John McCain and the White House

What a long, exciting and terrific day Wednesday was. I started off earlier than normal by arriving outside of the White House at 7:45. It had been arranged that I was to meet the Congressman's wife by the gate so that she could walk us through White House security (the post 9/11 world prohibits all public tours making the White House only accessible through special access such as when accompanied by a Congressperson or family member accompaniment). I was surprised, and pleased to discover Representative Moore himself out front waiting for me and my fellow interns. It was the first time that I've had the chance to exchange small talk with the Congressman while we waited for the last of our interns to arrive.

Although I did not get to see the entire White House, I did enjoy the experience immensely. I was able to see the East Entrance Wing and the entire first floor (a map of the White House - that you can obtain at the official Visitors Center which is still open to the public - shows a 2nd and 3rd floor above the floor I was on) which includes the Media Room, the Green Room, the Blue Room, the Red Room, the State Dining Room, the entrance/cross halls, the China Room, the Library and the Diplomatic Reception Room. Whoa, that is a mouth full. The rooms were jammed with history ranging from priceless portraits of Kennedy looking deep in thought as he stared downward and Reagan showing the visitors the way out, to fine furniture and low hanging chandeliers. The view outside of the south window in the Blue Room, looking towards the Jefferson AND Washington Memorials, was surreal in it's dramatic beauty. I would highly recommend arranging a visit if at all possible either for the grand views in or outside of the building or the feeling that washes over you being at the epicenter of the free world.

Obviously my arrival to the office was slightly later than normal. Most of the mail tasks of the day passed by quickly and with little standing out as I was still in a blissful state from my earlier experience. What was memorable was that the office began receiving a number of phone calls , obviously all originating from an organized campaign to lobby Congressional Offices. It was nothing near the caliber of ACES but a phone campaign nevertheless. I also left a bit early to make it to an evening, Capitol Hill / Staffers event.

This event was the kick-off of the Summer Intern Seminars hosted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The speakers this week were Senators Robert Menendez, NJ (D) and John McCain, AZ (R). I believe that most of their events are a bit more progressive in nature than conservative, but of course not this one was not. I got there about half an hour before the program was set to begin. None the less, there was a long line around both corners of the the Russell Senate Office Building's Rotunda and by time I got in all of the limited seating was taken and a mass of people were already gathering for the standing room.

I decided to try and maneuver myself towards the front and I was able to find a good standing place about 8-to-10 feet back from the podium where the Senators gave their speeches. McCain's speech covered his perspective ranging from American-Israel policies to the Iraq war and the conflicts in Tehran/Iran. It was interesting to here how a recently defeated Presidential Candidate addresses a new generation of leaders in an off the record discussion. There was no doubt in my mind about how significantly different, and aggressive, a McCain Administration would have been in its foreign policies and actions.

Menedez's speech was overshadowed, partially due to the fact that people like me had been standing for about an hour and a half two hours before he got onto stage. He did give a nice anecdote to how he started off righting the injustices of a corrupt school board bent on gathering dues from low-income students. From what I gathered, he was a bit more diplomatic than McCain.

By 8:30, after such an exciting day, I was ready to hit the rails (the Metro) and call it day.