2 “It’s a majestic symbol”: Author’s interview with President George W. Bush, Oct. 1, 2002.
2 “It has,” says pollster Bill McInturff: Author’s interview with Bill McInturff, Aug. 7, 2002.
3 “I can get more done”: Reagan was quoted in Air Force One: The Planes and the Presidents, Flight II, written, produced, and directed by Elliott Sluhan, Public Broadcasting Service, May 20, 1991.
3 “I think in general”: Author’s interview with President Bill Clinton, Sept. 2, 2002.
3 “Behind all these other changes in the middle years”: Dwight D. Eisenhower, The White House Years: Mandate for Change 1953–1956, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1963, p. 491.
4 “The White House is now a glass house”: Author’s interview with Doug Brinkley, Aug. 16, 2002.
5 “In a sense”: Author’s interview with Karl Rove, Jan. 31, 2002.
5 “This is a place”: Author’s interview with David Gergen, June 26, 2002.
7 “To the extent”: Author’s interview with Mark Penn, Apr. 15, 2002.
8 And it has served as a political reward: Agence France Presse, “Big Clinton campaign donors hitched rides on Air Force One,” Apr. 15, 1997. See also Brian McGrory and Michael Kranish, “Donors flew on Air Force One, records show,” The Boston Globe, Apr. 15, 1997, p. A17.
8 “I think you get a relatively complete”: Author’s interview with Andrew Card, Apr. 15, 2002.
8 “Every Air Force One reflects”: Author’s interview with Leon Panetta, Apr. 8, 2002.
8 “I rarely had that much unimpeded”: Author’s interview with President Bill Clinton, Jan. 28, 2002.
8 “There’s something about the power”: Author’s interview with Doug Sosnik, Dec. 26, 2001.
9 “He had been through a trial by fire”: Author’s interview with Robert Dallek, Feb. 8, 2002.
9 Once, his aides said, he got “euphoric”: Robert Dallek, Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times 1961–1973, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 82–83.
10 “We had actually quite a lot”: Author’s interview with President Bill Clinton, Jan. 28, 2002.
11 “He is a smart guy”: Author’s interview with Sandy Berger, March 7, 2002.
11 They sat for 18 hours: This account of the trip to the Sadat funeral is based on separate interviews that the author conducted with Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford on Jan. 25, 2002.
12 “Of course he had”: Author’s interview with President Jimmy Carter, Jan. 25, 2002.
13 Ford has a similar recollection: Author’s interview with President Gerald Ford, Jan. 25, 2002.
14 “I saw it as the symbol”: Author’s interview with President George Herbert Walker Bush, Feb. 5, 2002.
14 “With President Clinton”: Author’s interview with Joe Lockhart, Dec. 18, 2001.
15 “Coming back from an economic summit”: Hedrick Smith, The Power Game: How Washington Works, New York: Ballantine Books, 1988, pp. 75–76.
15 “It’s almost a mythical place”: Author’s interview with Doug Brinkley, Aug. 16, 2002.
16 “The entire government”: Author’s interview with Stan Greenberg, Apr. 23, 2002.
16 “For friends and supporters”: Author’s interview with Bill Galston, Apr. 24, 2002.
17 78 percent of adults: Survey conducted by Frank Luntz of Luntz Research Companies for this book, May 2002.
17 The mystique grows: Ibid., Luntz poll, May 2002.
17 In a separate survey: Survey conducted by Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies for this book, August 2002.
18 “300 to 400 government officials”: Hedrick Smith, The Power Game: How Washington Works, New York: Ballantine Books, 1988, pp. 75, 11–12.
20 Security and safety measures: This section on security is drawn largely from my own nearly 20 years of covering the presidency and flying on Air Force One. I have interviewed many government officials, crew members, and security authorities about the security arrangements, but most preferred to remain anonymous. Ralph Albertazzie, who was Nixon’s pilot, provided extensive information in an interview July 17, 2002. Also see Ronald Kessler, Inside the White House: The Hidden Lives of the Modern Presidents and the Secrets of the World’s Most Powerful Institution, New York: Pocket Books, 1995, p. 23. In addition, see J. F. terHorst and Ralph Albertazzie, The Flying White House: The Story of Air Force One, New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1979, pp. 98–99, 194–98.
23 Just after midnight on May 27, 1997: Paul Hoverstein, “Unfriendly skies know no president,” USA Today, June 4, 1997, p. 6A.
27 “We make sure that anything”: Author’s interview with Howie Franklin, May 24, 2002.
28 “It makes a big difference”: Author’s interview with Tim Kerwin, Aug. 6, 2002.
29 “Every president that I worked for”: Author’s interview with Howie Franklin, May 24, 2002.
