1 00:00:14,647 --> 00:00:19,744 It is a simple mansion, built of stone and irony, 2 00:00:19,886 --> 00:00:23,117 a symbol of freedom invested with the labor of slaves 3 00:00:23,256 --> 00:00:26,054 and great statesman alike. 4 00:00:29,062 --> 00:00:31,792 It is like no other place on earth, 5 00:00:31,931 --> 00:00:36,334 a house alive with the past and present. 6 00:00:40,206 --> 00:00:46,475 I deem this reply a full acceptance of the unconditional surrender of Japan. 7 00:00:46,613 --> 00:00:50,913 ...that a strong and a confident 8 00:00:51,051 --> 00:00:54,817 and a vigilant America stands ready tonight... 9 00:00:54,954 --> 00:00:56,512 It is an odd place, 10 00:00:56,656 --> 00:01:00,217 where the monumental and the mundane coexist. 11 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:05,161 To provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere... 12 00:01:05,298 --> 00:01:08,426 therefore, I shall resign 13 00:01:08,568 --> 00:01:10,729 the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. 14 00:01:10,870 --> 00:01:15,034 It is where the most critical decisions in our history are made. 15 00:01:15,175 --> 00:01:17,735 And where any American can visit. 16 00:01:17,877 --> 00:01:20,141 And all the things that American 17 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:26,685 Independence means to you and to me and to ours. 18 00:01:28,455 --> 00:01:33,483 My fellow Americans, our constitution works - 19 00:01:33,626 --> 00:01:36,595 here the people rule. 20 00:01:47,207 --> 00:01:50,665 Now you will journey through time and a day 21 00:01:50,810 --> 00:01:53,370 meeting the people and hearing the stories 22 00:01:53,513 --> 00:01:56,914 that give this powerful place its soul. 23 00:01:59,052 --> 00:02:04,547 For this is more than just an office or a monument or a home, 24 00:02:05,058 --> 00:02:11,258 it is an American idea known as the White House. 25 00:03:11,558 --> 00:03:13,219 This isn't the biggest house. 26 00:03:13,359 --> 00:03:18,820 Many and most, in even smaller countries are much bigger. 27 00:03:19,766 --> 00:03:25,534 This isn't the finest house, but this is the best house. 28 00:03:28,408 --> 00:03:29,807 It's the best house 29 00:03:29,943 --> 00:03:33,936 because it has something far more important than 30 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,514 numbers of people who serve, 31 00:03:36,649 --> 00:03:38,981 far more important than numbers of rooms 32 00:03:39,118 --> 00:03:40,050 or how big it is, 33 00:03:40,186 --> 00:03:45,055 far more important than numbers of magnificent pieces of art. 34 00:03:46,659 --> 00:03:49,287 This house has a great heart, 35 00:03:49,429 --> 00:03:53,559 and that heart comes from those who serve. 36 00:04:11,985 --> 00:04:15,978 At the White House, there is no such thing as a typical day 37 00:04:16,756 --> 00:04:22,456 For those who serve inside, today will be one of the most intense. 38 00:04:23,763 --> 00:04:27,221 These people, stagehands to history 39 00:04:27,367 --> 00:04:31,133 are preparing the house for the visit of Russian President Boris Yeltsin. 40 00:04:31,271 --> 00:04:32,761 Hi, Brenda, this is Gary Walters at the White House. 41 00:04:32,905 --> 00:04:33,963 How are you today. 42 00:04:34,107 --> 00:04:36,075 Fine. Is Jerry in? 43 00:04:36,976 --> 00:04:39,570 Each time a foreign leader visits the White House, 44 00:04:39,712 --> 00:04:42,476 the President has an opportunity to showcase the power 45 00:04:42,615 --> 00:04:44,480 and heritage of the nation 46 00:04:44,617 --> 00:04:47,347 in a setting that embodies them in every wall, 47 00:04:47,487 --> 00:04:50,547 floorboard, and stone. 48 00:04:51,124 --> 00:04:54,423 This is the symbol not only of the Presidency, 49 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,291 but in the eyes of the world, of the United States of America. 50 00:04:58,431 --> 00:05:03,130 Nothing compares to the simplicity and the strength 51 00:05:03,269 --> 00:05:05,567 nothing, nothing in the world like it. 52 00:05:08,041 --> 00:05:09,941 ...black tie, the dinner is... 53 00:05:10,076 --> 00:05:11,941 will start off with the private reception... 54 00:05:12,078 --> 00:05:14,808 Very shortly the Yeltsins will arrive. 55 00:05:14,947 --> 00:05:17,006 To insure a flawless visit, 56 00:05:17,150 --> 00:05:21,883 there are briefings on the 1000 details of protocol and timing. 57 00:05:22,021 --> 00:05:26,822 Then in terms of the movements, the arrival back here by the car, 58 00:05:26,959 --> 00:05:28,017 going up to the stage... 59 00:05:28,161 --> 00:05:31,392 The high point of the visit will be the state dinner tonight. 60 00:05:32,198 --> 00:05:34,792 Dramatic, entertaining, and essential, 61 00:05:34,934 --> 00:05:39,132 the state dinner is the ultimate expression of White House power. 62 00:05:39,639 --> 00:05:42,335 Not a thing. Not a thing. 63 00:05:42,475 --> 00:05:47,105 Okay, we're gonna start the escorts out to the South Lawn now... 64 00:05:47,246 --> 00:05:51,649 More than 200 reporters will cover the visit of the Russian leader. 65 00:05:51,784 --> 00:05:55,686 It will begin in a few moments with a carefully orchestrated event 66 00:05:55,822 --> 00:05:58,882 called the arrival ceremony. 67 00:05:59,025 --> 00:06:01,152 Will you repeat the name again please. 68 00:06:01,294 --> 00:06:03,262 Ladies and Gentlemen this is an audience check 69 00:06:03,396 --> 00:06:04,658 from the South Lawn of the White House. 70 00:06:04,797 --> 00:06:07,391 Checking one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten 71 00:06:07,533 --> 00:06:14,097 ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. 72 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:19,507 I'm Mrs. Gore. I'm Secretary Christopher. 73 00:06:29,222 --> 00:06:32,020 Inside the White House, with only minutes to go, 74 00:06:32,158 --> 00:06:37,061 the President and the First Lady receive their final briefing. 75 00:06:39,665 --> 00:06:42,657 The only thing I don't remember is what are the cues for down here - 76 00:06:42,802 --> 00:06:44,793 both coming and going? 77 00:07:23,643 --> 00:07:26,407 I hope I don't sneeze... 78 00:07:33,820 --> 00:07:34,844 Ladies and Gentlemen. 79 00:07:34,987 --> 00:07:38,616 The President of the United States and the First Lady. 80 00:08:19,165 --> 00:08:21,895 The White House is so universally recognized today 81 00:08:22,034 --> 00:08:25,003 that it's hard to imagine when it didn't exist. 82 00:08:25,137 --> 00:08:27,935 But almost 13 years after the United States 83 00:08:28,074 --> 00:08:29,735 had declared independence, 84 00:08:29,876 --> 00:08:31,070 the city of Washington 85 00:08:31,210 --> 00:08:34,202 was still nothing but untamed woodlands. 