Transcripts For CSPAN Q A 20150511

Interesting characters. She was convicted of murder in the early 1970s. It is a fascinating story. She was convicted of murder. She was in georgia with her cousin and they got into a fight outside a bar. She ended up killing this guy. She says it was in selfdefense. She went to prison and was on a work release program. She went to the Governors Mansion and interviewed with Rosalynn Carter. Carter loved her and said, would you come and meet our daughter amy . She said the minute she met amy, they clicked. They couldnt stop laughing. They loved each other. Their nanny was still in prison. When jimmy carter was elected president , she went back to prison for a period of time. They had to have the president be her parole officer in order to bring her to the white house. She came to the white house. She was cleared of the charges. I interviewed Rosalynn Carter for the book. She says it was a racially motivated mary says she didnt need her lawyer meet her lawyer until the hearing. There were strange things surrounding her conviction. She was at the white house. They love her. The staff at the white house were suspicious because she was brought in by the family. But i loved her story because you just couldnt make it up. The president was her parole officer, which is hard to believe. Brian where is she now . Kate she lives in georgia and she babysits for hugo, so she is still a huge part of the carter family. I set up the interview with mary through the carters assistance. They consider her one of her own. Brian how often over the years has a president and first lady brought in somebody from the outside, instead of the white house staff . Kate it happens fairly often. The bushes brought one of their personal maids. Nancy ragan took one of the maids with her to california too. It does happen the other way. They grow so close that they bring them with them after they leave. Brian zephyr wright. Kate she was the johnsons longtime cook. They brought her from texas. Ladybird has a great story about driving from texas to d. C. With zephyr, and they couldnt find a place to stay because they wouldnt allow africanamericans in the state hotel. Ladybird is talking to some motel clerk and the clerk says we work them, we dont sleep them. Ladybird says, that is a nasty way to be, and storms off. Zephyr talks about how compassionate ladybird was and how that trip across the country helped to inform president johnson and lead to the civil rights act. It was part of his decision to push for it, seeing their friend go through this. Brian what was her relationship with the president . Kate it was very close. The president would say things to her like, they dont appreciate what im trying to do. Your people dont understand what im trying to do. He felt like Martin Luther king and these other activists werent grateful enough, always pushing for more, never enough. She was a sounding board for him. But she stood up to him. Theres a scene in the book where she got he got angry at her for leaving the lights on. She stood up to him because he was always yelling at people about leaving lights on and trying to save electricity. Shes one of the few people who could stand up to him. Brian your book went right to the bestseller list. It is called the residence. We just showed the cover of it with the white gloves. Whose idea was it for this cover, and this title, and why do you think this shot to the top of the bestsellers list . Kate the cover, i give harpercollins credit for that. It is a beautiful cover. I think it is gorgeous. I think it shot to the top of the New York Times best because it is something people can relate to. Im seeking to show the president s and first ladies as human beings. We know so little about them. Any shred of personal information we get told from a unique vantage point, so it is unique and theres a lot of interest with downtown aby, and the help and this culture that you never see. I think the book shed light on what goes on at the white house. The title, they call it the residence, and i thought that was a great powerful title. Brian you worked in the white house as a reporter for what organization and how long . Kate i worked for Bloomberg News for four years during obamas first term. I traveled around the world and it was a wonderful experience. Before that i was at fox as a producer and cbs as a producer. Al hutnt gave me my chance at bloomberg to go to the white house. But i was in tv first. I wanted to switch to print. Bloomberg is a powerhouse of the wire service. It was incredible. The greatest story was under my nose the whole time, these people who you never see. Brian you say you did 100 interviews with people who worked in the white house . Kate more than 50 former resident staffers and one current resident staffer. And 50 plus advisors. More than 100 people for the book. Including people like president obamas body man, and katie johnson, who had a unique view of these people and how they served the presidency. Brian how often did somebody say to you, you cant write this . Kate only one person said, you are going to have a lot of trouble. It was very difficult to get them to talk. It took two years, a lot of time and energy. This was my fulltime job. But there is one woman christine limerick, the head housekeeper. She was the linchpin for me. Once she agreed to talk to me, and i went to her house in delaware, she opened a lot of doors for me. I think she put in a good word for me. She gave me phone numbers. Brian lets show some video of something we used when we did a special on the white house to give people an idea of what it looks like. Inside the central mansion, there are 130 