Burk Family: The West Wing

Oh my gosh -- where to begin....

Last night, Chuck, Cathy and I had the great privilege of touring the West Wing. Yes, the WHITE HOUSE WEST WING!

And of all the times to forget my new camera. It's sitting on my desk at home! Oh well. We weren't allowed to take pictures in some areas, but Cathy got some good ones where pictures were allowed. She gave me copies that I am using here.

First a little background. Brian Oatley (a friend and IRS colleague) is cousins with an attorney who works directly with President Bush. It was his cousin who personally took Brian, his wife Valerie and the three of us Burks on the tour. Now, regardless of my opinion of the current administration, it was extremely exciting to be able to see everything up close.

Brian's cousin took us to his office. His job is to accompany President Bush everywhere he goes and present to him anything he needs to sign. So, we saw lots of folders containing the actual legislative bills that the President was going to sign within the next few days all organized and ready to go. Brian's cousin also showed us some of the technology used to keep track of where the President is. There was a little electronic display box next to a computer on his desk that is constantly updated by the Secret Service. We could see from it that the president was in his residential quarters eating dinner at the time we were touring. We also saw the secure phone that the President can use when he wants to call up foreign leaders. He literally has them on his "speed dial" so all he has to do is press a single button to call them himself.

Next we went outside and saw the Rose Garden and walked in the porticos that connect the White House to the West Wing offices. Unfortunately for taking pictures, it was dark outside, but there was beautiful lighting. We were right below the famous balcony of the White House. We were told that President and Mrs. Bush often sit outside there at night.

Next, we saw the Roosevelt Room which is where many presidential and congressional meetings take place. After that, we saw the Cabinet Room. It was so cool, because after seeing newscast pictures of the famous meeting that just took place regarding the financial bailout -- you know, the one where McCain was on one end and Obama on the other -- it was amazing to see it in person. I could just imagine the people sitting in there...

Finally, to my utter surprise, we got to see the Oval Office. We all got to look into a door and see the President's desk. What a gorgeous piece of furniture -- intricately carved wood. It is the same desk that President Kennedy sat at when John-John's picture was taken of him. We were like 20-30 feet from it!

The room is exquisitely decorated. There is a gorgeous parquet wood floor. On top of that is a circular rug with the Presidential seal on it that covers nearly the entire room. Each President gets to choose the colors and design of his rug. We also saw the fireplace and the two chairs that he is so often pictured with foreign leaders. It is directly across the room from his desk. In between are some couches and tables. Since we weren't allowed to take pictures, here's one I found on the internet. The door we looked through was the door in the lower right hand corner closest to the fireplace at the bottom of the picture.

The security was tight. Our names had to go on a special list earlier in the day, complete with our social security numbers. We also had to present our driver licenses at two different points and then wear special badges that we used to check in and out of the restricted areas. We also went through metal detectors and our purses were sent through x-ray machines much like at an airport.

This is the door where foreign dignitaries are often received.

The final stop on our tour was the Press Room. It's really quite small compared to how it looks on TV. Each news organization gets one seat and it is inscribed with their organization's name on it. For example, it says NBC, ABC, CBS, Wall St. Journal, NY Times, etc. In the center of the front row, however, is one that says "Helen Thomas." It's the only seat with an individual's name on it. She has served 57 years as a White House correspondent.