86 00:08:38,184 --> 00:08:43,486 In 1789, Congress agreed to build a new capital city. 87 00:08:44,123 --> 00:08:46,751 Ridiculed in New York and Philadelphia, 88 00:08:46,893 --> 00:08:50,192 the city and the President's house would never have been built 89 00:08:50,329 --> 00:08:52,820 had it not been for one man. 90 00:08:56,836 --> 00:08:58,428 Washington wanted the city built. 91 00:08:58,571 --> 00:09:01,904 By law it had to be occupied by November 1, 1800 92 00:09:02,041 --> 00:09:04,805 and many forces were acting against this new city 93 00:09:04,944 --> 00:09:06,275 in the wilderness. 94 00:09:06,412 --> 00:09:09,074 Washington wanted it, he wanted it in the middle of the country, 95 00:09:09,215 --> 00:09:10,614 he wanted it on the Potomac River. 96 00:09:10,750 --> 00:09:12,547 And he was determined in having those buildings, 97 00:09:12,685 --> 00:09:16,416 because in having the buildings, he would have his capital. 98 00:09:17,390 --> 00:09:21,588 Its foundations were dug by slaves, the intricate stonework 99 00:09:21,727 --> 00:09:24,287 carved by Scottish masons. 100 00:09:24,897 --> 00:09:28,298 More than half the workforce were foreign born. 101 00:09:28,868 --> 00:09:30,495 The workers lived at the job site 102 00:09:30,636 --> 00:09:35,664 and each morning received a lb. Of meat and all the cornbread they could eat. 103 00:09:36,442 --> 00:09:38,876 After one especially randy night there, 104 00:09:39,011 --> 00:09:40,273 the commissioners overseeing 105 00:09:40,413 --> 00:09:43,678 the project closed down the only house of prostitution 106 00:09:43,816 --> 00:09:47,411 to have ever operated on the White House grounds. 107 00:09:49,055 --> 00:09:52,115 When it was finished, it was immense; 108 00:09:52,258 --> 00:09:54,590 a bigger home would not be built in this country 109 00:09:54,727 --> 00:09:57,218 until after the Civil War. 110 00:10:00,666 --> 00:10:04,693 Today, the power of the symbol is inescapable, 111 00:10:04,837 --> 00:10:08,238 something every visiting leader learns upon arriving. 112 00:10:35,334 --> 00:10:36,460 At that moment... 113 00:10:36,602 --> 00:10:39,833 ...I become the United States and he becomes Russia. 114 00:10:40,940 --> 00:10:44,103 And we stand for all of our people. 115 00:10:44,243 --> 00:10:46,040 And if this state visit goes well, 116 00:10:46,178 --> 00:10:49,477 then it's proof that the Cold War is really over. 117 00:10:49,615 --> 00:10:52,641 And we're making a newer and better world. 118 00:10:52,785 --> 00:10:54,650 And I don't want to mess it up. 119 00:10:54,787 --> 00:10:59,383 I want to do it right, because it's the United States. 120 00:11:02,795 --> 00:11:06,322 Conceived by President ennedy in 1961, 121 00:11:06,465 --> 00:11:10,094 the modern ceremony not only impresses the visiting leader, 122 00:11:10,236 --> 00:11:14,070 it gives him the distinction of being welcomed here. 123 00:11:22,014 --> 00:11:23,914 Together we have agreed to safeguard nuclear materials 124 00:11:24,050 --> 00:11:27,850 and to shut down plutonium production reactors. 125 00:11:40,099 --> 00:11:43,000 Together we can and we will make a difference 126 00:11:43,135 --> 00:11:46,536 not only for our own people but also for men, women, 127 00:11:46,672 --> 00:11:49,436 and children all around the world. 128 00:12:01,821 --> 00:12:04,517 The receiving line's going on right now inside. 129 00:12:04,657 --> 00:12:08,093 The President and Mrs. Clinton are receiving the official party. 130 00:12:08,227 --> 00:12:10,252 We have a full day, full slate in front of us. 131 00:12:10,396 --> 00:12:14,093 We have some canopies to put up yet, flower material to put around, 132 00:12:14,233 --> 00:12:16,463 there's a lot of activities going on, yeah. 133 00:12:16,969 --> 00:12:18,197 See ya later. 134 00:12:18,904 --> 00:12:20,872 All right, Jim what else you got? 135 00:12:31,117 --> 00:12:32,846 In the White House basement, 136 00:12:32,985 --> 00:12:36,546 the first preparations for the state dinner are underway. 137 00:12:40,092 --> 00:12:44,495 Here the butlers will find some of the 1,500 different pieces of china 138 00:12:44,630 --> 00:12:47,292 to set tonight's tables. 139 00:12:48,067 --> 00:12:51,867 It's one of a hundred different tasks the White House staff will finish 140 00:12:52,004 --> 00:12:55,201 in their push to the dinner, now ten hours away. 141 00:12:59,211 --> 00:13:01,577 Upstairs, in the entrance hall, 142 00:13:01,714 --> 00:13:05,878 a receiving line welcoming the Russian delegation is concluding. 143 00:13:18,464 --> 00:13:19,954 Just a few steps away, 144 00:13:20,099 --> 00:13:23,762 the china is wheeled into the old family dining room. 145 00:13:26,005 --> 00:13:29,338 The White House is barely large enough to hold a dinner like the one 146 00:13:29,475 --> 00:13:30,407 planned for tonight. 147 00:13:30,543 --> 00:13:34,502 So this elegant room has been converted into a giant pantry 148 00:13:34,647 --> 00:13:39,516 so butlers like Buddy Carter can serve tonight's 150 guests. 149 00:13:39,652 --> 00:13:41,085 There are so many people that are capable of doing this job, 150 00:13:41,220 --> 00:13:44,018 but I'm one of the few selected that get to do it. 151 00:13:45,057 --> 00:13:48,652 So I take a lot of pride in what I do and I love it. 152 00:13:49,895 --> 00:13:51,829 Can I speak to Jim please? 153 00:13:53,098 --> 00:13:56,431 Chief Usher Gary Walters is the house conductor. 154 00:13:56,569 --> 00:13:59,936 He directs everyone from butlers to plumbers, 155 00:14:00,072 --> 00:14:04,668 all the people who serve the family and make the house work. 156 00:14:11,150 --> 00:14:13,380 Although he built the house, 157 00:14:13,519 --> 00:14:16,784 George Washington died before it was finished. 158 00:14:16,922 --> 00:14:20,551 John Adams, intimidated by the expense of running such a home, 159 00:14:20,693 --> 00:14:23,594 said he'd prefer a row house instead. 160 00:14:23,729 --> 00:14:27,358 But Washington's house held irresistible allure, 161 00:14:27,499 --> 00:14:30,991 and on the night of November 1, 1800, 162 00:14:31,136 --> 00:14:36,039 Adams became the first President to sleep in the White House. 163 00:14:46,051 --> 00:14:50,078 Well, he woke up the next morning and he wrote a letter to his wife. 164 00:14:50,222 --> 00:14:52,884 It seemed to settle in on him. 165 00:14:53,025 --> 00:14:56,961 And it's really, you might say, the first experience, you know 166 00:14:57,096 --> 00:14:59,155 of a President having in that house and see by now 167 00:14:59,298 --> 00:15:00,959 it is the President's house. 