30 $348 per hour: Unbylined article, “Columbine Cost Cited: Hagerty Itemizes Expenses of President’s Planes,” The New York Times, July 24, 1957, p. 28.
30 $1,995 per hour: J. F. terHorst and Ralph Albertazzie, The Flying White House: The Story of Air Force One, New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1979, p. 83.
30 Since 1991, the Air Force has estimated: Charles Babcock, “Campaigning via Air Force One: Public Foots Much of the Bill,” The Washington Post, Dec. 31, 1991, p. A15. Also, Ronald Kessler, Inside the White House: The Hidden Lives of the Modern Presidents and the Secrets of the World’s Most Powerful Institution, New York: Pocket Books, 1995, p. 23. My own reporting comes up with similar numbers.
31 “This is probably the most unique airplane”: Author’s interview with Mark Rosenker, June 18, 2002.
31–32 “Air Force One is adventure”: Author’s interview with Howie Franklin, May 24, 2002.
32 Its four General Electric: Robert F. Dorr, Air Force One, St. Paul, Minn.: MBI Publishing Company, 2002, p. 130.
33 Air Force Colonel Mark Tillman: Author’s interview with Mark Tillman, June 18, 2002.
33 And the plane is not immune: By The News-Gazette, “Clinton stays longer in area than planned,” The News-Gazette, Jan. 28, 1998.
36 at a cost of more than $660 million: Robert F. Dorr, Air Force One, St. Paul, Minn.: MBI Publishing Company, 2002, p. 109.
37 “The president doesn’t need a bigger plane”: Author’s interview with Brent Scowcroft, Apr. 19, 2002.
37 “There’s no plan”: Author’s interview with Mark Rosenker, June 18, 2002.
38 “It’s slowly going to be modified”: Author’s interview with Mark Tillman, June 18, 2002.
39 until Theodore Roosevelt sailed: J. F. terHorst and Ralph Albertazzie, The Flying White House: The Story of Air Force One, New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc., 1979, p. 64.
40 On January 11, 1943: terHorst and Albertazzie, pp. 127–30. This book contains a description of FDR’s first trip by plane, to which I refer in this chapter.
40 “He was about to see a new continent”: James MacGregor Burns, Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom, New York: Smithmark Publishers, 1996, p. 316.
41 The trip, described later by pilot Howard Cone: Burns, pp. 128–33.
41 After takeoff at dawn: Ibid.
41 The seaplanes first flew: Burns, pp. 129–33.
42 Otis F. Bryan, the pilot on the final: Burns, pp. 130–31.
43 “All has gone well”: Burns, p. 324. See also Doris Kearns Goodwin, No Ordinary Time, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994, p. 409.
43 In her memoirs, Eleanor: Eleanor Roosevelt, This I Remember, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1949, p. 279.
43 The redesign included a wheelchair lift: Robert F. Dorr, Air Force One, St. Paul, Minn.: MBI Publishing Company, 2002, pp. 32–34.
45 He rode his first airplane in the 1920s: Timothy R. Gaffney, “Truman Remembered at 50th Anniversary,” Dayton Daily News, Sept. 19, 1997.
45 His mother also had a bit of trouble: Harry Truman, Memoirs by Harry S. Truman, Volume One: Year of Decisions, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1955, p. 219.
45 In a letter to his mother and sister: Memoirs by Harry S. Truman, Volume One: Year of Decisions, pp. 295–96.
45 In his memoirs: Truman, Memoirs, Volume One, pp. 332–33.
46 “I decided to make the journey”: Truman, p. 333.
47 Still, Truman made good use: Truman, p. 339.
47 No other president: David McCullough, Truman, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 406.
47 For the remainder: terHorst and Albertazzie, p. 144.
48 In 1946, Truman’s advisers: terHorst and Albertazzie, pp. 159–60.
48 With its four propeller engines: terHorst and Albertazzie, pp. 160–62.
49 Naming the aircraft: terHorst and Albertazzi, p. 161.
50 “I had breakfast:” Memoirs by Harry S. Truman, Volume Two: Years of Trial and Hope, 1946–1952, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1956, pp. 363–64.
50 He was the first chief executive to watch television aboard: Truman, Memoirs, Volume Two, p. 497.
51 He once told his pilot: terHorst and Albertazzie, pp. 153–54.
51 On one occasion, he ordered Myers to buzz the White House: terHorst and Albertazzie, pp. 154–56. Also Special to The New York Times, “Col. Henry T. Myers, 61, Dies; Pilot for Roosevelt and Truman,” The New York Times, Dec. 10, 1968, p. 47.
52 At about 10 P.M. on Saturday [account of the start of the Korean War]: Memoirs by Harry S. Truman, Volume Two: Years of Trial and Hope, 1946–1952, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1956, pp. 331–33.