rooms with a floor plan that unites the ground, state, and second floors, with a centrally located ovalshaped room. On the ground floor, there is a diplomatic reception room, with the library and china rooms complementing it on each side. Next is the state floor, anchored by the blue room in the center, with the state dining room at one end, the east room at the other, and the red and green rooms off to either side. On the second floor private residence, the yellow over room is the central space bordered by the treaty room, lincoln bedroom, and the queens room to the east. And president ial bedrooms and studies, the west sitting all and the families private dining room to the west. Brian to the best of my knowledge, weve never seen any photos of the obamas private quarters. Kate they are so intensely private. They have two young daughters. They are very protective of that space. Understandably i think. But i didnt realize there is this room on the third floor called the solarium. It is a really cool family room. Melia and sasha obama have their sleepovers there. It is where president reagan recuperated after the assassination attempt. There are layers of history in each of these rooms. Brian did anybody let you go to rooms like the solarium . Kate i didnt get any cooperation from the obama white house. The only people who would talk to me were people i knew from having covered it. The closest i got was a lunch with Michelle Obama in the old family dining room. That made me think about doing this book. This butler was coming in and out of the room and serving her. It was a small luncheon with her. It made me think of this other side of the white house. But i never got into the inner sanctum myself. Im even more intrigue. I would love to go there. These resident staffers told me some wonderful things. I can visualize it. Brian who are the thick lens . Kate they are an incredible family. Nine members of the family have worked at the white house. I interviewed james jeffries, the only current parttime butler who i didnt get to interview. He works every week at the white house. Nine members of his family worked there. His uncles were maitre de;s which is like the head butler. They brought him in when he was 17 years old in 1959 during the eisenhower administration. He is still working there. He describes how he used to work in the kitchen. They kept giving him ice cream to eat. It is incredible that he remembers what the eisenhowers were like. Theres this dying breed of person who remember that. Thats what i wanted to do, to pay tribute to these people. Ive gotten some great feedback. They are very happy with it. Six of them have passed away in the past two years. One of them passed away. His daughter wrote me a note saying, thank you for honoring my father. She included a 75 check saying, have lunch on me. These are the kind of people they are, very generous, sweet and kind. Having written a book, you usually dont hear back from people saying thank you. It is usually the opposite. Brian why are so many of the butlers African Americans . Are there any white butlers today . Kate it has changed. Since the clinton administration, it changed a little bit. Historically, it was an africanamerican job. It was a job they were really proud of. They formed private butlers incorporated, a group of butlers who would help each other get jobs. One of the butlers passed away recently. He told me that the women, these ambassadors wives, would introduce him as mr. Westerly, who works at the white house. This was something they were very proud of. It was a good paying job for a lot of the staff. They did very well because they made money outside the white house. I think it is just a tradition. They would bring in their relatives. One person works there and they bring in their brother, then they bring in their cousin. It is about trust. Brian who is Freddie Mayfield . Kate Freddie Mayfield was a doorman. He was there during the reagan administration. People loved him. One of the ushers told me that he was told he needed bypass surgery, and he never got it because he kept saying, i want to be here for the president. Im going to wait for his next trip. He passed away on his way to work. He had a heart attack. I talked to nancy reagan through her assistant, and i said, can you tell me if mrs. Reagan remembers Freddie Mayfield . I got an Immediate Response from nancy, she remembers exactly how sad it was, how empty and lonely it was when he wasnt there anymore because she saw him every morning in the elevator. She still remembered that. She remembered the details. She was at his funeral and repeated a little of what others had told me. It was moving to see the first lady at his funeral. Brian what is the story about nelson pierce and Richard Nixon in seattle . Kate nelson pierce was born in seattle and he heard the nixons were traveling out there, so he asked if he could go on this trip. He tells this beautiful story about being on air force one. He could view all these Beautiful Mountain ranges where he grew up. He said his eyes filled with tears. He was just so moved by that. Afterwards, he went up to mrs. Nixon and thanked her, and she said, i wanted to see the mountains too. It was a sweet thing to do. The nixons came across, from my reporting, as more sympathetic than you would think to the staff. Brian who came across as less sympathetic to the staff . Kate i think the clintons, because they were just dealing with so much at the time. They also werent used to having staff. That is a key difference with the bushes, the reagans, versus the clintons and the obamas. They didnt know exactly how to handle it. They wouldnt tell them when they were