168 00:15:01,100 --> 00:15:03,261 It seems almost an afterthought, it was very beautiful, 169 00:15:03,402 --> 00:15:04,300 when he says, you know, 170 00:15:04,436 --> 00:15:06,870 may heaven bestow the best of blessings on this house and may none 171 00:15:07,006 --> 00:15:12,376 but honest and wise men inhabit it hereafter. 172 00:15:15,414 --> 00:15:17,439 When the Johnsons entered the White House, 173 00:15:17,583 --> 00:15:21,747 the nation was still in mourning for President John ennedy. 174 00:15:21,887 --> 00:15:26,256 One of the times that was a throat gasping time 175 00:15:26,392 --> 00:15:30,294 for me was the morning of a December the 22nd, 176 00:15:30,429 --> 00:15:33,193 when I came down to the first floor 177 00:15:33,332 --> 00:15:38,497 where all of the chandeliers had been draped in black net, 178 00:15:38,637 --> 00:15:42,573 and to come back and see that gone 179 00:15:42,708 --> 00:15:46,906 and the Christmas tree brilliantly alight, 180 00:15:47,046 --> 00:15:50,447 I think we had it in the Blue Room. 181 00:15:51,951 --> 00:15:56,615 That was just a... you just gasp with sort of a relief, 182 00:15:56,755 --> 00:16:03,092 and now we are started, and life will go on. 183 00:16:05,097 --> 00:16:08,328 For the first families, from the moment they move in, 184 00:16:08,467 --> 00:16:10,799 life goes on in the public eye. 185 00:16:10,936 --> 00:16:13,769 For their own sanity, there must be a refuge 186 00:16:13,906 --> 00:16:16,966 and at the White House it is upstairs. 187 00:16:17,109 --> 00:16:20,738 Only above this stair is privacy absolute. 188 00:16:20,879 --> 00:16:23,643 Never, while the Presidential family is in residence, 189 00:16:23,782 --> 00:16:27,149 may cameras pass beyond this gate. 190 00:16:27,753 --> 00:16:30,517 Cameras above the first floor are still rare, 191 00:16:30,656 --> 00:16:33,716 because this is where the families live. 192 00:16:36,061 --> 00:16:39,258 The second and third floors are one of the few places on earth 193 00:16:39,398 --> 00:16:43,129 where the families are not accompanied by Secret Service. 194 00:16:46,205 --> 00:16:49,663 At the heart of the second floor is the Yellow Oval Room 195 00:16:49,808 --> 00:16:52,777 which leads to the Truman Balcony. 196 00:17:45,631 --> 00:17:47,826 These rooms provide a haven, 197 00:17:47,966 --> 00:17:52,027 a place safe from everything but history. 198 00:17:52,604 --> 00:17:55,004 For me, I would get so caught up in what I was doing 199 00:17:55,140 --> 00:17:58,234 that you forget where you are... that this is home. 200 00:17:58,377 --> 00:18:00,004 But then we'd sit down at dinner at night 201 00:18:00,145 --> 00:18:02,409 and here would be Abraham Lincoln's plate, 202 00:18:02,548 --> 00:18:05,415 and then it would all just kind of come back, 203 00:18:05,551 --> 00:18:10,750 here I am in this historic house, and it was overwhelming sometimes. 204 00:18:12,391 --> 00:18:17,886 While overwhelming, this public housing does come with some useful amenities. 205 00:18:18,030 --> 00:18:22,729 Living in the White House is quite a dream for any homemaker. 206 00:18:22,868 --> 00:18:25,496 There's somebody to do everything, 207 00:18:25,637 --> 00:18:30,472 and it's not just the wonderful butlers and maids, 208 00:18:30,609 --> 00:18:33,271 but if you need a plumber, 209 00:18:33,412 --> 00:18:37,109 all you do is pick up the phone and the plumber is there right away. 210 00:18:38,283 --> 00:18:41,582 Well, when President Johnson first came into office, 211 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:43,381 the Chief Usher call me up and said 212 00:18:43,522 --> 00:18:46,116 the President wants to talk to you about the shower. 213 00:18:46,258 --> 00:18:48,590 He says, "Come up," so I came up. 214 00:18:48,727 --> 00:18:50,991 The President stepped off the elevator coming down 215 00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:53,792 going to the Oval Office that morning. 216 00:18:53,932 --> 00:18:58,301 So, he told me he wanted more water, colder water, and he said, 217 00:18:58,437 --> 00:19:02,430 "If I have to, I'll go over to the Elms and take my shower." 218 00:19:02,574 --> 00:19:05,509 So the first thing I did, I got a chauffeur and went to the Elms 219 00:19:05,644 --> 00:19:07,737 to see what he had over there. 220 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,213 And we came back to the White House and we thought we had it, 221 00:19:11,350 --> 00:19:12,715 you know, perfect for him, you know. 222 00:19:12,851 --> 00:19:15,581 We had it much better than he had at the Elms. 223 00:19:15,721 --> 00:19:19,213 But, he wasn't satisfied with that. 224 00:19:19,358 --> 00:19:21,918 He wanted 50 degree cold water. 225 00:19:22,060 --> 00:19:24,927 He wanted body sprays around him. 226 00:19:25,063 --> 00:19:26,394 And then he told me that 227 00:19:26,532 --> 00:19:29,660 he wanted a showerhead about two feet off the floor. 228 00:19:29,801 --> 00:19:32,201 He said, "I want a showerhead right there." 229 00:19:32,337 --> 00:19:33,770 I said,"Well, you hold your finger there Mr. President. 230 00:19:33,906 --> 00:19:35,999 Let me mark that spot." 231 00:19:36,141 --> 00:19:39,269 In your home, probably you have about eight to ten pounds 232 00:19:39,411 --> 00:19:42,710 of running pressure on your showerhead when it's running. 233 00:19:42,848 --> 00:19:47,285 His was 110 pounds of pressure while it was running. 234 00:19:47,419 --> 00:19:51,150 It was like a mini-car wash. 235 00:19:51,290 --> 00:19:53,952 The Chief Usher was Rex Scouten. 236 00:19:54,092 --> 00:19:56,583 He said, "I have to try that shower out." 237 00:19:56,728 --> 00:20:00,095 And it just kind of pinned him right up against the wall. 238 00:20:11,944 --> 00:20:16,074 The employees are like a family because everybody see, you know - 239 00:20:16,215 --> 00:20:17,876 it's like you've got different departments 240 00:20:18,016 --> 00:20:18,641 and everything like that. 241 00:20:18,784 --> 00:20:20,046 But it's not operated that way. 242 00:20:20,185 --> 00:20:22,278 If you see something that needs to be done, 243 00:20:22,421 --> 00:20:24,082 regardless of which department it is, you do it. 244 00:20:24,223 --> 00:20:26,350 That's why we say it's like a family. 245 00:20:35,934 --> 00:20:40,496 I remember one time teasing a member of the staff, one of the butlers, 246 00:20:40,639 --> 00:20:43,733 and they are really like family and treated our children like family, 247 00:20:43,875 --> 00:20:45,365 and I said, "If you don't behave, 248 00:20:45,510 --> 00:20:46,738 I'm going to get you fired." 