from the office supply store) on their lapels so we could quickly identify them.
The two Heads of State make brief speeches. Your country and the USA, yada yada yada, long time friends, yada yada yada, Thomas Jefferson and our country, yada yada yada, Abraham Lincoln, yada yada yada … you could play buzz word BINGO from the predictability of these speeches!

Then everyone watches the President’s Own Fife and Drum Corps march in colonial style uniforms, and play colonial era music. Very colorful! The heads of state step down, the President invites his guest to join him in reviewing the troops assembled on the Lawn. And that’s about it. All the dignitaries step into the Diplomatic Reception Room and the President has a meeting with his counterpart in the Oval Office while the First Lady hosts a coffee in the Residence (top two floors) for spouse and a few others. In less than an hour they’re out the door and on their way.

The guest couple will spend the day in ceremonial activities, addressing Congress, visiting schools or hospitals or museums … when I was at the National Gallery of Art in the 1980s, it was a big deal that Raisa Gorbachev came to visit our Georgia O’Keefe exhibit. We called her security detail “Mikhail’s Navy.”

And then that night is Washington’s most important and high-profile event, the White House State Dinner – our equivalent of the Academy Awards. Remember the old saying? “Politics is show business for ugly people”? Well, this is the night all the political and diplomatic people get to show up in the limelight and shine. Just watch them walk past the press on their way in to the dinner – you’ll see some funny distinctions. The political people all scurry past, heads down, eyes averted. God forbid they get trapped into talking to the press! But the movie stars, musicians and athletes who make the dinner interesting aren’t afraid of the press – they LIVE for the press. So they stroll in, smiling and happy to chat with reporters.

This is a great opportunity for all White House fanatics. We’ll all be watching to see who’s on the guest list, what the ladies wear, and what’s on the menu. I like to see how the tables are decorated – which china is used, the Reagan red or Hillary Clinton yellow? What do the flowers look like? There’s a new florist in the White House since Nancy Clark retired after 25 years. He’s got a more modern take on flower arrangements, and clearly Mrs. Obama likes his unusual arrangements (I do too.) You may think flowers are frivolous, but they’re NOT. During the cold war when Soviet leaders stayed in Blair House, the florists were instructed to change the flowers in every room EVERY time the guests moved to another room. EVERY time. The idea was to make the point that America is a country of limitless riches and resources. With flowers!

Well, I’m really looking forward to being on the Lawn on Wednesday. I hope the Obamas get the same great weather for outdoor events we always did – except for poor Tony Blair who came in an ice storm … and regardless of weather, it’s always an honor to be at the White House!

Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House

I know exactly what happened to her, as I’ve seen it many times. Washington just hates anyone who is too obvious about being stylish and successful – especially if that person is “staff”. It’s moronic, it’s sometimes vicious, but it’s very predictable. Ms. Rogers thought her participation in fashion and the performing arts were an asset to White House entertaining. In the real world, the world of results, most sane people would have agreed. But in Washington, as Vince Foster famously said, “destroying people is a sport.”

With her brilliance, style and femininity, she drew attention to herself, rather than the Obamas, and in that she committed what Washington views as an unforgivable sin: “Thou shalt not stand out.” Just watch the news and see how the truly powerful women present themselves. Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Senators Blanche Lincoln and Kay Bailey Hutchison? The highest fashion statement allowed is a nice St. John suit, preferably black, but cherry red allowed for festive occasions. Bonus points – it doesn’t wrinkle. And on their feet, sensible pumps. You never see a ruffled violet blouse, or a pretty skirt and jacket that don’t match. The height of jewelry style is the ubiquitous eagle-on-a-pearl pin. It’s a uniform, and every woman in power is supposed to adopt it, if she wants to be taken seriously.

In New York and Los Angeles successful women get to express themselves with their individual taste and observers enjoy it. In fact, who will even believe you’re successful if you don’t flaunt it? In Washington, God forbid you draw attention to yourself for your femininity or fashion sense. The old boys’ club doesn’t like being reminded that it’s no longer just an “old boys” club. Remember Hillary and her black pant suits? She did that to make people take her seriously – and it worked. Ms. Rogers didn’t understand that as STAFF, she’s not supposed to be in the news. She’s supposed to be behind the scenes and as invisible as she can make herself. Interviews with Vanity Fair, Vogue and the WSJ are simply not part of that program. She stuck her neck out, probably because her many successes in Chicago and her longtime friendship with both Obamas made her feel secure. But she’s not their only friend, and apparently Axelrod and Jarrett and some of the rest of them also didn’t like her prominent public image. So, off with her head (metaphorically speaking.)