eating, so suddenly there would be a panic in the kitchen. The bushes would say, two for dinner at 6 00. It was very regimented. They lived their lives this way. They were very patrician. These people grew up in this luxurious environment. They treated the staff very well, with a lot of respect. Brian i know youve been asked a lot about this, where bill clinton, or Hillary Clinton i think Gary Eldredge was the first to report it. There is a story about the book being thrown. You say that clinton had stitches . Kate that is what a staffer told me. He had to get stitches, and another staffer confirmed this for me. He had stitches. They believe it was a book thrown. Nobody saw the actual book being thrown. The way i described it was, they found blood on their bed. The president says he walked into the bathroom door in the middle of the night. The staff thought that she must have clocked him with a book. I have it on the record from a florist who says he heard them yelling at each other in the west wing hall when he was going to switch out the flowers and he heard a heavy object being thrown. It feeds into the idea that it was a tumble to us time. I think it is understandable. There was a lot going on during their entire eight years. Not just during lewinsky, but before then. I think it was a tough time for the staffers. Brian were you the first to report the stitch . Kate i hadnt seen anything on it. Brian how did they treat you, the clintons, when you wanted to write this book . Kate i asked them for a letter that was read at the funeral of one of these beloved butlers named james ramsey. When he passed away, laura bush went to his funeral. The clintons and the obamas both had letters they sent. The clintons gave me the letter that was read. Thats the closest i got. Brian heres president obama talking about the staff in a brief interview. Mr. President , what is it like to live in the white house . President obama it is an extraordinary experience. The thing that michelle and i and the girls appreciate most is the staff, which are so diligent, constantly thinking about how to make the first family comfortable. It was to some degree an artificial environment. They have become great friends. I think the white house staff has figured out how to accommodate families and make them feel as normal as possible even though there are dozens of people around all the time. You begin to see them as family. Thats the beauty of this place. It is really the staff who make it home for so many different families over the years. Brian what has it meant to the people that work there that this is the first africanamerican pcouple to the president and first lady . Kate one butler told me he would keep working there as long as his legs let him stand. Their secretary said on inauguration day, she could look at these older gentleman and see the pride. The head of operations told me, i dont care if it is a black man, white woman, it doesnt matter to me. Im going to do the job to 100 of my best ability. They stick with that too. Like the president said, they make the house comfortable for the first family regardless of color. But they never thought they would see this day, they told me. It was an incredible moment for them. Brian heres a clip from lady bird johnsons tour of the white house in 1968. It shows the family in the family dining room. Is this where you had your lunch with mrs. Obama . You said it was intimate. Kate there were about 10 of us, 10 female reporters, who covered the first lady. It was to celebrate the anniversary of her lets move campaign. Brian lets watch the johnson family. Having the entire family together for lunch is a joy, but also lindens hours vary with his work and the girls are just as unpredictable. But once in a while, everyones activities coincide and we gather in the family dining room. [indiscernible] brian the little fellow there is Patrick Lyndon nugent. We saw a brief clip of jean allen. Tell us about jean allen. Kate i love this video. He was a butler who the movie the mother was loosely based on. The butler was loosely based on. Charles tells a great story about how he was in the inference rein vietnam the infantry in vietnam. He said, please ask president johnson, is there anything he can do to get me out of this . I will be in the air force anything else. Eugene allen said, if this was president kennedy or anyone else, maybe i could help you but i dont have the relationship with him. They are not supposed to ask for favors. That is a big ask. Charles told me that it was just heartbreaking for him. He really wanted his father to push. Eugene allen was the penultimate butler. He never asked for favors. He was very diligent. People say that he was not the one who asked for a raise for the black staff. Ive been told that that was not something he would do. He respected the institution of the presidency. The way the staff was paid, a lot of the africanamerican staff were not paid as well as the white staff because the white staff worked as plumbers and in different positions. They werent butlers. There was an uprising led by bill hamilton, the storeroom manager. The movie portrays it as something eugene allen did. He was really beloved, but he never stepped out of bounds. Brian what is the difference between eugene allen and skip alan . Kate skip alan is an usher. Hes younger than eugene. He worked there for decades and decades. As an usher, he is more of in a management position. He was in charge of the housekeeping shop and the curators shop. They are in a completely different position. They dont see the residents as much as the butlers. The butlers have the real intimate work. There are six butlers who