STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
In this partisan time, a man came by our studios who did a nonpartisan job, Gary J. Walters. He worked in the White House. He did this for decades, for president after president of both parties. Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush. Walters has now put out a memoir with the White House Historical Association. "White House Memories" tracks 37 years of service, including 20 as chief usher.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
What's the chief usher do?
INSKEEP: I wondered the same thing, so I asked him.
GARY J WALTERS: The first and foremost is running the house and the operation and the privacy of the first family and making them as comfortable as possible. The resident staff served the presidency, not the president, because it's an ongoing activity. And each new administration, the staff needs to adjust to the family because it's their home.
INSKEEP: Why was it important to you just now to say that you served the presidency rather than the president?
WALTERS: Because we served Democrats and Republicans. And the resident staff, marvelous, wonderful group of people. I had 90 people on my staff. They have to be able to adapt - in a few short hours, actually, when one family leaves and another family moves in - to that family's desires and wishes and make that their home that first day.
INSKEEP: What did you like about the job?
WALTERS: The ability to work with the presidents and the first ladies through my own mouth, my own eyes, my own ears. I didn't have to listen to what other people said about them. And then, of course, we had all the activities, you know, all the presidential activities.
INSKEEP: Always something going on, yeah.
WALTERS: State dinners and receptions and, well, right now, the Christmas decorations, something that's probably been in the works for at least the last nine months if not the whole year.
INSKEEP: Were you involved with the Christmas decorations in your time?
WALTERS: Every year.
INSKEEP: I was aware that there was an infrastructure of people around the president, of course. But I did not realize that there is a flower shop, that there is a carpenter's shop that can build a piece of furniture if a president wants one.
WALTERS: Correct.
INSKEEP: What else is there?
WALTERS: Plumbers, calligraphers, curators, butlers, chefs.
INSKEEP: There are full-time...
WALTERS: Housekeeping staff.
INSKEEP: There are full-time calligraphers on the White House staff?
WALTERS: Absolutely.
INSKEEP: For, like, what invitations?
WALTERS: All the invitations and other proclamations the president does and all those things.
INSKEEP: There are so many presidents to ask about. One of the presidents who was under tremendous pressure was Bill Clinton. He was impeached, not removed, but impeached during your time. You discussed this briefly in the book. But what was it like to just try to support this person who was under such extraordinary political pressure?
WALTERS: Take care of the everyday mundane things. The presidency doesn't go away. He still had meetings and staff and events in the executive residence. And our job was just to try and be supportive in any way that we could.
INSKEEP: I'm thinking there must be occasions where you had a question for that president or another president. and you just - you don't ask it? You keep your mouth shut?
WALTERS: What do you want for dinner this evening, Mr. President?
(LAUGHTER)
INSKEEP: No, I mean, you would ask that question...
WALTERS: Absolutely.
INSKEEP: ...Instead of the thing that was on your mind?
WALTERS: Absolutely.
INSKEEP: Wow. You have an entire chapter about the presidents and sports. You note that some of these presidents ran, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush. And just thinking about them running in circles around part of the White House lawn...
WALTERS: (Laughter).
INSKEEP: ...Made me realize how hard it would be for a president just to actually get out and run.
WALTERS: Yes. And actually, when the Clintons were coming into office, early on I spoke with Mrs. Clinton. And she said, is there any way to provide a softer surface for the president to run on? So we devised a system. I worked with the National Park Service. And we actually cut out a 4-foot-wide piece of the south grounds all the way around, milled it out and put a rubber material down.
INSKEEP: Oh.
WALTERS: That provided a jogging track for the presidents.
INSKEEP: I have to ask about current times. I know you did not serve the last two or three presidents, but we talked about nonpartisan service. The current administration openly does not believe in nonpartisan service, argues that it is impossible and that civil servants are biased one way or the other. What do you feel about that when you hear that?
WALTERS: Well, politics is politics. We have two parties and that's just what it is. It's always adversarial. But that didn't affect me and the staff that worked for me because we didn't see the presidency by politics. We saw the presidency as a man trying to do what he thought was best for the country, and how could we help him?
INSKEEP: And you're telling me that in your experience, that was possible, for you to do your job as an American, regardless of party, your party or their party.
WALTERS: Absolutely, because the responsibility was for us to support the presidency, not the president.
INSKEEP: I hope people get a chance to see. You include amazing diagrams of the White House, the way the residence looks, the different layers, the different rooms. I really love it. But in one respect, even though it's a very new book, the diagrams are out of date because they include the East Wing.
WALTERS: They're out of date from 1905.
INSKEEP: (Laughter).
WALTERS: When the West Wing was built. Not many people are talking about what occurred to allow the West Wing and the colonnade to be built.
INSKEEP: There was a greenhouse or something, right?
WALTERS: There were massive greenhouses, conservatories, a stable. But it's progress. It's moving forward.
INSKEEP: Do you remember people in the White House in your time saying, man, we really need a bigger room?
WALTERS: Yeah, the Clinton administration. We were constantly putting up tents and taking them down. And that's tremendously disruptive. No. 1, they go...
INSKEEP: Yeah.
WALTERS: It's 180 feet by 100 feet. That's the size of the tent. The only place that's open like that on the White House grounds is where the helicopter lands.
INSKEEP: Oh.
WALTERS: So the president doesn't have a place to land the helicopter. And, yeah, everybody talked about potential for some larger venue.
INSKEEP: You retired in 2007.
WALTERS: Correct.
INSKEEP: So it took you a little while to write this book.
WALTERS: Yes.
INSKEEP: Did you hesitate to tell your stories?
WALTERS: Yes. And looking for a publisher who wasn't looking for the...
INSKEEP: The tell-all.
WALTERS: ...Sensational tell-all, if you wish.
INSKEEP: If you did not have the sense of ethical obligations or propriety that you clearly do have, could you have written a tell-all book full of unflattering anecdotes about these people?
WALTERS: No, my heart wouldn't let me.
INSKEEP: (Laughter).
WALTERS: And nor - my wife wouldn't be very happy with it either (laughter).
INSKEEP: But are there secrets you will take to the grave, do you think?
WALTERS: Absolutely. I owe that to the presidency because they have to trust the people that are in their home. The Secret Service has a set of doors that they don't go beyond unless there's an emergency. We're behind that door every day. That's a privilege that you don't want to take away from the president and his family.
INSKEEP: Gary J. Walters is the author of "White House Memories 1970-2007." Thanks for your service and for coming by.
WALTERS: Thank you for the opportunity.
(SOUNDBITE OF W.G. SNUFFY WALDEN "MAIN TITLE (THE WEST WING)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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