I worked in the White House for two years -- about half under President Bush and half under President Obama in a non-political capacity (I was on the staff of the NSC). Politics aside, the President is a REALLY nice guy.
My favorite encounter with him:
About a week after President Obama was inaugurated, I was on duty in the White House Situation Room. The director of the CIA called in and said he needed to speak with the President. No problem (the director of the CIA is on the very, very short list of people who can speak with POTUS whenever he wants). The President was over in the residence, having dinner with his family and some friends. Mind you, the first week that the President is in office, he is NEVER at the White House -- he's always traveling around, meeting someone, somewhere. He probably hadn't spend more than, literally, about a day and a half in his new home.
So the steward gets the President and puts him on the phone with me. I explain the situation, and tell him that the call should happen on a secure phone. The President paused for a minute and said, "OK, where do I find one of those? Do I need to come to you?" No, I said, and told him a room in the residence that had a secure phone. He paused for another minute and said, "Uh, OK. I have no idea how to get there."
And I ended up giving the President directions in his own house to get to...his bedroom. He just started laughing at himself.
Not the funniest story you'll read on here, but it was great to see the very human side of this larger-than-life figure.