249 00:20:46,878 --> 00:20:48,539 And he burst out laughing and said, 250 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:52,013 "Presidents come and go, butlers stay." 251 00:20:54,453 --> 00:21:00,653 In 1945, a young electrician named John Muffler came to work here. 252 00:21:01,727 --> 00:21:05,493 For the last 50 years, in addition to electrical jobs, 253 00:21:05,631 --> 00:21:10,500 he has handled the little annoyances of life for ten first families, 254 00:21:10,636 --> 00:21:14,800 like replacing watch batteries and fixing eye- glasses. 255 00:21:14,940 --> 00:21:17,932 You want to do the Ground Floor, right? 256 00:21:18,710 --> 00:21:22,771 No one in the history of the House has served here longer. 257 00:21:24,516 --> 00:21:26,609 Am I going too fast for you? 258 00:21:27,886 --> 00:21:33,051 The man with the longest tenure here, fittingly, also is in charge of time. 259 00:21:35,060 --> 00:21:38,052 Every Friday, Mr. Muffler winds the clocks 260 00:21:38,196 --> 00:21:40,596 in every part of the White House. 261 00:21:44,002 --> 00:21:46,869 How many clocks are there in the place? 262 00:21:47,005 --> 00:21:49,200 Several. 263 00:21:51,109 --> 00:21:51,837 ...Mr. President? 264 00:21:51,977 --> 00:21:53,569 Yes, it's a beautiful clock. 265 00:21:53,712 --> 00:21:56,476 And it still keeps good time. 266 00:21:56,615 --> 00:21:58,310 Do all these clocks run, Mr. President... 267 00:21:58,450 --> 00:21:59,747 Yes, they all run. 268 00:21:59,885 --> 00:22:03,582 We have a special man who winds clocks every Friday. 269 00:22:04,356 --> 00:22:07,484 I'd always managed to be there when he'd come in somehow, 270 00:22:07,626 --> 00:22:09,958 and one morning he said to me, 271 00:22:10,095 --> 00:22:13,326 "Son, do you know why when I come into this office, 272 00:22:13,465 --> 00:22:17,492 these pictures are all crooked and all bent out of shape?" 273 00:22:17,636 --> 00:22:22,801 I said, "No, Sir, Mr. President, unless the cleaners, 274 00:22:22,941 --> 00:22:25,102 when they're dusting, they move the pictures around." 275 00:22:25,243 --> 00:22:27,438 He said, "No, no, no, that's not the reason." 276 00:22:27,579 --> 00:22:29,012 He said, "Would you like to know?" 277 00:22:29,147 --> 00:22:31,411 I said, "Yes Sir, Mr. President, I would." 278 00:22:31,550 --> 00:22:35,281 And he said, "The rotation of the earth causes that." 279 00:22:35,420 --> 00:22:38,082 And I said, "Yes Sir, Mr. President." 280 00:22:38,223 --> 00:22:40,054 But he went over every morning and straightened 'em... 281 00:22:40,192 --> 00:22:41,454 Oh, I love Mr. Muffler. 282 00:22:41,593 --> 00:22:46,360 I can't do anything like program VCRs or set digital clocks 283 00:22:46,498 --> 00:22:49,524 and so I'm always needing his help to come to my rescue, 284 00:22:49,668 --> 00:22:52,159 but he's a perfect example of the kind of... 285 00:22:52,304 --> 00:22:55,603 ...dedicated service that people have given to the White House 286 00:22:55,741 --> 00:22:59,973 and to Presidents and their families for over 200 plus years. 287 00:23:08,787 --> 00:23:10,880 United Nations War Council. 288 00:23:11,022 --> 00:23:13,252 President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill 289 00:23:13,392 --> 00:23:14,450 at the White House... 290 00:23:14,593 --> 00:23:18,552 Because of what happens here, even in the wee hours of the night, 291 00:23:18,697 --> 00:23:21,029 someone is always on call. 292 00:23:21,166 --> 00:23:25,535 Alonzo Fields, White House butler for 21 years, 293 00:23:25,670 --> 00:23:30,607 developed a unique relationship with Prime Minister Winston Churchill. 294 00:23:30,742 --> 00:23:36,180 Around 1:30, I decided that the Prime Minister satisfied 295 00:23:36,314 --> 00:23:39,681 and I was thinking of going... really going to bed. 296 00:23:39,818 --> 00:23:42,150 And the bell buzzed. 297 00:23:42,287 --> 00:23:46,383 I went in, the Prime Minister is walking up and down... 298 00:23:46,525 --> 00:23:51,224 ...with this scotch in his hand, talking, quoting, 299 00:23:51,363 --> 00:23:54,093 and saying different things and he says, 300 00:23:54,232 --> 00:23:56,132 "We're trying to find out from the Russians 301 00:23:56,268 --> 00:23:59,362 what we can do for them. But what can we do? 302 00:23:59,504 --> 00:24:01,131 It's like an iron shade." 303 00:24:01,273 --> 00:24:03,138 And then he stopped and stomped his foot, 304 00:24:03,275 --> 00:24:06,108 "Oh, make that an iron curtain." 305 00:24:07,612 --> 00:24:12,675 And then he saw me and my eyes saw the bottle was empty. 306 00:24:12,818 --> 00:24:14,285 "My poker face didn't fool you." 307 00:24:14,419 --> 00:24:17,547 He says, "Yes, my man, I need some more to drink." 308 00:24:17,689 --> 00:24:21,420 He says, "I have a war to fight. And I need fortitude." 309 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:25,223 So I proceeded and got a bottle of scotch and opened it 310 00:24:25,363 --> 00:24:28,127 and poured the Prime Minister a drink and then I said to him, 311 00:24:28,266 --> 00:24:31,360 "Mr. Prime Minister, will that be all for the night?" 312 00:24:31,503 --> 00:24:35,234 And he says, "I don't know. I can depend on you." 313 00:24:35,373 --> 00:24:37,739 And I said, "Well, Mr. Prime Minister, what is it?" 314 00:24:37,876 --> 00:24:42,813 And he says, "Well, if ever I'm accused of being a teetotaler, 315 00:24:42,948 --> 00:24:45,178 I want you to come to my defense." 316 00:24:45,317 --> 00:24:49,276 I says, "Mr. Prime Minister, I'll defend you to the last drop." 317 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:59,558 It's hard to imagine today, but back in the Madison Administration 318 00:24:59,698 --> 00:25:04,761 during the War of 1812, the British Army captured the city of Washington 319 00:25:04,903 --> 00:25:07,394 and burned the White House. 320 00:25:10,141 --> 00:25:12,701 The Madisons were trying to keep a cheery face on it all 321 00:25:12,844 --> 00:25:16,007 and they had a dinner party. 322 00:25:16,147 --> 00:25:18,377 And some of the most amusing in context 323 00:25:18,517 --> 00:25:19,711 letters of the Madison paper 324 00:25:19,851 --> 00:25:21,842 are regrets to that particular dinner party 325 00:25:21,987 --> 00:25:23,955 that night in August. 326 00:25:24,723 --> 00:25:27,453 Lo and behold, you could hear the gunfire. 327 00:25:27,592 --> 00:25:30,652 Mrs. Madison finally fled herself, left the house alone with Paul Jennings 328 00:25:30,795 --> 00:25:31,921 a slave. 329 00:25:32,063 --> 00:25:34,759 Jennings was to bank the fire, ironically, to keep it 330 00:25:34,900 --> 00:25:36,834 from burning down. 331 00:25:38,069 --> 00:25:39,832 But the British came in at eleven at night. 332 00:25:39,971 --> 00:25:40,699 They saw the dinner. 333 00:25:40,839 --> 00:25:42,670 The officers sat down and had the dinner. 