53 In all, Truman made 61 flights: Unbylined article, “Events of Interest in Aviation World,” The New York Times, Feb. 7, 1953, p. 31.
53 Ike chose as his regular aircraft: Robert A. Searles, “Eisenhower’s Aviation Legacy,” Business & Commercial Aviation, published by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., Vol. 83, No. 3, Sept. 1998, p. 116.
54 The plane, decorated in a drab color scheme: Dale Lezon, “Ike’s Plane Lands in Santa Fe,” The Albuquerque Journal, April 4, 1997, p. 1.
55 Sometimes he slurped his soup: terHorst and Albertazzie, p. 182.
55 Bill Draper would even tell: terHorst and Albertazzie, p. 179.
56 Eisenhower was the subject of criticism: Special to The New York Times, “Butler Deplores President’s Trips,” The New York Times, June 4, 1956.
57 “Both in size and speed”: Dwight D. Eisenhower, The White House Years: Waging Peace 1956–1961, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1965, pp. 415–16.
58 “He was hooked”: Stephen E. Ambrose, Eisenhower: Soldier and President, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 490.
58 only one out of 10 Americans had ever been aboard an aircraft: Robert F. Dorr, Air Force One, St. Paul, Minn.: MBI Publishing Company, 2002, p. 49.
58 “Travel, just for its own sake”: Ambrose, p. 488.
59 “Not for a moment”: Eisenhower, The White House Years, Waging Peace 1956–1961, p. 489.
59 Ike admitted that: Eisenhower, The White House Years, Waging Peace 1956–1961, pp. 512–13.
62 “This aircraft told everyone”: Author’s interview with Jeffery Underwood, Aug. 15, 2002.
64 It was Jackie, with the advice of industrial designer Raymond Loewy: Robert F. Dorr, Air Force One, St. Paul, Minn.: MBI Publishing Company, 2002, p. 59.
64 People who thought the presidency was the toughest: Richard Reeves, President Kennedy: Profile of Power, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993, Chapter 47.
64 “He had a big bed back there”: J. F. terHorst and Ralph Albertazzie, The Flying White House: The Story of Air Force One, New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc., 1979, p. 202.
64 Kennedy allowed the black Labrador: Ronald Kessler, Inside the White House: The Hidden Lives of the Modern Presidents and the Secrets of the World’s Most Powerful Institution, New York: Pocket Books, 1995, p. 36.
65 True to his nature: Various sources, including Kessler, and Hugh A. Mulligan, Associated Press dispatch, Dec. 27, 1987.
65 “They had learned to keep themselves”: William Manchester, Portrait of a President: John F. Kennedy in Profile, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1962, pp. 20, 21.
66 “hatless, coatless, on-the-ball vigor”: Manchester, p. 14.
66 “John F. Kennedy was a happy President”: Theodore C. Sorensen, Kennedy, New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1965, p. 366.
66 One Saturday in October 1963: Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965, pp. 1015–16.
67 “It was with difficulty”: Theodore C. Sorensen, Kennedy, New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1965, pp. 367–68.
68 “We’ll never have another day”: Sorensen, p. 601. Also confirmed in author’s interview with Sorensen, Oct. 17, 2002.
68 he wore a medical corset: William Manchester, Portrait of a President: John F. Kennedy in Profile, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1962, p. 40.
68 “His doctors had told him”: Michael R. Beschloss, The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev 1960–1963, New York: Edward Burlingame Books, 1991, pp. 186–87.
69 “One might feel admiration”: Kenneth R. Crispell and Carlos R. Gomez, Hidden Illness in the White House, Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1988, p. 201.
69 “On one level”: Robert Dallek, “The Medical Ordeals of JFK,” The Atlantic Monthly, Dec. 2002, p. 49.
69 In Paris, he soaked: Beschloss, p. 189.
69 Beschloss cites evidence: Beschloss, pp. 189–90. Robert Dallek, “The Medical Ordeals of JFK,” The Atlantic Monthly, Dec. 2002, p. 60.
70 “Kennedy had never encountered”: Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965, pp. 374–75.
70 “It was like riding”: Beschloss, p. 225.
70 “We’re stuck in a ridiculous situation”: Beschloss, p. 225.
70 “All wars start from stupidity”: Kenneth P. O’Donnell and David F. Powers with Joe McCarthy, “Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye”: Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Boston-Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, 1970, 1972, pp. 338–40.
71 After meeting in London: Beschloss, p. 229.
72 “In the evening,” Beschloss says, “he entertained”: Beschloss, p. 235.
73 “God, I wish you could think of”: Beschloss, pp. 665–66.
73 “You two guys”: Beschloss, p. 669.
