<p>^^ Was that park at the White House, TheDad? I’ve heard some people commune with Eleanor Roosevelt there. :)</p>
<p>A blast from the past:
<a href=“http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.17294/article_detail.asp[/url]”>http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.17294/article_detail.asp</a></p>
<p>When I was very young, my mother took me to see JFK give a speech when he was running for president. I still remember standing in the throngs of people listening. I’ve never met Bill Clinton but my H has. He found him to be an intelligent man, which was no surprise, but a bit full of himself, also no surprise. My H is not a fan of BC’s personal ‘shortcomings’, so to speak. However, given the choice between those personal shortcomings and the myriad of shortcomings of the current resident of the Oval Office, I believe he’d have little difficulty in choosing BC. We also have a friend who is a former politician and ambassador who has met leaders from around the world. He says that BC is absolutely the most charismatic individual he’s ever met, as well as being one of the most interesting to talk to on just about any subject. I’d vote for him again if it were possible, and I did vote for HRC.</p>
<p>Alexander Hamilton. Indeed. what a rare sighting.</p>
<p>When S was in first grade Bill Clinton visited our (very political) state. He had made a campaign promise that if he won the election, he would give the commencement speech at the local community college. We had no idea he was going to be in town. S was playing baseball at the park across the street and wanted to go see the mounted police horses. We then noticed the secret security guys and the motorcade. We decided to walk across the street to see what was going on. Not only did S get to shake hands with Clinton when he got out of the car, but S was interviewd on TV! That was pretty exciting for a first grader, and quite a memorable experience. No mattter what we think (or thought) about Clinton, he was the President of the United States at the time.</p>
<p>(This was before the scandals…)</p>
<p>“He says that BC is absolutely the most charismatic individual he’s ever met, as well as being one of the most interesting to talk to on just about any subject.”</p>
<p>Yup. Usually true of most mass murderers, or so I’m told. (I’ve never actually met any, though I voted for one. :()</p>
<p>Many moons ago, when I was young AF Capt (and still had hair and a flat belly!), I airlifted Bush Senior’s White House vehicles to Iowa during the primaries. Shook hands with Bush Sr., but even better, my co-pilot and I got a great picture with Barbara Bush. She was wonderful. She looked at the two of us and said, “You two look too young to be pilots. You look like my grandsons.” I’ve liked her ever since!</p>
<p>Two years ago I was leaving the National Press Building in the middle of the day, around lunch hour. I started to walk through the double entrance, and vaguely noticed all the cameras pointed directly at me, or so it seemed…anyway, it’s the press building, and so it’s normal to see tons of cameras and photographers all over the place, so, I wasn’t really focused, and not thinking about it. One photographer smiled and waved though, so, I happily smiled and waved back. </p>
<p>But as I approached the front door, I noticed it was raining. This upset me, because my umbrella was back on the 12th floor where I’d been doing some work, and, lunch hour in that building it’s often a very long wait for the next elevator. Plus it had been raining for days on end. </p>
<p>Out of total frustration I started complaining to the complete stranger walking beside me, who I was only peripherally aware of - but I knew someone was right next to me. I said lame stuff along the lines of “what do we need to do to get some legislation passed in this town to get the weather changed” and “why is it that all it ever does is rain here” and “how annoying, can’t anyone make it stop?” and “what country do we invade to fix this” and so on…anyway, the person beside me kind of chuckled and nodded in sympathy, sort of the way a very gracious person might very diplomatically tolerate a nutcase - but I still didn’t stop, I went on with “well, look at this, who wants to get wet during the only few minutes free time they have out of an entire 24 hours” and “all the power in this town, no one can do anything about the rain” and so on…</p>
<p>The guy kind of chuckled, and, walked right out of the building, and into a waiting limo. Then I noticed the cameras were trained on him, not me. He smiled and waved at everyone just as he got in the limo; that’s when I recognized his profile. </p>
<p>It was Colin Powell. </p>
<p>Embarrassed beyond belief, I went back inside the building, figuring I’d get my umbrella, and try again for lunch. The building security guards were laughing hysterically…</p>
<p>Mini, do you mind explaining why BC is a childkiller and a mass murderer ?</p>
<p>Already done multiple times. Do a search.</p>
<p>To quote the then Secretary of State: “We think it was worth it.”</p>