more info here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ask/20040810.html
Posted on 05/30/2005 6:42:52 PM PDT by bitt
Washington -- When President Bush shakes 1,000 hands, Blake Gottesman is ready with the Purell. When Bush is in his daily intelligence briefing in the trailer on his ranch, Gottesman is on site to dog-sit Barney, the president's Scottish terrier. When a member of the White House senior staff wants a word with the boss, Gottesman is there to recommend yes or no.
"People will say, 'Is this a good time to raise something?' " said Joe Hagin, the White House deputy chief of staff. "And Blake will say, 'Well, he's reviewing a speech right now,' or 'He's got a couple of members of Congress up in the stateroom on the plane, so it would be better to wait half an hour.' "
Part Sherpa, part butler, part air traffic controller, Gottesman, 25, is the president's personal aide. It is a job steeped in the minutiae of carrying Bush's Altoids, Sharpie markers and hand sanitizer, and in the delicacy of handling the check on the rare occasions when the president dines out. Gottesman also keeps track of the paper flow to the president, logs all his meetings and phone calls, and questions senior aides about grammar and phrasing in Bush's speech texts.
"He'll say, 'You probably ought to take a look at this word,' " Hagin said.
Gottesman, who dated Bush's daughter Jenna in high school, provides a glimpse into the prosaic behind-the-Oval-Office-doors daily life of the modern White House and the needs and habits of Bush. Few people spend more waking hours with the president, and almost no one is better, senior aides say, at anticipating his next move.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
more info here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ask/20040810.html
more about your boyfriend
He dated Jenna when they were 14. I guess the world of our ruling elites is pretty small...
How do you date someone at 14?
Ask Woody Allen.
The Bush's are rather lenient parents, it seems. As much as I respect them, I wouldn't let my kids hang out with Barbara and Jenna.
They are grown-up now and could be responsible. I could understand having friends but the article seems to imply that they dated as teens. Unless of course it was an innocent hand-holding kind of way, this is rather bizarre behavior on the part of her parents.
I am guessing Woody Allen wasnt 14.
Nice way to serve the country at his age. Flamers can infer anything they want....
How do you know this? Or can even conjecture?
As much as I respect them, I wouldn't let my kids hang out with Barbara and Jenna.
Yes, yes you would. Having access to a governor or a president would ease your conscience.
5.56mm
We should all keep in mind the author of this article is Elisabeth Bumiller...of the "I hate George Bush" Bumillers (NYTimes). If there is a way to try and make the Prez and his family look bad, she'll take that angle.
Good article about what sounds like a very good young man.
I am surprised, and a bit dismayed, about some of the snarky Freeper comments.
Yeah, really.....I read the article.....and I don't get the "snarky" comments, either.
Maybe we are supposed to forget about John Kerry's personal manservant and/or footman who serves 24/7. When George Bush leaves the White House this young man intends to finish college.
By not being a complete spaz. That's ninth grade, you moron. There are things such as school dances, movies, sporting events, roller skating, etc. You get an older sibling to accompany you, or go with a group, or get someone's parents to drive and then come pick up. The one thing you don't do is listen to a bunch of sanctimonious retards on some website who think that ninth graders should sit a home by themselves all weekend. It's easy!
I always read these sorts of threads with the view that I'm not pure enough. It tends to prepare me for the needlessly snarky attitudes of the holier-than-thou crowd.
I guess I am an evil influence and a lax parent, and I didn't even know. I will now go do penance.
But is he a better aide than Charley Codman?
Great post! Kudos.
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