74 When the Kennedy party got on the plane: Kenneth P. O’Donnell and David F. Powers with Joe McCarthy, “Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye”: Memoirs of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1970, 1972, pp. 33–44.
74 Joe Chappell, the flight engineer: Author’s interview with Joe Chappell, July 13, 2002.
75 When Air Force One landed, Attorney General Robert Kennedy: O’Donnell, Powers, and McCarthy, p. 44.
77 “Now let’s get airborne”: Charles Roberts, LBJ’s Inner Circle, New York: Delacorte Press, 1965, p. 36.
77 “He wanted to have a picture taken”: Author’s interview with Jack Valenti, Jan. 15, 2002.
77 While Mrs. Kennedy and the slain president’s: Roberts, LBJ’s Inner Circle, p. 36.
77 He conferred with Larry O’Brien: Roberts, p. 122.
78 This latter phone call: Robert Dallek, Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times 1961–1973, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 50.
78 “Robert Kennedy was less cooperative”: Dallek, p. 50.
79 523,000 miles: LBJ Library, Austin, Tex.
79 “Johnson’s all-embracing style”: J. F. terHorst and Ralph Albertazzie, The Flying White House: The Story of Air Force One, New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc., 1979, p. 242.
80 Once he ordered a root beer: Ronald Kessler, Inside the White House: The Hidden Lives of the Modern Presidents and the Secrets of the World’s Most Powerful Institution, New York: Pocket Books, 1995, pp. 24–25.
80 “He had episodes of getting drunk”: Kessler, p. 31.
80 “Jack Kennedy always wanted soup”: Kessler, p. 32.
80 “We were serving roast beef”: Kessler, p. 30.
81 “I’ll have them niggers voting Democratic”: quoted in Kessler, p. 33.
81 “President Johnson’s attitude was”: Author’s interview with John Haigh, Aug. 19, 2002.
81 “He was like a dog”: Author’s interview with Joe Chappell, July 13, 2002.
81 “He had this crude manner”: Author’s interview with Robert Dallek, July 22, 2002.
81 Former steward Gerald Pisha: Pat Murkland, “Desert mayor has memories of high times with five presidents,” The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.), May 15, 1996, p. C01.
81 “He was totally naked”: Quoted in Kessler, p. 36.
82 “I need some more goddamn ball room”: Quoted in Kessler, p. 36.
82 “fooling around”: Kessler, p. 37.
82 “Johnson was not a man to sublimate”: George Reedy, Lyndon B. Johnson: A Memoir, New York: Andrews and McMeel, Inc., 1982, p. 32.
82 “I can’t do the job alone”: Frank Cormier, LBJ, The Way He Was, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, 1977, pp. 4–5.
83 He once bit down on: terHorst and Albertazzie, p. 243.
83 Cormier recalled the day: Quoted in Hugh A. Mulligan, Associated Press dispatch from Washington, D.C., Dec. 27, 1987.
83 “Look around the world”: terHorst and Albertazzie, p. 247.
84 “He insisted that they were ‘spies’”: George Reedy, Lyndon B. Johnson: A Memoir, New York: Andrews and McMeel, Inc., 1982, pp. 64–65.
85 But the relationship soured: Reedy, p. 65.
85 “At four o’clock”: Author’s interview with Ron Nessen, Apr. 1, 2002.
85 Walter Mondale: Author’s interview with Walter Mondale, Mar. 13, 2002.
86 “We want to be always safe”: Author’s interview with James Cross, Feb. 1, 2002.
87 Borrowing ideas from Eric Goldman: Robert Dallek, Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times 1961–1973, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 81.
88 Charles Roberts of Newsweek: Roberts, LBJ’s Inner Circle, pp. 96–97, 98.
88 “Johnson’s euphoria rested”: Dallek, p. 83.
89 “While in Asia”: Joseph A. Califano, Jr., The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson: The White House Years, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991, pp. 150–51.
89 After ordering his aides: Califano, pp. 152–53.
89 “I am willing”: Califano, pp. 151–52.
90 By the end of 1966: Califano, pp. 152–53.
90 In the fall of 1967: Dallek, pp. 494–96.
90–91 The president secretly called Jack Valenti: Author’s interview with Jack Valenti, Jan. 15, 2002. This account of the December trip comes largely from Valenti.
92 On March 31: Dallek, p. 529.
95 On February 23, 1969, a month after: Henry Kissinger, White House Years, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1979, pp. 243–47.
96 “That’s a Kennedy song”: Richard Reeves, President Nixon: Alone in the White House, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001, p. 52.
97 “Are there any non-Jews here?”: Reeves, p. 434. This account of the China trip comes partly from Reeves.
97 “Nixon oscillated between anxiety”: Kissinger, p. 1054.