334 00:25:42,807 --> 00:25:45,105 The furniture was piled up in the rooms with lamp oil on it, 335 00:25:45,243 --> 00:25:47,302 the windows broken out. 336 00:25:47,445 --> 00:25:51,245 And about 1 a. M., the British stood with flaming javelins 337 00:25:51,383 --> 00:25:54,841 in a circle around the house and Lieutenant Pratt fired his pistol. 338 00:25:55,453 --> 00:25:58,388 The javelins were thrown in the house and it exploded. 339 00:25:58,523 --> 00:26:01,253 Mrs. William Thornton a British citizen, was there and said, 340 00:26:01,393 --> 00:26:03,486 "It glowed like a great plum cake." 341 00:26:06,264 --> 00:26:08,858 The White House is reduced to ashes except for the stone walls 342 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,094 that General Washington had cherished so. 343 00:26:21,980 --> 00:26:26,576 Upstairs on the Truman Balcony we have one block that's unpainted. 344 00:26:26,718 --> 00:26:29,516 But whenever we have people up there, I take them outside and I look at it, 345 00:26:29,654 --> 00:26:32,521 and I say, "You remember this house burned in 1814." 346 00:26:32,657 --> 00:26:33,681 I look at it all the time, 347 00:26:33,825 --> 00:26:35,656 every time we have any kind of international incident. 348 00:26:35,794 --> 00:26:40,754 When Captain O'Grady was rescued out of Bosnia, 349 00:26:40,899 --> 00:26:44,858 I went out on the Truman Balcony and I looked at the burn marks. 350 00:26:46,571 --> 00:26:51,235 But I'm very aware every day I go to work about how this house 351 00:26:51,376 --> 00:26:53,810 carries the whole story of America 352 00:26:53,945 --> 00:26:59,713 and how we're still creating that story and what our obligations are. 353 00:27:15,634 --> 00:27:17,693 Throughout the day during a state visit 354 00:27:17,836 --> 00:27:21,636 meetings between the official delegations are held and the press moves 355 00:27:21,773 --> 00:27:24,469 from room to room for photo opportunities. 356 00:27:24,609 --> 00:27:27,077 ...care to respond to the health care situation... 357 00:27:27,212 --> 00:27:31,012 Those living here are surrounded by constant reminders... 358 00:27:31,149 --> 00:27:34,243 ...that they are not living a private life. 359 00:27:35,954 --> 00:27:39,446 "I feel as though I have just turned into a piece of public property," 360 00:27:39,591 --> 00:27:43,721 Jacqueline ennedy said after only two months in White House. 361 00:27:57,942 --> 00:28:00,775 Grandpa lives in the big White House in Washington. 362 00:28:00,912 --> 00:28:02,539 And Grandma lives there too. 363 00:28:02,681 --> 00:28:05,582 And there she is with two of the grandchildren... 364 00:28:10,522 --> 00:28:12,752 as the entire family goes to the East Room 365 00:28:12,891 --> 00:28:15,621 to pose for the News of the Day camera. 366 00:28:33,111 --> 00:28:37,673 The South Lawn has always been the quintessential American backyard... 367 00:28:39,117 --> 00:28:42,644 ...something between a playground and a formal garden. 368 00:28:49,828 --> 00:28:52,661 President Wilson kept a flock of sheep here 369 00:28:52,797 --> 00:28:56,324 and he also welcomed the first autogiro. 370 00:28:56,468 --> 00:28:58,629 Each morning during the Hoover Administration 371 00:28:58,770 --> 00:29:03,571 the Cabinet played an exercise game with an eight-pound medicine ball. 372 00:29:03,708 --> 00:29:06,541 When lke installed the first putting green, 373 00:29:06,678 --> 00:29:10,114 the stage was set for confrontation with the local constituents. 374 00:29:10,248 --> 00:29:12,910 Squirrels have created a nutty problem at the White House 375 00:29:13,051 --> 00:29:14,712 with President Eisenhower complaining 376 00:29:14,853 --> 00:29:18,812 that the four-legged vandals are tearing up his private putting green. 377 00:29:21,025 --> 00:29:22,856 The President, a very earnest golfer, 378 00:29:22,994 --> 00:29:24,689 brought on a mighty political storm 379 00:29:24,829 --> 00:29:26,763 with his decision to banish the squirrels, 380 00:29:26,898 --> 00:29:28,126 even though nobody has found out 381 00:29:28,266 --> 00:29:31,599 whether the animals are Republicans or Democrats. 382 00:29:33,037 --> 00:29:38,976 Well, the South Lawn is well inhabited by squirrels. 383 00:29:39,110 --> 00:29:41,908 And up at Camp David, 384 00:29:42,046 --> 00:29:48,281 I noticed that the oak trees shed acorns to a great extent. 385 00:29:48,419 --> 00:29:51,911 And the squirrels didn't do much about them. 386 00:29:52,056 --> 00:29:56,755 So when the day came to go back down to the White House, 387 00:29:56,895 --> 00:29:59,625 I'd fill my pockets with acorns. 388 00:29:59,764 --> 00:30:02,198 And there, up and down and in the Rose Garden, 389 00:30:02,333 --> 00:30:07,134 there would be these squirrels and I'd throw the acorns out to them 390 00:30:07,272 --> 00:30:11,299 and you'd see them, wham, they'd just go and grab for those acorns 391 00:30:11,442 --> 00:30:17,176 One occasion, at Camp David, I didn't get any acorns, 392 00:30:17,315 --> 00:30:19,408 and when I came back, 393 00:30:19,551 --> 00:30:24,614 well, I went into the Oval Office and we were having a meeting there. 394 00:30:24,756 --> 00:30:27,816 I looked and in every one of those windows, 395 00:30:27,959 --> 00:30:31,326 the squirrels were standing on their hind legs 396 00:30:31,462 --> 00:30:36,422 and looking through their front legs inside. 397 00:30:36,568 --> 00:30:39,230 And they're looking at me. 398 00:30:39,370 --> 00:30:42,430 And they literally... I could see were saying, 399 00:30:42,574 --> 00:30:44,906 "Where are the acorns?" 400 00:31:00,325 --> 00:31:01,917 At about 3 p. M., 401 00:31:02,060 --> 00:31:06,497 the pianist for tonight's entertainment practices in the East Room. 402 00:31:08,533 --> 00:31:11,434 One floor below, in the White House kitchen, 403 00:31:11,569 --> 00:31:16,734 chef Walter Scheib is gearing up for dinner now only five hours away. 404 00:31:21,145 --> 00:31:25,514 In addition to the normal pressure to please, turn-of-the-century chefs 405 00:31:25,650 --> 00:31:28,551 ...had to routinely serve seven-course family meals 406 00:31:28,686 --> 00:31:31,814 and twenty-course state dinners. 407 00:31:33,524 --> 00:31:36,652 The pleasures of these meals were not lost on President Taft, 408 00:31:36,794 --> 00:31:40,321 who tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds. 409 00:31:41,699 --> 00:31:43,428 Though a success in the kitchen, 410 00:31:43,568 --> 00:31:47,527 the chef's handy work was causing problems elsewhere. 411 00:31:47,672 --> 00:31:51,768 White House bathtubs proved too narrow for Taft; 412 00:31:51,910 --> 00:31:53,172 to his consternation 413 00:31:53,311 --> 00:31:56,747 the President was frequently left stuck in the tub. 414 00:31:57,582 --> 00:32:02,110 White House ushers were sent scurrying to find a proper vessel. 