That’s Washington’s sad reality.

We happened to arrive at the beginning of the biggest blizzard in Washington in 90 years, but I remember one just about this wild, in 1993. We knew it was coming, so my assistant and I stayed in the office until midnight, cranking out letters to Members of Congress. We had no idea when we’d be able to get back in – and that was days later. The White House is amazing in EVERY kind of weather.

The House looks beautiful, as always. I like the changes Mrs. Bush made, moving the Georgia O’Keefe painting from the Green Room to the Library. It’s so completely 20th century in that 19th century room. I was struck by how extraordinary the flower arrangements are. The new chief florist has a very different, contemporary vision and expresses it in tall glass vases with twigs tied around the outside with twine, and flowering quince branches spreading out. Some vases are covered in wavy Magnolia leaves – like the pleating on a Fortuny dress. Exquisite! The White House has always had gorgeous flowers, but now they reflect the youth and style of the current First Family. I remember once coming back from a trip to London. I rushed to the flower shop to tell the chief florist that the White House has WAY better flowers than the Queen does at Buckingham Palace

I connected with US Secret Service Uniform Division officers who remembered me, and household staff – some of whom have been there 20 years or more. Gave out some books, with a wink, and told them they’d remember a lot of these stories. A Congressman in the room rushed over and said, “Melinda! Oh my gosh! I heard your voice and knew it had to be you! How nice to see you, and what a great time we had in the Clinton years…”

It was a very emotional visit for me. Walking past the East Wing doorway to our office suite, seeing the ramp I had built for mobility-impaired guests, walking through these familiar spaces, remembering events from press conferences to holiday balls, arranging lunch for PM Begin and Arafat in the Library, sweeping up the stairs to the East Room in a ball gown, standing out on the South Lawn in the freezing dawn, waiting for Marine One (the President’s helicopter) to arrive, wilting out there in 100 degree heat and humidity during an Arrival Ceremony … I tell some GREAT stories about all this in my book (click above to buy!)

The Secret Service and Visitors Office very kindly let me contribute to the special tour for the group I brought, so it felt just like old times. How I loved my time there, and how I miss being in the heart of the most important place in America. And here’s a little secret no one else will tell you: It’s a LOT of fun to be important, and a little hard to let that all go when it’s time!

Yes, I’m heading back to Washington on February 5 for a trip to the Oval Office – my first time there since January 19, 2001, when I said my goodbyes to President Clinton.  Can’t wait to see the changes there, and, of course, can’t WAIT to see President Obama!

Why am I going?  Well, since last September I’ve been working with the White House to arrange a visit for the Park View Little League world championship team.  This is a great group of boys from Chula Vista, a suburb of San Diego just north of where I live in Baja.  A friend asked me to get involved after they won, and the Vice President told them the President would enjoy meeting them.  Since I still had a White House phone book, I knew how to reach the right office, and I still speak White House, so that was helpful.

It’s been a very interesting experience, working on this trip from the visitor side, when all my experience was on the inside side, making the arrangements for the celebrity or worthwhile cause du jour.  The White House Office of Public Engagement has been gracious, kind, professional, and fun to work with.  The White House Visitors Office will set up the tour (just as we always did), and then the boys will meet the President and have a picture taken they’ll treasure all their lives.

I’m trying to imagine what it will feel like to be on that tour.  To walk those rooms that were almost like home to me for eight amazing years, now as an outsider come to visit.  It’s creeping into my dreams these days, as I get ready to pack up the winter clothes and head East for the first time in a year.

I’ve been back to the White House several times since all us Clintonites left in 2001, once as the guest of the George Bushes, for the unveiling of the Bill and Hillary Clinton portraits, and once 18 months ago, just to say hello to old friends who still work there.  But going on a tour, instead of GIVING the tour, may feel very strange.  Maybe the Secret Service tour officers will let me tell some of my funny stories that are not part of the “official” history of the White House.  I’m pretty sure they won’t let me wander on back to “my” office in the East Wing, but maybe the current Director will welcome me for a brief visit.