98 a burly staffer blocked the aisle: Kissinger, pp. 1054–55.
98 he fell into a funk: Kissinger, p. 1093.
99 “Triumph seemed to fill Nixon with a premonition”: Kissinger, p. 1471.
99 “On the way back,” Nixon wrote: Reeves, p. 499.
99 Yet, the next morning, Nixon insisted: Reeves, p. 49.
99 “The opposition line will be”: Reeves, pp. 541–42.
100 “Freeze them”: Reeves, p. 543.
100 “He wants total discipline”: H. R. Haldeman, The Haldeman Diaries: Inside the Nixon White House, New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1994, p. 532.
100 “He wants to be sure the IRS”: Haldeman, p. 533.
100 “That’s it!”: Quoted in Reeves, p. 35.
100 His flight crew was overburdened: J. F. terHorst and Ralph Albertazzie, The Flying White House: The Story of Air Force One, New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc., 1979, pp. 78–79.
101 He was a Spartan eater: For an interesting account of Nixon’s habits and the atmosphere on the plane, see Ronald Kessler, Inside the White House: The Hidden Lives of the Modern Presidents and the Secrets of the World’s Most Powerful Institution, New York: Pocket Books, 1995, pp. 44–45, 57, 59, 62.
101 “His staff was a buffer”: Author’s interview with Jim Bull, July 30, 2002.
102 “He stayed pretty much in his cabin”: terHorst and Albertazzie, p. 259.
102 “an incredible stack of little white note sheets”: Haldeman, p. 209.
102 “He was the most unmechanical”: Author’s interview with Brent Scowcroft, Apr. 19, 2002.
103 “H [shorthand for Haldeman]: Tricia job”: Quoted in Reeves, p. 124.
103 “On October 10, 1972”: Reeves, pp. 24–25.
104 “Then he told me to make a note”: Haldeman, p. 423.
105 Former White House counsel John Dean recalls flying: Author’s interview with John Dean, Mar. 27, 2002. Also, John W. Dean III, Blind Ambition: The White House Years, New York: Pocket Books, 1976, pp. 147–48.
105 In fact, Dean argues: John W. Dean III, Blind Ambition, pp. 57–59.
106 When the new Air Force One: Dean, Blind Ambition, p. 170. Also, author’s interview with John Dean, Mar. 27, 2002.
106 It was an updated Boeing 707, but reconfigured: terHorst and Albertazzie, p. 34.
107 On February 8, 1973: Reeves, pp. 570–71.
108 “Within minutes—or was it seconds?—word came”: David Gergen, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership: Nixon to Clinton, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000, p. 73.
109 There were 34 passengers aboard: terHorst and Albertazzie, pp. 43–44. Much of this account of Nixon’s final flight aboard Air Force One comes from terHorst and Albertazzie’s book.
109–10 Just remember, he told Simmons: terHorst and Albertazzie, p. 49.
110 “Is everybody enjoying the flight?”: Author’s interview with Ralph Albertazzie, July 17, 2002.
111 “He was a homespun”: Author’s interview with Howie Franklin, May 24, 2002.
111 “President Ford probably treated”: Author’s interview with Charles Palmer, July 14, 2002.
112 “Gerald R. Ford was an ordinary man”: James Cannon, Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1994, p. 411.
112 “Nixon, by nature, was a recluse”: Gerald R. Ford, A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford, New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979, p. 126.
113 “Everyone knew it as Air Force One”: Ford, p. 127.
113 “Ford wanted to be”: Author’s interview with Ron Nessen, Apr. 1, 2002.
114 “Ford was President for 895 days”: Cannon, p. 393.
114 “The years of suspicion”: Ford, pp. 124–25.
115 “What happened was this”: Ford, p. 289.
116 “I mean”: Author’s interview with Ron Nessen, Apr. 1, 2002.
117 “[T]he press turned on him with ridicule”: David Gergen, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership: Nixon to Clinton, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000, pp. 126–27.
117 “No man should have to clean up”: Ron Nessen, It Sure Looks Different from the Inside, Chicago: Playboy Press, 1978, p. xiv.
117 There also were the dark moments: These accounts of the assassination attempts largely come from Ford’s autobiography and my interview with Nessen, Apr. 1, 2002.
120 “He was meeting with the Russian premier”: Ronald Kessler, Inside the White House: The Hidden Lives of the Modern Presidents and the Secrets of the World’s Most Powerful Institution, New York: Pocket Books, 1995, pp. 77–78. This story was confirmed for me in interviews with Charles Palmer, July 14, 2002, and with Bill Gulley, former chief of the White House Military Office, on Aug. 23, 2002.