415 00:32:03,755 --> 00:32:07,213 When it finally arrived, it was 41 inches wide, 416 00:32:07,358 --> 00:32:13,729 could hold nearly 65 gallons of water, and all the men who installed it. 417 00:32:16,567 --> 00:32:17,898 Tonight's guests will be served 418 00:32:18,036 --> 00:32:21,028 one of the legendary White House desserts, 419 00:32:21,806 --> 00:32:25,606 the creation of pastry chef Roland Mesnier. 420 00:32:28,947 --> 00:32:30,915 That goes back. 421 00:32:31,049 --> 00:32:35,509 This is when I am even more nervous than normal. 422 00:32:35,653 --> 00:32:41,649 You have to remember, you know, when you serve a state dinner, 423 00:32:41,793 --> 00:32:43,988 who are your guests? 424 00:32:44,529 --> 00:32:48,727 The dining room is filled with extremely important people, 425 00:32:48,866 --> 00:32:52,768 people who have been everywhere, that have tasted all sorts of food, 426 00:32:52,904 --> 00:32:58,968 and our job is to make sure that the guests will leave the White House 427 00:32:59,110 --> 00:33:02,443 feeling that the President and Mrs. Clinton did an excellent job 428 00:33:02,580 --> 00:33:05,549 receiving the guests, not the pastry chef, no, 429 00:33:05,683 --> 00:33:08,709 or anybody else, but that the President and the First Lady. 430 00:33:08,853 --> 00:33:12,345 That has to be very well understood. 431 00:33:12,490 --> 00:33:18,190 I think if you can do that, then I think you do your job very well. 432 00:33:19,998 --> 00:33:23,525 Mesnier's almond baskets will be the dinner's grand finale. 433 00:33:26,537 --> 00:33:27,970 It's the type of culinary touch 434 00:33:28,106 --> 00:33:31,166 that has always attracted the attention of gourmets, 435 00:33:31,309 --> 00:33:34,107 including Julia Child. 436 00:33:36,347 --> 00:33:40,716 While history has recorded the names of almost every White House chef, 437 00:33:40,852 --> 00:33:43,912 the names and lives of the kitchen assistants and the servants 438 00:33:44,055 --> 00:33:48,617 who toiled on the staff have gone largely unrecorded. 439 00:33:57,001 --> 00:34:02,598 In 1909, Mrs. Taft considered firing all of the white ushers 440 00:34:02,740 --> 00:34:06,676 because they couldn't be treated like servants in the same way as blacks. 441 00:34:06,811 --> 00:34:09,143 She was persuaded not to. 442 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:13,080 Despite the discrimination, black Americans who worked here then 443 00:34:13,217 --> 00:34:15,481 created a vibrant world. 444 00:34:15,620 --> 00:34:18,589 Their White House positions placed them in the upper strata 445 00:34:18,723 --> 00:34:22,090 of Washington's black society. 446 00:34:22,226 --> 00:34:27,459 James Coats, Adolph Bird, and Arlen Dixon, 447 00:34:27,598 --> 00:34:31,967 I remember the first three butlers I met during the Tafts Administration. 448 00:34:32,703 --> 00:34:37,003 Lillian Rogers Parks, a White House seamstress for 30 years, 449 00:34:37,141 --> 00:34:40,872 was introduced to that society by her mother, Maggie Rogers, 450 00:34:41,012 --> 00:34:43,776 a maid to Mrs. Taft. 451 00:34:44,615 --> 00:34:47,311 They had their homes and they entertained 452 00:34:47,452 --> 00:34:49,317 and then we had clubs. 453 00:34:49,454 --> 00:34:51,149 That was very classy. 454 00:34:51,289 --> 00:34:54,224 And that gave them the idea to get together 455 00:34:54,358 --> 00:34:56,451 and have a little a club at the White House 456 00:34:56,594 --> 00:34:57,788 called the Chandeliers. 457 00:35:00,898 --> 00:35:04,891 Named for the cut glass fixtures in the East Room, the Chandelier Club, 458 00:35:05,036 --> 00:35:07,800 like many social clubs in the early 1900s, 459 00:35:07,939 --> 00:35:10,237 held a ball each year. 460 00:35:10,775 --> 00:35:12,572 Though it was not staged there, 461 00:35:12,710 --> 00:35:17,079 the White House imprimatur made the Chandelier Ball exclusive. 462 00:35:17,582 --> 00:35:23,020 The Marine Band played and White House dignitaries always attended. 463 00:35:23,154 --> 00:35:26,817 But outside the ball, black workers were still treated 464 00:35:26,958 --> 00:35:29,153 as second-class citizens. 465 00:35:31,295 --> 00:35:35,789 In 1902, President Teddy Roosevelt invited the noted educator, 466 00:35:35,933 --> 00:35:39,334 Booker T. Washington, to the White House for dinner. 467 00:35:39,470 --> 00:35:43,770 Press reaction in the South and the North was severe. 468 00:35:50,548 --> 00:35:52,709 Roosevelt was chastened. 469 00:35:52,850 --> 00:35:55,717 No black American received another social invitation 470 00:35:55,853 --> 00:35:59,619 to the White House for 28 years. 471 00:36:07,431 --> 00:36:09,991 In the entrance hall, the honor guard practices 472 00:36:10,134 --> 00:36:13,365 for their ceremonial march later this evening. 473 00:36:14,338 --> 00:36:18,240 They are performing a kind of ritual that helps define what has become 474 00:36:18,376 --> 00:36:20,640 a national shrine. 475 00:36:23,214 --> 00:36:27,583 For the occupants of the late 1800s, the White House was too small 476 00:36:27,718 --> 00:36:31,415 and not nearly grand enough for the nation's aspirations. 477 00:36:31,556 --> 00:36:37,085 There were frequent and elaborate plans to expand or even abandon it. 478 00:36:39,263 --> 00:36:42,858 I don't think the White House would have survived the late 1860s, 479 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,333 had it not been where Lincoln had lived. 480 00:36:55,246 --> 00:36:57,407 You think of Lincoln in his nightshirt going down the hall at night 481 00:36:57,548 --> 00:36:58,537 with the wind blowing 482 00:36:58,683 --> 00:37:01,413 and his dreams that his secretary sold him out, 483 00:37:01,552 --> 00:37:04,851 and his wife's problems, the child's death. 484 00:37:04,989 --> 00:37:06,456 And it all happened in the White House. 485 00:37:06,591 --> 00:37:07,489 And it's from the White House 486 00:37:07,625 --> 00:37:09,559 he left in his carriage to go to Ford's Theater 487 00:37:09,694 --> 00:37:12,595 and it was to the White House he was brought back dead. 488 00:37:14,098 --> 00:37:18,535 It's not too excessive to say that Lincoln sanctified the White House. 489 00:37:23,841 --> 00:37:26,901 Now those... this is what we call pull sugar, 490 00:37:27,044 --> 00:37:31,071 which is simply water, glucose and lemon juice... 491 00:37:31,215 --> 00:37:34,150 With only hours to go before the evening begins, 492 00:37:34,285 --> 00:37:38,949 pastry chef Roland Mesnier is finishing tonight's culinary grand finale. 