Bob: "What's the one thing you find most difficult getting used to about the Presidency?"
Me: "Hmmm ... interesting question. I think it's the entire public fishbowl aspect to my life now. Everything I do now, no matter how mundane, has some sort of political aspect to it, and everybody has an opinion on it, and whatever I am doing is always wrong. It's very strange at times"
Bob: "How so? Give me an example."
Me: "Well, take Stormy, for instance. Earlier we were playing with the dog and gave her a bone and whatnot. You filmed it, and while I'm not a reporter, I know a human interest piece when I see one. You're going to run parts of that on Sunday night, right? Well, I can guarantee you that by lunchtime on Monday, the phones are going to be ringing off the hook and the emails and telegrams are going to be pouring in about how I am raising my dog the wrong way. By Monday night the news shows are going to be doing interviews on the subject. Tuesday is going to get worse! The purebred dog lovers are going to complain that the Presidential dog is a mutt, the cat lovers are going to want equal time, the hamster and guinea pig coalition will complain, and PETA is going to demand an end to interspecies slavery or some such nonsense!"
Bob: (Laughing.) "It won't be that bad."
Me: "You just watch! By Wednesday morning the New York Times will have weighed in, called it a scandal, and given it a cute name like Puppygate. By the end of the day, some Congressman is going to demand hearings, on Thursday there will be a call for a Special Prosecutor, and on Friday we'll have the impeachment vote!" (I looked at the camera.) "Guys, give me a break! I'm just playing with my dog!"
Bob: (Still laughing.) "I think you are exaggerating a touch, Mister President."
Me: (Smiling.) "Not by much. You've been in this town for a few years. Ask Ari sometime. One of these days he's going to take some of the letters that get sent here and write a book and make a fortune!"
We broke for lunch, and I took Bob down to the Mess. It's not glamorous but the cafeteria is available to staffers, though they have to pay. Marilyn joined us, since the next segment, after lunch, we were supposed to be together. After lunch, it was back to the Map Room. Thankfully Stormy was with the twins.
Bob: "Before you got into politics you were a very successful investment banker. Would that investment banker approve of the current state of the economy?"
Me: "I was never an investment banker. I was a venture capitalist."
Bob: "What is the difference?"
Me: "Bankers loan money, by definition. We never loaned money. We used our money to buy stocks and options."
Bob: "Would that venture capitalist approve of the current state of the economy?"
Me: (I smiled.) "He would certainly approve of the plans being developed by the current administration."
Bob: "Which we will learn about at the State of the Union Address."
Me: "You got it."
Bob: "What kind of credit rating did you have to have to be a venture capitalist?"
Me: (Giving Schieffer a curious look) "You mean, what was my credit rating?"
Bob: (Wryly smiling) "One of our producers is getting a mortgage and was curious."
Me: (I laughed at that.) "Ha!" (I looked at Marilyn and shrugged.) "You know, I have no idea, really. It's probably lousy."
Bob: (Astonished!) "You have a bad credit rating? How can that be?! You are a billionaire!"
Me: "But that's only part of a credit rating. A big part is your past history at repaying loans. I've never had a loan, so I have no past history to judge if I would pay it back."
Bob: "You've never borrowed money? What about credit cards or car loans?"
Me: "Nope. You have to remember, I got my start investing in the market when I was only 13. Minors can't sign contracts, so it was all done with an account that had my father's name on it along with mine. Everything I did had to be paid for by cash. By the time I was old enough to legally be able to borrow money, I didn't need to. I have an American Express card, but that has to be paid back every month. That's it."
Bob: "I'd like to ask the First Lady a few questions now. Mrs. Buckman, what was going through your head the morning of 9-11? Where were you?"
Marilyn: "I was at home, our home in Hereford. It was a Tuesday morning, and it was a school day, so I had seen the girls off on the school bus..."
Bob: "Excuse me, the school bus!?"
Marilyn: (Smiling.) "We live out in the country, and the girls go to public school. They've been riding the bus to school since they started going to school. I probably shouldn't say this, but they get tailed by the Secret Service. Their friends are on the bus and we didn't want to make the change too big."
Bob: "So you were at home? Did you know what was happening?"
Marilyn: "Not really. I had the news on, the Today Show, while I was putting some clothes in the washer, but I can't say that I was paying any attention. Suddenly the door blows open and all these agents come in and drag me out. I was thrown into a car and we went flying down the road to Hereford High, and we got there just as this gigantic helicopter landed on the soccer field. We drove out to it, and I just had enough time to see the girls being run out of the school. Then we were flown to Fort Meade, and taken somewhere there."
Bob: "Did anybody tell you what was happening?"
Marilyn: "Sort of. I got some of it when we were driving to the high school, and more when we were on the helicopter. Nobody would tell me what had happened to Carl, though, and that was what really frightened me. We didn't hear from him until after he was made the Acting President, maybe early afternoon sometime."
Bob: "So you were at home doing the wash?"
Marilyn: "It won't get done on its own, and Carl sure doesn't help! Neither do the girls, for that matter."
Me: "Hey, I was in Florida. It wasn't like I could rush home to empty the dryer, you know."
Bob: "I'm just surprised you don't have somebody to do that sort of thing."
Me: (Marilyn and I looked at each other and I shrugged.) "You want to answer that?"
Marilyn: "You can."
Me: "Very early on, we decided we wanted our children to have as normal a life as we could manage. Yes, I am extremely wealthy, and I could have servants follow them around to do whatever they wanted, but that's just a lousy way to raise kids. At our home in Hereford we simply try to raise them like the normal middle class kids we started out as. We don't have servants. We cook our own meals. The kids all have chores. They go to school like their friends. Someday they are going to have to do these things on their own, so they better get used to it now. We know it's not perfect. The kids are smart, and they know that Dad doesn't have your everyday job, but we try."
Marilyn: "I am a stay-at-home mom. I want to be there when they go to school and I want to be there when they get off the bus in the afternoon. The last year has been a bit strange. When Carl was in Congress, I often went over to his office in Westminster and worked as an intern, but Cheryl is the Congresswoman now, and I don't want to stick my nose in. I also spend some time helping out with the PTA and Our Lady of Grace, that sort of thing. We try to stay grounded."
Bob: "I don't see you running off to the grocery store."
Marilyn: (Sighs.) "No, not anymore. It wasn't too bad when Carl was the Vice President. Nobody really pays attention to you then, but it's very difficult now. I am almost trapped at the house. I'm going to be glad when the girls go to college and I can move to Washington with Carl."