120 It was when a military aide: J. F. terHorst and Ralph Albertazzie, The Flying White House: The Story of Air Force One, New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc., 1979, p. 74.
120 “There is no Soviet domination”: Ford, p. 422.
121 “I can be very stubborn”: Ford, p. 424.
121 “He made it sound”: Author’s interview with Brent Scowcroft, Apr. 19, 2002.
121 “It reinforced the bumbler image”: Author’s interview with Ron Nessen, Apr. 1, 2002.
123 “a lonely peanut farmer”: Author’s interview with President Jimmy Carter, Jan. 25, 2002.
123 “Our commitment to human rights”: Jimmy Carter, Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President, Fayetteville, Ark.: University of Arkansas Press, 1995, pp. 22–23.
124 “We had some very dangerous times”: Speech of Jimmy Carter at a forum for international students at Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 23, 2002.
124 “That’s an interesting fulcrum”: Author’s interview with Jody Powell, Apr. 30, 2002.
125 “Obviously, Watergate”: Author’s interview with President Jimmy Carter, Jan. 25, 2002.
126 “Carter was kind of an introvert”: Author’s interview with John Haigh, July 21, 2002.
126 “I never doubted”: Zbigniew Brzezinski, Power and Principle: Memoirs of the National Security Adviser, 1977–1981, New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1983, p. 23.
126 He deeply admired Egyptian leader Sadat: Brzezinski, pp. 24–26.
127 “His memory was phenomenal”: Brzezinski, pp. 22–23.
127 “I tried to cut down”: Jimmy Carter quoted in Air Force One: The Planes and the Presidents, Flight II, Public Broadcasting Service, written, produced, and directed by Elliott Sluhan, May 20, 1991.
128 “They weren’t”: Author’s interview with Charles Palmer, July 14, 2002.
128 He wanted to reduce the number of stewards: Ronald Kessler, Inside the White House: The Hidden Lives of the Modern Presidents and the Secrets of the World’s Most Powerful Institution, New York: Pocket Books, 1995, p. 100. This was confirmed in my interviews with several stewards.
129 “Guess who had to vacuum it up?”: Quoted in Pat Murkland, “Desert mayor has memories of high times with five presidents,” The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.), May 15, 1996, p. C01.
129 “Her greatest thrill”: Author’s interview with Jim Bull, July 30, 2002.
129–30 “It took a year and a half”: Quotes in Kessler, p. 95.
130 “The Carters sometimes got mad”: Kessler, p. 96.
131 “The decision,” Vance wrote: Cyrus Vance, Hard Choices: Critical Years in America’s Foreign Policy, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983, pp. 409–10.
131 “I will never forget the flight”: Jimmy Carter, Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President, Fayetteville, Ark.: University of Arkansas Press, 1995, p. 575.
132 “We don’t need to tell the president that”: Author’s interview with Jody Powell, Apr. 30, 2002. Also see Hamilton Jordan, Crisis: The Last Year of the Carter Presidency, New York: Berkley Books, 1983, pp. 345–49.
133 “It is impossible for me to put into words”: Carter, p. 16.
133 “It was very emotional”: Author’s interview with Phil Wise, Apr. 22, 2002.
134 “Usually after a foreign trip”: Hamilton Jordan, Crisis: The Last Year of the Carter Presidency, New York: Berkley Books, 1983, pp. 393–95.
137 They spent: Author’s interview with Tim Kerwin, Aug. 6, 2002.
137 “That’s an offer one doesn’t turn down”: Peter Hannaford, ed., Recollections of Reagan: A Portrait of Ronald Reagan, New York: William Morrow and Company, 1997, pp. 70–71.
137 “He was extremely disciplined”: Author’s interview with David Gergen, June 26, 2002.
139 “Air Force One became a symbol”: Author’s interview with Fred Ryan, Apr. 10, 2002.
139 “People would come up”: Author’s interview with David Gergen, June 26, 2002.
139 “In many ways, Reagan was a loner”: Author’s interview with Ken Duberstein, Aug. 12, 2002.
140 “He was already a public person”: Author’s interview with John Haigh, July 21, 2002.
140 “He always had a smile on his face”: Author’s interview with Jim Bull, July 30, 2002.
141 “but he would always come in”: Author’s interview with Howie Franklin, May 24, 2002.
141 “I long for the days”: Larry Speakes, Speaking Out: The Reagan Presidency from Inside the White House, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1988, p. 116.
142 “He didn’t like to travel”: Author’s interview with Marlin Fitzwater, Apr. 6, 2002.
144 “All she wanted”: Author’s interview with Jim Bull, July 30, 2002.
144 “The main difference was his personality”: Author’s interview with Marlin Fitzwater, Apr. 6, 2002.
146 “He’s too short”: Author’s interview with Howie Franklin, May 24, 2002.