493 00:37:40,658 --> 00:37:45,391 Until you feel that you are... that the ribbons is wide enough 494 00:37:45,529 --> 00:37:48,555 because as you pull it thin, it will get narrow on you. 495 00:37:48,699 --> 00:37:50,223 That's... 496 00:37:54,305 --> 00:37:58,071 just like a baby, very, very careful, 497 00:37:58,209 --> 00:38:03,476 you have to kind of have to tickle it and massage it and be nice to it. 498 00:38:03,614 --> 00:38:05,741 See, look at these. 499 00:38:05,883 --> 00:38:10,946 Precision and timing is the key to beautiful ribbons. 500 00:38:15,159 --> 00:38:19,118 It makes you very nervous because of the kind of material we're using. 501 00:38:19,263 --> 00:38:21,959 Some as you can see shatters just like this. 502 00:38:22,099 --> 00:38:24,158 And, you know, one touch, and that's it. 503 00:38:24,302 --> 00:38:26,793 One wrong move, in the corner of the dough. 504 00:38:26,937 --> 00:38:32,466 So I think every state dinner I age about two or three years. 505 00:38:33,144 --> 00:38:35,840 Mesnier's creations represent the sophistication 506 00:38:35,980 --> 00:38:37,811 of the White House staff. 507 00:38:37,948 --> 00:38:40,940 But it wasn't always this way. 508 00:38:45,289 --> 00:38:47,120 At the end of the 19th century, 509 00:38:47,258 --> 00:38:51,160 the President's house reflected the manners of a frontier nation, 510 00:38:51,295 --> 00:38:54,992 not the style of an emerging imperial power. 511 00:39:00,771 --> 00:39:05,265 It was a home comparable to many other residences from its beginnings, 512 00:39:05,409 --> 00:39:07,877 and then enormous demands came upon it 513 00:39:08,012 --> 00:39:12,073 and we've had a rather imperial community come to Washington. 514 00:39:13,417 --> 00:39:16,079 General Grant, goodness, he went out and got an old orderly 515 00:39:16,220 --> 00:39:18,848 in the military that was a friend of his to come be the chef. 516 00:39:18,989 --> 00:39:21,321 And they had a state dinner and here, apple pie came out 517 00:39:21,459 --> 00:39:24,257 and big slabs of roast beef with gravy dripping off of the plates 518 00:39:24,395 --> 00:39:25,987 and Mrs. Grant was mortified. 519 00:39:26,130 --> 00:39:27,791 These ambassadors didn't know what to do with it - 520 00:39:27,932 --> 00:39:30,526 get on the floor and chew it or what. 521 00:39:31,969 --> 00:39:35,928 By 1902, a brilliant young man named George Cortelyou 522 00:39:36,073 --> 00:39:38,598 had changed all of that. 523 00:39:39,310 --> 00:39:44,111 At Roosevelt's request, he created an almost regal White House style 524 00:39:44,248 --> 00:39:47,479 that redefined the house for the new century. 525 00:39:49,353 --> 00:39:52,481 As part of the new look, Teddy Roosevelt officially changed 526 00:39:52,623 --> 00:39:54,784 the name of the mansion: 527 00:39:55,593 --> 00:39:57,720 The new letterhead read simply: 528 00:39:57,862 --> 00:40:00,854 "White House, Washington." 529 00:40:04,802 --> 00:40:07,999 As part of Teddy Roosevelt's re-invention of the White House, 530 00:40:08,139 --> 00:40:10,403 he added a new wing. 531 00:40:15,446 --> 00:40:18,381 It is in this Wing, not in the house itself, 532 00:40:18,516 --> 00:40:23,419 that the most famous room in America stands: The Oval Office. 533 00:40:36,167 --> 00:40:41,070 Frankly... and definitely there is danger ahead. 534 00:40:41,705 --> 00:40:46,699 Danger against which we must prepare. 535 00:40:47,745 --> 00:40:52,808 We are now prepared to destroy, more rapidly and completely, 536 00:40:52,950 --> 00:40:57,978 every productive enterprise the Japanese have in any city. 537 00:40:58,122 --> 00:41:03,389 We shall destroy their docks, their factories, and their communication. 538 00:41:03,527 --> 00:41:08,430 It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile 539 00:41:08,566 --> 00:41:12,502 launched from Cuba... against any nation in the Western Hemisphere 540 00:41:12,636 --> 00:41:17,232 as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States. 541 00:41:32,356 --> 00:41:34,790 Because of the history that has been made here, 542 00:41:34,925 --> 00:41:39,259 the White House is the most potent symbol of power in the world. 543 00:41:49,507 --> 00:41:54,035 Inside the symbol with only an hour before the first guests arrive, 544 00:41:54,178 --> 00:41:57,909 the White House staff is in a whirl of final preparation. 545 00:42:00,718 --> 00:42:04,449 No, no, no. They greet these people here... 546 00:42:05,089 --> 00:42:07,819 Each of the head people: The tables have been set up very well. 547 00:42:07,958 --> 00:42:09,357 I've personally checked them... 548 00:42:16,967 --> 00:42:18,400 I hope there's nobody here. 549 00:42:29,346 --> 00:42:32,110 It's those mundane chores that have to be done. 550 00:42:41,659 --> 00:42:44,253 That's part of what the evening's about 551 00:42:45,963 --> 00:42:49,023 ...is part of setting a mood 552 00:42:49,166 --> 00:42:51,327 as well as entertaining guests. 553 00:42:51,468 --> 00:42:56,030 We're trying to set a mood which is a nice pleasant evening for everybody. 554 00:42:58,509 --> 00:43:01,672 Since any of these plates could be the President's, 555 00:43:01,812 --> 00:43:03,780 each has to be perfect. 556 00:43:03,914 --> 00:43:06,439 Though each guest eats the same meal, 557 00:43:06,584 --> 00:43:09,781 everyone doesn't get to dine with the President. 558 00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:14,152 All of tonight's 151 guests will not fit in the State Dining Room 559 00:43:14,291 --> 00:43:19,092 so some of them will have to eat here in the Ground Floor Map Room. 560 00:43:19,930 --> 00:43:22,398 To the Russians who have been relegated here, 561 00:43:22,533 --> 00:43:28,028 someone may have to explain the American concept of "the kids table" 562 00:43:33,944 --> 00:43:35,639 You gotta know what you're doin'. 563 00:43:36,513 --> 00:43:39,539 Not just anyone can serve the President and his guests. 564 00:43:39,683 --> 00:43:41,344 Besides careful training, 565 00:43:41,485 --> 00:43:45,785 each of these waiters has undergone an FBI background check. 566 00:43:49,326 --> 00:43:53,763 The State Dining Room, like the rest of the house, is ready, 567 00:43:54,431 --> 00:43:57,992 but Gary Walters isn't taking any chances. 568 00:43:59,770 --> 00:44:04,207 If the Chief Usher had made a similar inspection of the House 45 years ago, 569 00:44:04,341 --> 00:44:07,504 he would have found a few things out of place. 570 00:44:08,879 --> 00:44:13,248 In 1948, the White House was completely gutted. 571 00:44:13,384 --> 00:44:15,215 The floors that Jackson, Lincoln, 572 00:44:15,352 --> 00:44:19,254 and two Roosevelts had walked across were gone. 573 00:44:21,158 --> 00:44:23,922 After five years of demolition and construction, 574 00:44:24,061 --> 00:44:26,655 the White House was res rebuilt. 