Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

NEWSLETTER
Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter!

Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

White House press secretaries talk of life behind podium

Four White House press secretaries relived their days behind the podium Monday night, recalling how they were a voice for the president during some of the most monumental events of the last two decades.

The panelists – Dana Perino, Ari Fleischer, Mike McCurry and Dee Dee Myers – focused on the stresses of being one of the most recognizable faces in government during the conversation moderated by School of Media and Public Affairs Director Frank Sesno.

Perino, who served during the last two years of former President George W. Bush’s administration, said it was easy to forget that beyond the 20 or so journalists in the press briefing room, the rest of the world also cast an interested eye on her remarks.

“People all around the world are watching because they really want to know where the leader of the free world stands,” she said at the event in Lisner Auditorium.

Turning the conversation to the present, Fleischer, who also served under Bush, said party rancor receives more attention with today’s 24-hour news cycle.

Despite the event being largely non-political in nature, party lines emerged as the conversation turned to the current president.

“[President Barack Obama] had a lot of political capital and he took it out and spent it on two big things he cares very much about,” Myers said, referring to health care and the economy.

Myers, who served during the beginning of the Clinton administration, said Obama could have done a better job with his message leading up to the midterm elections. Fleischer said it was Obama’s politics, not message, that led to the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives.

“I think the reason why President Obama’s party lost so many seats in November, the biggest loss since 1938, was not a message problem but a substance problem,” he said.

While heavily focusing on the modern political climate, the secretaries shared stories of their noteworthy experiences behind the podium.

Fleischer famously gave former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein an ultimatum, announcing during a briefing that Hussein had 48 hours to leave Iraq or face U.S. actions.

When Fleischer announced the timeline, “Reporters literally jumped from their seats and ran,” to file their stories, he said.

Joe Lockhart, who also served under Clinton, was unable to attend due to a complication from surgery in late January.

More to Discover
Donate to The GW Hatchet