147 Fitzwater recalled proposing: Author’s interview with Marlin Fitzwater, Apr. 6, 2002.
147 “My control over the departure times”: Joan Quigley, “What Does Joan Say?” My Seven Years as White House Astrologer to Nancy and Ronald Reagan, New York: Birch Lane Press, 1990, pp. 82–83.
149 “he would flash the cuff links”: Author’s interview with Fred Ryan, Apr. 10, 2002.
152 As Speakes tells the story: Speakes, pp. 142–49. His account was confirmed by others in the Reagan administration in interviews with the author at the time.
153 “Iran-Contra was a very discouraging period”: Author’s interview with George Shultz, Aug. 22, 2002.
153 “It seemed to be trouble”: Author’s interview with Jim Bull, July 30, 2002.
154 “It came from a depth of conviction”: Author’s interview with George Shultz, Aug. 22, 2002.
155 “By protocol, only the President and Mrs. Reagan”: Hedrick Smith, The Power Game: How Washington Works, New York: Ballantine Books, 1988, p. 76.
156 “I want you to know”: Author’s interview with Fred Ryan, Apr. 10, 2002.
157 “Well, I’m on shaky ground here”: George Skelton, The Los Angeles Times, Apr. 20, 1988, Metro Part 2, p. 7.
159 “The airplane was an antique”: Author’s interview with Bob Ruddick, July 4, 2002.
162 “George Bush was in awe of the presidency”: Author’s interview with David Valdez, July 18, 2002.
166 “We were all huddled down”: Author’s interview with Andrew Card, Feb. 11, 2002.
166 “We were trying to agonize”: Author’s interview with Andrew Card, Feb. 11, 2002.
169 “Pretty soon everyone”: Author’s interview with Marlin Fitzwater, Apr. 6, 2002.
169 “The presidents clearly feel”: Author’s interview with Marlin Fitzwater, Apr. 6, 2002.
171 The end came on December 3, 1991: Marlin Fitzwater, Call the Briefing! New York: Times Books, 1995, pp. 188–92.
173 “I think we’ve had too many press conferences”: Michael Duffy and Dan Goodgame, Marching in Place: The Status Quo Presidency of George Bush, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992, p. 187.
174 “I felt like a turkey in a turkey shoot”: Author’s interview with John Haigh, July 21, 2002.
174 “The polls were not encouraging”: Author’s interview with Ron Kaufman, Aug. 1, 2002.
175 “I think a lot of us”: Author’s interview with President George W. Bush, Oct. 1, 2002.
175 “Barbara and I sat”: George Bush, “Man Oh Man, Was It Comfortable,” Forbes, Nov. 18, 1996, p. 122.
177 Clinton made a total of 133 visits: John Berthoud and Demian Brady, “Bill Clinton: America’s Best-Traveled President, A Study of Presidential Travel: 1953–2001,” National Taxpayers Union and NTU Foundation, Policy Paper 104, March 16, 2001.
178 En route to Chicago in mid-1993: Bob Woodward, The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994, p. 278. My reporting confirms Woodward’s account, particularly my interview with David Gergen on June 26, 2002.
179 “There is a certain sort”: Author’s interview with President Bill Clinton, Sept. 2, 2002.
179 “Partly, it was because of his curiosity”: Author’s interview with Sandy Berger, Mar. 7, 2002.
179 “I believe that when they first came in office”: Author’s interview with Howie Franklin, May 24, 2002.
180 “I think the pilot assured him”: Author’s interview with Mack McLarty, Mar. 19, 2002.
180 “The perception was more powerful than the reality”: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, A Political Education, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1999, p. 144.
183 “People were just sort of stupefied”: Author’s interview with David Gergen, June 26, 2002.
183 “The president’s foot lightly”: Recounted in Howard Kurtz, “Media Notes: A Reporter With Lust in Her Hearts,” The Washington Post, July 6, 1998, p. C01.
184 “When Chelsea was there”: Author’s interview with Gene Sperling, Aug. 7, 2002.
186 “It was like being at home with the president”: Author’s interview with Harold Ickes, May 16, 2002.
187 “I would be offended”: Author’s interview with Leon Panetta, Apr. 8, 2002.
188 “I go in and lean on him”: Author’s interview with Howie Franklin, May 24, 2002.
188 This time it was Ickes’s turn: Author’s interview with Harold Ickes, May 16, 2002.
190 “Not only did he develop a close professional relationship with Rabin”: Author’s interview with Leon Panetta, Apr. 8, 2002.
192 “We had quite a lot”: Author’s interview with President Bill Clinton, Jan. 28, 2002.