rotate on the floor and see everything. Those are the hardest to talk to, because they are very careful about what they say. Brian three of your president s how do you ask this, show up on occasion nude. Those three would be johnson kennedy, and reagan. Would you tell a story about each one . Kate johnson was probably the strangest character in the white house. He would often conduct business on the toilet. He was obsessed with the shower and the water pressure. I had seen that reported before. I interviewed the head plumbers widow and she said her husband had a nervous breakdown about the shower and was hospitalized for several days. One scene in the book, the president is trying out the shower, having other people try out the shower, and they would come out beet red because it was so hot and the pressure was so intense. Brian that shower was, ive never heard of a shower like it. Explain what he wanted in the shower. He had one like this in his home . Kate the general manager of the residence, johnson took him aside a couple days after kennedy was killed, and was furious. Right after johnson moved in. He said, if you cant ask this shower, im going to have to move back to the elms, which was his house in d. C. He was obsessed. He had six different nozzles spraying all parts of his body. He wanted to go from cold to hot. He didnt want it warm. He had a bunch of mirrors installed on the ceiling. When the head plumber would try it out, he would come out beet red, his veins popping out. It was not a comfortable thing. President nixon took one look at it and said when he came in he said, get rid of this. All of the work they had done was for nothing. At the very end, before johnson left office, he was using the bathroom and he asked the head plumber to come in. He said, i want you to know that this show were has been my delight. Thank you. That meant the world to the head plumber because he worked so hard to try to please him. They had five different replacement showers. They rerouted the water tanks to make this happen. Everybody was involved in this from the chief usher on down. Brian you say that he had no compunction just to show up nude and walk around the workers and everybody . Kate he was very uncouth. He would talk to people johnson was kind of, he would swear a lot, he would wander the hallways of the residence, he would go to the shops in the basement and stick his head in. If he found a light was on when it wasnt supposed to be, he would be furious. The head electrician described a scene where johnson found a carpenter working late at night and he didnt realize the carpenter was still working at midnight. He was there with a secret service agent. Johnson turned off the light. The carpenter said, what the heck is going on, and came out and found the president standing there. The president said, im sorry, i didnt realize you were still there. He was very intense. I think it was either lucy or linda, they said because he was their teacher before he got into politics, he never stopped grading people. He would grade them on how they did when they were out campaigning. Im so interested in ladybird. One thing she said, she said she took the chief usher aside and said, the president comes first, my daughter comes second, and i take what is left over. She really lived that way. Brian when did the butlers or the maids see a nude woman running around the white house living quarters and it wasnt anybody connected to the family . Kate that was during the kennedy administration. The head electrician and the dog keeper at the time saw some really strange things going on in the second and third floors. They technically werent supposed to wander up there when mrs. Kennedy was out of town. She was often going down to the farm in virginia. During the weekend, she didnt like staying at the white house. The president wanted the staff gone. He would ask for food to be put aside, and a picture of daiquiri s him. His guests said he would swim, sometimes nude, with the secretaries. One staffer told me that they found dave powers, a top adviser to president kennedy swimming in the swimming in the pool naked. It just goes to show they kept all this they kept president roosevelts paralysis secret. They would wheel him in and hide the wheelchair. They were very protective of the first family. Ask when did you start . President kennedy. It is easier to talk to people who have often been, who were alive and can talk about what the kennedys were like. One of these butlers remembers tacky kennedy would ask for different chairs Jackie Kennedy would ask for different chairs to be put in different places. He was younger. He was excited to be there. Everyone would run away. They are very sweet stories i think people remember. Press did she also say she would move furniture and not tell them . The clintons would do that. They would be up until 1 00 or 2 00 moving furniture because he could not sleep. They were very upset by this because all of the furniture is catalogued. You need to know where it is. I dont want to leave the story of nudity until we get to Ronald Reagan. My thoughts for him were proven to be true. You saw him as someone who would be affable. There was a maid walking in on him, and he was in the sitting room naked reading the newspaper spread in front of him. She was so embarrassed she was blushing. Later she said, who was that guy . Lets go back to some video. We do this because of the staff. Flex i just met with the members of the white house staff, those who serve here in the white house. Day in and day out. I asked them to do what i ask you to do to the extent that you are requested to do so, to serve our next president as you