I can’t wait to see how everything looks.  I noticed on my last visit that the House looked exceptionally beautiful.  Laura Bush was a very good steward of America’s House.  I’m sure the Obamas are too.

The answer to that question is the part of the story that’s most shocking, because it’s inconceivable there would be a social event of any kind – much less a State Dinner, the most important event of all – without any staff from the Social Office there to welcome and check in every guest.  And yet, that’s what happened.  No one from the Social Office at the gate, and now the Social Secretary saying that apparently they need to do that.  Gee, you think?

OF COURSE there should be Social Office staff at the gate!  They’re the ones who create the lists, know the names, know who’s important to the President and First Lady – just in case a real guest name has been left off a list.  They manage all the last minute changes from cancellations and additions.  And they’re the ones who should decide if a person should be added to a list at the gate – not the Secret Service!  If they say so, then the guest’s name, date of birth and social security number are put into the clearance system, they wait for approval, and the guest gets to enter.  That’s how it’s supposed to work, anyway.

I am speechless at the idea that the Social Secretary didn’t think this process was necessary.  Actually, I was already shocked to see Desiree Rogers arriving as a GUEST (in a very strange dress) rather than running around behind the scenes to ensure every little detail was perfect.  You can’t delegate these things, at least not at the White House, and you can never assume things will go the way you planned – at least not at the White House!  Your plans may be brilliant – probably were brilliant -  but nothing important goes off without some little problem. Apparently the Omaba team believes all the hype about their exceptionalism.  Big mistake.  They may be different, may actually BE the smartest people in the room, but that doesn’t change the White House, a place that eats smart people for lunch.

I know the Secret Service, by nature, will tell White House staff they can handle anything – are happy to handle anything.  But that doesn’t mean they should.  And White House staff who have been in place almost a year now should know that.

Arrival Ceremony from a bird’s eye view

The Nov. 21 edition of the Washington Post has a photo montage of State Dinners from President Eisenhower to Bush 43 – wow, did these bring back some amazing memories!

Take a look at the Emperor and Empress of Japan, the Clintons’ first State Visit.  Nothing like starting at the top – there aren’t a lot of Emperors left in the world, are there?  Planning for this, and any State Visit, takes many months, and begins when the State Dept. reaches out to the suggested country.  Of course, it would be very strange and rude for a potential guest to decline an invitation to the world’s most famous House.  But then the real work begins – coordinating schedules to find a date that works for both countries.  Once that’s nailed down, planning at the White House begins.

The first part of a State Visit is the Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn – and I organized ALL of these for the Clintons.  Like everything dictated by protocol, it’s a tightly choreographed dance.  First are the invited guests : Members of Congress – who rarely come , personal friends of POTUS and FLOTUS,  who get to stand right in front, random celebrities who are invited to the State Dinner that night and don’t need all day to primp, groups of school children and organizations related to the guest country.

The press are lined up standing on risers facing the low podium.  The President and First Lady stand just outside the Dip Room as the limo with the guests arrives.  The four “principals” walk to the Lawn, with the spouses standing to the side and the Heads of State walking to the podium.  The two anthems are played by the Marine Band.  (Americans need to learn to shut up and stand at attention for these – it’s respectful!)  The President makes welcoming remarks about the long, warm relationship between the two countries, and the Visitor responds with warm remarks about … the long, warm relationship between the two countries.  You could sum it all up as “Yada yada yada Thomas Jefferson yada yada, Abraham Lincoln yada yada yada …

Next the “President’s Own” colonial style marching band … marches and plays colonial era martial music.  They’re very colorful and fun.   The two leaders march off to review the troops standing at crisp attention.  In hot weather it’s always fun to watch for the occasional fainting soldier.  This is actually a good reason to NOT hold these events on Mondays, ‘cause the soldiers are young and tend to spend the weekends partying, and are majorly hung over on Monday mornings.  Anyway, they are specially trained to faint by falling backwards.  If they do that, there are spotters standing behind the formation ready to just haul the unconscious soldier back and away.  Occasionally you can see a pair of empty shoes where the soldier used to be!

After all this the two leaders go off to the Oval Office for a meeting, and the First Lady entertains the spouse with a coffee reception.  In 30 minutes they’re out the door, and the White House swings into REAL preparation for the State Dinner that night.  For this, see my next post!