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Have you ever wished you could participate in the private day-to-day life of the White House and attend meetings with the president or vice president and have them ask for your opinion? The chances of that ever happening to us are very slim, but we can experience the feeling vicariously through Ron Christie. In the book, Black in the White House, Christie shares intimate moments of the executive branch and gives us an acute sense of what it was like.

“’Hello?’ I answered. ‘Congratulations,’ came a voice from the other end of the phone. Congratulations for what? Realizing that he hadn’t properly identified himself, [Dean] McGrath quickly explained that he was the VP’s deputy chief of staff, and I was being offered a position as the deputy assistant to the vice president for domestic policy. For my entire professional career, from the time I first joined the staff of a member of Congress as a junior legislative correspondent charged with answering the mail, I never dreamed I would have the chance to advise a senator, let alone the vice president of the United States, on domestic policy issues. The brass ring was now being swung slowly in front of me. Grabbing the ring with both hands, I told McGrath I would be honored to join the VP’s team. I was in!”

Ron Christie served as deputy assistant to Vice President Cheney for domestic policy, from January 2001 to March 2002. He was then appointed in 2002 to serve as special assistant to President George W. Bush for USA Freedom Corps and was acting director of that executive office when he left in March 2004.

My bookshelves are full of memoirs from past White House staffers. Each of them follows the same route, defending the policies of their era and dealing in tedious details that hardly seem relevant today. But not with Christie. He minors in past policy and focuses on sharing the human experiences and sensations of working at the United State’s most famous address.

One of many examples is when the vice president’s staff met together for the first time for a surprise birthday party for the vice president. Cheney took the opportunity to say a few words.

“First, he thanked us for all of the hard work we had put in to get to this point and expressed the fact that he looked forward to working with all of us in the days to come. In direct and succinct commentary, he reiterated what he said during my interview with him. He would be very interested to know not just what we knew but what we were thinking, as this would allow him the best opportunity to present his own counsel to the president.

“As the vice president articulated his expectations of us, I couldn’t help but reflect on a few things. First, Mr. Cheney seemed genuinely touched that nearly his entire staff had joined his immediate family to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and present him with a gift…

“This second meeting with Cheney failed yet again to reveal the cold, gruff, mean person I had prepared myself to expect. The Cheney before us was warm, funny, and apparently embarrassed by all the fuss surrounding his birthday. The look of genuine love and affection that he shone upon his wife, Lynne Vincent Cheney, was clear for all to see. I’m always careful about making snap judgment, but at this point Dick Cheney seemed to be a rather nice guy. I was hoping this would continue to be the case over the long run.

“Before I could reflect upon Cheney’s words or my initial impressions of him at any length, the back door to the ceremonial office was abruptly opened. Looking to my left, I noticed that large numbers of the White House press corps had begun streaming into the room. What was gong on? Almost on cue, the president of the United States strode through another door to wish his seemingly astonished vice president a happy birthday. While Cheney had been warm and amiable during his discussion with the staff, there was a marked change in his demeanor when the press entered the room. I had never met a politician who shied away from a camera lens or a microphone stand, but Dick Cheney seemed to be the exception to that rule. Despite many entreaties by the press for either the president or the VP to say something, the press was quickly herded out of the room.

“Immediately upon their departure, the atmosphere lightened in the room, and the president began to dig into the birthday cake with gusto. One piece wasn’t enough for Bush, as he picked up a second immediately after he devoured the first – all with a big smile on his face.

“If the electricity among the staff with the vice president being in the room was strong, it nearly sizzled with both Bush and Cheney standing before the staff eating birthday cake. Many of us just openly gawked at the two men and Mrs. Cheney as they amiably conversed just feet in front of us. Sadly, the party was over nearly as quickly as it started, and the president and the VP soon left to return to work. Excited and inspired by my encounter with two of the most powerful men in the world, I returned to my office to get down do business.”

Even though he stayed in awe of his surroundings, that did not keep him from making a difference, especially when it came to connecting Republicans with the black community.

“Fortunately, the opportunity for me to reach out to the vice president presented itself sooner rather than later. After our domestic policy briefing during the first week of March 2001, I found I was the last person in the VP’s office after my colleagues had already filed out. As we talked, I told him that I would be very interested in sharing my perspective on how to make positive inroads in the African-American community.

“Displaying his characteristic dry sense of humor, Cheney noted that as a sixty-year-old white guy from Wyoming, he didn’t have much experience in this area. This was the chance I had been looking for. I promised to the give the topic serious thought and present a memo for his consideration.”

That memo led to a meeting between Cheney, Christie, and several notable black leaders.

“As we made our way to the door so the VP could attend his next appointment, the vice president pulled me aside and looked me dead in the eye as he shook my hand. He said, ‘What I heard here today is very important to me.’ He continued by telling me that if I needed to see him or if there was something I thought he should see or hear, to reach out to him right away.”

Christie’s action led to positive change in Bush’s policies.

In the middle of the book is an unforeseen bonus. Christie shares the trauma and hurt felt inside the White House on a day we will never forget: September 11, 2001. In an amazingly open way, he shares the fear, the anger, and the healing.

Christie was asked soon after to serve as special assistant to the president for USA Freedom Corps. This position gave him unique access to the president and his staff. Besides sharing his experiences with President Bush, he analyzes Karl Rove, Andy Card, Scooter Libby, Condoleezza Rice, and many others.

Christie had an experience he will never forget when he rode with Carl Rove to an event.

“Simply put, Karl drives like he talks, which is fast and spirited. Unfortunately, Karl is also one of the types of people who maintain eye contact with you while he speaks. Not at all a problem when you’re seated next to him in a chair or across the table during lunch at the Mess. But when you’re riding with Mr. Rove, and he maintains the same level of eye contact, you can be in for the ride of your life.

“I felt as if I were on the soundstage from some old Hollywood movie set where one character drives the car and the other frantically tries to get his driving companions focus back on the road before the car crashes in a huge fireball. I wish I could tell you what we discussed that day, but I have no idea. While awed to be in Rove’s presence, I was praying we wouldn’t end up wrapped around a lamppost at the side of the road.

“Once we arrived at the event at the foot of Capitol Hill, I was relieved to have both feet back on solid ground.”

While most autobiographers haughtily pen their past experiences with a been-there-done-that attitude, Christie never lost the wonder of the Executive Branch. In Black in the White House, he simplistically shares the highs and lows of his experiences without undue focus on himself. This book is guaranteed to entertain and feed the curiosity we all have of what happens behind closed doors.

Purchase Black in the White House at Amazon.com.