have previous president s, because any of you have read here for many years. I was thinking about it as i was walking down this hall and comparing it to some of the great houses i have seen in. This is the biggest house. This isnt the finest house. Many in europe, china, asia have paintings of great value, things we dont have here and will probably never have until we are 1000 years old or older. But this is the best house. Brian last day in the white house. What was the reaction of the staff when he left . Kate they were very heartbroken for him. Some say it was harder than the jfk assassination. You could see him sink into depression. The schedule used to be like clockwork. One watergate kept dragging on when watergate cap dragging on, he would roll up later. There was a painter. He talked about how he was in his allwhite uniform. It was so rushed he was still painting before the president came out. He was the louvres at an staffer in the room at the time. He stood over to the side. Totally worried he was going to stand out. When they see a camera, one usher told me he remembers being caught on camera and being mortified. I spent the time trying to find cletus in the audience but couldnt find him. How much do the butlers make . Kate it depends. The head butler can make a lot. Brian over 100 thousand . Maybe 30,000 for people who are new. They can go up to 100,000 for the head chef, the head butler the head housekeeper. Brian are they Still Service . They are government servants, but they can be higher fired much more easily. The president can fire you for any reason. Brian how many people who work over the years have read books or articles revealing some of the things they saw . Written books or articles revealing some of the things they saw . Kate probably half a dozen. We will see. No one told me there was anything they have to sign. One person said they have to promise they would not write their own memoir for another two decades. Bryant was the predecessor. Brian wrote a big tellall about his time at the white house. I guess it was so concerned about that. Brian at what moment did you interview someone and say, i just picked up some unique . Is it happens all the time. They didnt know what they were sitting on, these great stories. When i was talking about his walk with president nixon after nixon and out his resignation. He was one of a handful of people in the oval office. He had to be there for technical reasons. He had to go back to his office in the basement at the white house, and he heard foot rents. It was the president behind us. The president said, walk with me. Then bill said, you did the best you can do. The president said i wish more people felt that way. His eyes killed with tears. It is very moving. Brian here is gary walters, who was an usher. He was talking about George Herbert walker bush. Gary president George Herbert walker bush is the nicest person that has probably ever lived in the white house. There may be people as nice in the future, but there will never be anybody nicer. When president bush was in japan on a visit, he got sick, but being the gentle man he was seated not want to call off the meal. He got really sick during the actual occasion. When he came back to the white house, it was a monumental trip that included other countries. I interviewed the resident staff, about half of them joined me, and i got surgical masks and put them on everybody when he was coming back in. He stopped by to Say Something to the press. Barbara bush walked in and looked around the room and saw these surgical masks. She broke up laughing and said, george bush is going to fire you all. She turned to me and said, especially you. President bush walked in from the outside and broke up and proceeded to shake hands with everybody and sign their masks. Brian did he ever write a book . Kate no, and i dont think he ever will. Brian did he talk about the good and the bad in the white house . Kate yes, he is guarded. Everybody says that about bush 41. They call him old man bush, talked about how he would play horseshoes with the staff. One staffer told this sweet story about the day his father passed away. He suddenly got a phone home phone call at home. It was the operators saying, can you hold for the president. He said, barbour wants to talk to you. It is very meaningful things they did like that. Barbara bush, i interviewed her. They said when they left the president was too choked up with a motion say goodbye to the staff. They were by far the most beloved residents of the white house. Brian what did the least beloved do that would be the other side . Kate i think the clintons it was very chaotic, and i think it troubled the staff that they didnt know what was expected of them. There were things like moving the furniture changing the phone lines, where calls would have to be transferred by an operator, and the clintons didnt like that system. They didnt trust the staff. Even gary walters who paints everything in a positive light he loves and respects these people. He says the clintons, it was a difficult transition from the bushes to the clintons. Brian here is gary walters talking about the impeachment time in the white house. We talked about tough times in the white house in early administrations. What about times during the impeachment . How did the staff deal with that . Brian quiet. The resident staff takes its lead from the first family. When things arent going well. When family have lost their parents. There have been times like that. It is very solemn. We just do our job and try to make things as mundane as possible. Was there a door slammed here and there . Possibly, but we just carry on. Brian how much