192 Every time something crunched: Author’s interview with Mack McLarty, Mar. 19, 2002.
192 “They were really freaked out”: Author’s interview with Sandy Berger, Mar. 7, 2002.
193 “The threat was not abstract”: Berger interview, Mar. 7, 2002.
194 “It felt like”: Berger interview, Mar. 7, 2002.
194 “That’s the only time”: Author’s interview with President Bill Clinton, Sept. 2, 2002.
195 “We were trying to find a time”: Author’s interview with Joe Lockhart, Dec. 18, 2001.
197 “I can’t imagine”: Lockhart interview, ibid.
197 “We knew there would be screaming”: Lockhart interview, ibid.
198 “The communications on the plane were terrible”: Author’s interview with Sandy Berger, Mar. 7, 2002.
199 “We never had a president who listened”: Author’s interview with Howie Franklin, May 24, 2002.
200 “The days never ended”: Author’s interview with Mark Penn, Apr. 15, 2002.
202 “Here’s one that’s appropriate for today”: Peter Baker, The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton, New York: Scribner, 2000, p. 47.
205 President George W. Bush got up at 6:30 A.M.: This account is based in part on the author’s separate interviews with Karl Rove on Sept. 14, 2001, and Jan. 31, 2002, and with Andrew Card, Feb. 11, 2002. Journalists Dan Balz and Bob Woodward published an excellent description of the events of September 11 on Page One of The Washington Post, Jan. 27, 2002. I also based my account on interviews with Dan Bartlett, Karen Hughes, and many others.
206 “They had declared war”: Balz and Woodward.
207 “There was this surreal, serene”: Author’s interview with Dan Bartlett, Feb. 7, 2002.
207 “When we got airborne”: Author’s interview with Eric Draper, Aug. 26, 2002.
207 “We didn’t know if we were going to be attacked”: Author’s interview with Andrew Card, Feb. 11, 2002.
211 Fleischer called Karen Hughes: Balz and Woodward.
213 “I want to go back home ASAP”: Author’s interview with Andrew Card, Feb. 11, 2002.
213 “Wow,” he told the defense secretary: Balz and Woodward.
213 At 2:30 P.M., Bush reached his father: Balz and Woodward.
214 “We need to get back”: Author’s interview with Karl Rove, Sept. 14, 2001.
214 “I never felt like my life”: Author’s interview with President George W. Bush, Oct. 1, 2002.
215 “He has a very basic belief”: Author’s interview with Mike Gerson, Nov. 29, 2001.
215 “We’re a pretty dull crew”: Author’s interview with Ari Fleischer, May 9, 2002.
215 “It’s their sanctuary”: Author’s interview with Dan Bartlett, July 29, 2002.
216 “Being a ‘Type A’ personality”: Author’s interview with President George W. Bush, Oct. 1, 2002.
217 “Air Force One is a comfortable environment”: Author’s interview with Andrew Card, Apr. 15, 2002.
217 “Having traveled with the president”: Author’s interview with Karen Hughes, Apr. 29, 2002.
218 “I think people would be surprised”: Author’s interview with Nick Calio, Apr. 2, 2002.
220 “I opened it up”: Card interview, Apr. 15, 2002.
220–21 “I feel guilty talking about it”: Card interview, Apr. 15, 2002.
221 “It showed the humanity of the president”: Author’s interview with Noelia Rodriguez, Apr. 9, 2002.
221 “a heavenly feeling”: Author’s interview with Reed Dickens, Oct. 16, 2002.
221 “There were a lot of religious people”: Author’s interview with President George W. Bush, Oct. 1, 2002.
221 “He is not the emotive type”: Author’s interview with Ari Fleischer, Mar. 14, 2002.
221 After The Washington Post picked up the item: Lloyd Grove, The Reliable Source, The Washington Post, May 7, 2002, p. C3. Also, Grove, The Reliable Source, The Washington Post, May 10, 2002, p. C3.
222 “He’s always an affable person”: Author’s interview with Ari Fleischer, Mar. 14, 2002.
223 “We don’t fill the aircraft”: Author’s interview with Mark Rosenker, July 2001.
223 “We see a very different person”: Author’s interview with Nick Calio, Apr. 2, 2002.
223 “He understands the symbolism”: Author’s interview with Dan Bartlett, July 29, 2002.
224 “I would have crawled”: Quoted in Elisabeth Bumiller, “Peace and Political Status at 39,000 Feet,” The New York Times, Oct. 29, 2002, p. A24.
224 “It was like”: Author’s interview with Bill Clinton, Sept. 2, 2002.
224–25 Quotations from Reagan, Bush, and Carter are from Air Force One, The Planes and the Presidents, Flight II, written, produced, and directed by Elliott Sluhan, Public Broadcasting Service, May 20, 1991.