575 00:44:26,797 --> 00:44:31,291 The inside of the house was put back exactly as before. 576 00:44:33,237 --> 00:44:36,832 Though it was now constructed of steel and concrete, 577 00:44:36,974 --> 00:44:41,877 Jefferson and Lincoln would have easily recognized their old home. 578 00:44:43,681 --> 00:44:45,774 And the idea is preserved. 579 00:44:45,916 --> 00:44:46,905 That's really what it is. 580 00:44:47,051 --> 00:44:52,512 The idea of the house and the symbol is bigger than any material part of it. 581 00:44:52,656 --> 00:44:54,385 And that has remained intact 582 00:44:54,525 --> 00:44:57,551 and is really more powerful than ever today. 583 00:45:08,572 --> 00:45:11,905 By the time the President and First Lady reach the first floor, 584 00:45:12,042 --> 00:45:13,839 everything is ready. 585 00:45:13,977 --> 00:45:17,845 All the preparations have led to this moment; 586 00:45:17,981 --> 00:45:21,849 now all they need are guests. 587 00:45:41,138 --> 00:45:45,097 At night, it's a very different thing than what happens at the beginning 588 00:45:45,242 --> 00:45:46,766 of the state visit. 589 00:45:46,910 --> 00:45:49,208 We will have worked all day long. 590 00:45:49,346 --> 00:45:51,541 And the visit will either have been a success 591 00:45:51,682 --> 00:45:54,242 or a moderate success or maybe not so successful, 592 00:45:54,384 --> 00:45:56,909 but what you want to do at night 593 00:45:57,054 --> 00:46:00,512 is to simply seal the best possible relationship you can 594 00:46:00,657 --> 00:46:03,592 between the leaders of the countries. 595 00:46:04,294 --> 00:46:06,728 So at night you really just want them to enjoy themselves, 596 00:46:06,864 --> 00:46:08,354 you want them to have a good time at the dinner, 597 00:46:08,499 --> 00:46:10,364 to say what they want to say at the toast 598 00:46:10,501 --> 00:46:13,402 and just be glad that they can be there. 599 00:46:22,012 --> 00:46:23,570 In the family's private quarters 600 00:46:23,714 --> 00:46:26,615 on the seldom seen Second Floor of the White House, 601 00:46:26,750 --> 00:46:30,413 one of the most critical moments of the visit unfolds. 602 00:46:30,554 --> 00:46:35,048 Here, the President and First Lady have a chance to relax with their guest 603 00:46:35,192 --> 00:46:37,558 in the warm atmosphere of a home. 604 00:46:52,543 --> 00:46:56,104 The press waits at the foot of the Grand Stair where in a moment 605 00:46:56,246 --> 00:47:00,012 one of the most formal ceremonies of the state visit will occur: 606 00:47:00,651 --> 00:47:03,085 The Presidential entrance march. 607 00:47:35,452 --> 00:47:38,944 Ladies and Gentlemen, President of the United States and Mrs. Clinton, 608 00:47:39,089 --> 00:47:43,025 accompanied by the President of the Russian Federation and Mrs. Yeltsin. 609 00:48:03,647 --> 00:48:06,445 The receiving line is charged with excitement 610 00:48:06,583 --> 00:48:09,313 because famous as the guests may be, 611 00:48:09,453 --> 00:48:13,389 they are about to meet the two most powerful men in the world. 612 00:48:27,504 --> 00:48:30,632 The rising anticipation of the evening is peaking by the time 613 00:48:30,774 --> 00:48:33,208 the official toasts are made. 614 00:48:34,444 --> 00:48:36,742 President Yeltsin's should be finishing any minute now. 615 00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:39,007 He's going a couple a minutes over his five minutes. 616 00:48:39,149 --> 00:48:41,743 He's up to about eight minutes now of speaking. 617 00:48:47,224 --> 00:48:50,387 And finally, dinner begins. 618 00:49:34,271 --> 00:49:37,900 While dinner continues upstairs, downstairs, 619 00:49:38,041 --> 00:49:41,340 the staff is battling back an avalanche of dishes. 620 00:49:41,478 --> 00:49:43,639 Working hard. Working hard. 621 00:49:44,848 --> 00:49:46,907 Cocktails is serving. 622 00:49:47,050 --> 00:49:50,451 After the cocktails that's when it starts flowing in. 623 00:49:50,587 --> 00:49:55,286 Start coming down and after that, it's nonstop. 624 00:49:55,425 --> 00:49:58,724 Do you kind of forget where you are? 625 00:49:58,862 --> 00:50:04,767 No, no. You know you're in the kitchen washing and drying dishes. 626 00:50:11,041 --> 00:50:14,499 At the top of the winding stair that connects the two worlds, 627 00:50:14,644 --> 00:50:19,104 days of work are about to payoff for pastry chef Roland Mesnier. 628 00:50:34,798 --> 00:50:37,995 If you are hungry enough, you can eat the whole thing, yes. 629 00:50:45,842 --> 00:50:47,571 On evenings like these, 630 00:50:47,711 --> 00:50:51,875 dinner is followed by a performance in the East Room. 631 00:50:57,487 --> 00:51:02,322 During the civil rights movement, singer Sarah Vaughan performed here. 632 00:51:03,126 --> 00:51:04,423 At the end of the evening, 633 00:51:04,561 --> 00:51:07,758 a staff member found her sobbing in her dressing room. 634 00:51:07,898 --> 00:51:09,195 When asked what was wrong, 635 00:51:09,332 --> 00:51:12,460 she said, "Nothing is the matter. 636 00:51:12,602 --> 00:51:15,127 It's just that 20 years ago when I came to Washington, 637 00:51:15,272 --> 00:51:19,606 I couldn't even get a hotel room, and tonight I sang for the President 638 00:51:19,743 --> 00:51:22,644 of the United States in the White House- 639 00:51:22,779 --> 00:51:25,339 and then he asked me to dance with him. 640 00:51:25,482 --> 00:51:28,474 It is more than I can stand!" 641 00:51:35,392 --> 00:51:40,728 Tonight, Diva athleen Battle lends her voice to the house. 642 00:52:04,054 --> 00:52:05,954 I think one of the attractions of the White House, 643 00:52:06,089 --> 00:52:08,683 one of the things that makes it so precious in our country, 644 00:52:08,825 --> 00:52:13,694 is the fact that a family really is living there every day. 645 00:52:13,830 --> 00:52:18,392 That it's a center not only of political power and prestige 646 00:52:18,535 --> 00:52:19,467 on a global basis, 647 00:52:19,603 --> 00:52:24,939 but has that human touch of individuals enjoying life within those... 648 00:52:25,075 --> 00:52:27,942 I guess you might say, hallowed halls. 649 00:52:32,516 --> 00:52:34,848 Tomorrow it will start all over again 650 00:52:34,985 --> 00:52:38,921 and every day for as long as there is a republic. 651 00:52:40,390 --> 00:52:44,190 Families will come and go, just as butlers and maids do, 652 00:52:44,327 --> 00:52:47,694 dignitaries and old gentlemen who wind clocks. 653 00:52:50,800 --> 00:52:55,396 These are the people who furnish this house and give it life 654 00:52:55,539 --> 00:53:01,341 and as they do, an American idea endures.