of the stuff you wrote about the clintons made it a bestseller . Kate the fact she is running people are intensely curious about her and what they are really like. I think the book shows her as a multifaceted person, like everyone is. Not only was there difficult times, but there are also very sweet stories. As a story in the book about how a president was very upset he didnt get to decorate the christmas tree. He was looking forward to doing this with chelsea, antioxidant ahead housekeeper accidentally put the ornaments on the tree. The president was livid when he saw the tree was already decorated, which i think is a sweet story because it was something he wanted to do with his daughter. The head housekeeper went to Hillary Clinton and said, im worried about this. I didnt realize there was a miscommunication. Hillary clinton said sometimes good deeds dont go over well in this house and was commiserating with her. There are a lot of scenes were Hillary Clinton is commiserating with the help and the staff whom she respected and treated well. The head housekeeper in particular really loved working for Hillary Clinton. Brian another president gerald ford, whats the story about susan ford leaving the white house . She snuck away. It was actually a dare that the secret Service Number dared her to do it. She snuck away. She was in a parking lot tricking beer. They got back, and she said she had a hall and oates concert to go to. President ford, who was an affable man, was so angry with her that night. She was one of the only first daughters to have a secret service protection. He was really concerned for her. How did she actually leave the white house . What were the circumstances . Im trying to remember the scene in the book. She took a car. The gates were opened. The staff couldnt close the gate in time. They pulled the cars around. She just jumped in and met her friends. Its like a scene from a movie. Steve ford tells a great story about a beatup jeep in the same driveway. Every time he would see it was not there a few minutes later. It would not be appropriate to have an old beat up driveway. Car in the driveway. Brian who did you want to talk to who said no . Kate Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton. I wanted to talk to the bush daughters. I interviewed the children, including patricia nixon. The clintons would have been great to talk to. Brian did they give you a reason why they wouldnt talk to you . Kate no. Brian how many times did you ask . Kate probably three or four times. When you get the definitive no, there is no point in going back. I was very happy to talk to laura bush and carter. This book is not partisan. I thought it was important to get mrs. Carter on board too so it was not seen as an ode to the bush family. I just reported this story people told me. Brian where did you grow up . Kate connecticut. I went to school in new york. I went to barnard. Connecticut is where i grew up. Brian why did you get interested in journalism . Kate my father is a rider. He writes biographies. Writer. I dont know how he does it. Brian whats his name . Kate christopher anderson. I grew up watching that thinking it was fascinating. I love to ask people questions and find out about other people. Brian what did you do after you graduated from barnard . Kate i worked at cbs. I went to fox in new york and then d. C. Brian why did you do that . Kate i was into politics. I needed to get out of new york. Brian what was the difference between the cbs News Organization and the fox News Organization . Kate because fox is cable, i actually had more ability to do things. At cbs i was right out of graduate school. I went to oxford for a year. I came back, and i was doing things like putting peoples milk and things like that. At cbs at least i was getting to call people. It was a step up for me. It was a better job. Brian what did you do at oxford . Kate i majored in American History. Brian was this a special, or did you just decide to go there . As been junior year abroad there, and i loved it. I went back for a year. It was an incredible experience. I wrote a thesis about Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and their relationship, but i would also get stopped at customs with people laughing. It was looking at American History from their vantage point. From a different perspective. Brian you say Pete Williams took the picture of you in this book. How did that happen . Kate my husband works at msnbc. He said, pete is a great photographer. I said i dont think he has time to take the book jacket photo. He was so generous. He came over with his lights. I think he did a great job. He was a lot of fun. Brian you have two children you say in the book. Charlotte and graham. How old are they . Kate charlotte is one, and graham is too. I got the sweetest note from the obamas because one of the resident staffers promised me they would get me a note from the white house. I thought that was so sweet to say congratulations on the birth of your daughter. It just shows how these resident staffers always follow through. I called to thank them and they said we are sorry we didnt get it to you sooner. Brian here is Michelle Obama talking about the private residence. We see the bush family during their last six months when they did a documentary. Lets get your reaction to it. I tell people it feels like you are living in this Beautiful Hotel and the ground floor is the lobby, and when you step out into it you are going to interact with a range of people, maybe a group of tourists, maybe you see some staff members, some special visitors and staff. You feel a greeting them. Then you get into the elevator and go into your quiet, private, personal space, and it feels like you are the only People Living here. Brian cut was back in 2009. We have not seen their private quarters. How much of their own furniture to the president s and first ladies bring into the white house . Kate it depends who it is. Laura bush told me she barely brought anything with her. It is an incredible Storage Facility where i would have loved to have gone, but its top secret. They dont let journalists in there. They interviewed several curators who said they catalog all the furniture. You get to choose. You can take furniture that was there during madison and adams. It was incredible. If you are smart and creative you can go to a Storage Facility and pick out furniture. Brian can the first family do anything they want to . Kate with the second and third floors they have a lot of leeway. You have seen with president obama they can change the colors of the carpet and all that stuff. Brian here is another usher. Did you talk to him . Kate yes, i did. Brian lets just listen. Are you going to serve the president . There is no normal day in the white house. Every day is different. I basically manage the operations of executive residence. I do that through 95 terrific people who work here. That includes the chef, the executive pastry chef, the ushers, a electricians, carpenters, florists curators, and a number of other folks. With that group of 95 folks plus another couple hundred extra contract people, our job is to put the best face on the white house. Brian what did you see there . Kate he was a butler i really got to know. Brian the gentleman with the white hair . Kate yes, he was one of the most beloved butlers. He passed away last year. It was crammed with incredible things. You walk into this area. It is a very modest apartment in the suburbs of d. C. , and on the walls are pictures of nelson mandela, bill clinton, autographed photos of president obama saying, thanks for being a good friend. He was incredible. He was a funloving man. It is sad to see it, because i kept asking him to go out to lunch after the first meeting because i knew he had Amazing Things to tell. It turns out the whole time he was really sick and had cancer. I didnt realize how bad it was because it didnt seem, when you would talk to him he seemed ok. A lot of these people who passed away will carry incredible secrets and stories. This book tells a lot of their stories, but its the tip of the iceberg. Brian how did they get the job in the first place . Kate they get it usually through friends. People know somebody. Thats why they are related. There are security checks. They dug through his records and found out he has been charged with rape. They had Chelsea Clinton in the white house. You cannot have some but he was a serious criminal record in the white house. Even a minor criminal record. They would tell me, i have a clean record. That is very important to them. Except for one . The president gave her a pardon . Kate carter cleared her. Mary told me it was out of selfdefense. She didnt deny killing him, but it was out of selfdefense. It went away when she got to the white house. Brian one last area. Walter and i, we did not get along. Because i knew he couldnt cook. Kate that was the executive pastry chef. A funny guy from france. Everybody said it was almost comical. They had to have a separate pastry kitchen built because the two of them kept clashing in this small space. One of the staff said he thought there would be blood on the floor. He was not joking. The executive chef would walk over, hand him the menu and decide to accompany it for dessert. There was no collaboration. They clashed so much. The personalities were so different. Brian did you talk to both of them . Where are they today . Kate they both have written books about their time at the white house. He does a lot of speaking. Walter is younger. The clintons hired him. Walter is more like a ceo businessman. Brian this rogers, who was the social secretary for the obamas, why did she leave . Kate she left because of the incident. She did very glamorous photo shoot. I did interview her for the book. She told me sweet stories about some of the butlers. Including one butler who passed away. She remembers how sad that was. They invited the family to the white house for a service. I think everybody who spoke with me did so because they wanted to pay tribute to these people because no one ever asked them. Brian what is next for you . Kate i am going to hopefully work on a new book. Brian wendy make that decision . Kate hopefully it will come out in another two years. A year and a half. I want to take the time to research it and write it. Brian the name of the book is called the residence. Our guest has been kate anderson. We thank you very much. Kate thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] q a programs are available as cspan podcast. Next, David Cameron remarks on thursdays election results. In ceremonies marking the 70 anniversary at the end of world war ii. At 11 p. M. Q a. The new congressional directory is a handy guide to the 114th congress with color photos of every senator and house member plus Contact Information and twitter handles. Also foldout map of capitol hill, and a look at congressional committees, the president s cabinet, federal agencies. Order your copy today. It is 1395 plus shipping and handling through the online store. Ask the British Elections were held on thursday. Prime minister David Camerons conservative party won a majority of seats in the house of commons, laminating the need for another coalition government. The Prime Minister spoke to the media on friday following a meeting with the queen