YOU WILL FIND THE SECRET SERVICE VIEWS ON THE PERSONALITIES OF PAST
PRESIDENTS TO BE QUITE INTERESTING.
For those who don't know... Capt. Denny Keast flies for UAL and flew many
SAM's (Special Air Mission 's) for the White House.
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I flew 4 Presidential support missions in the C-141 out of Dover AFB, DE..
Two for President Johnson and two for President Nixon.
Johnson was a first class jerk and on the two occasions I flew for him, if
the Secret Service and their Liaison in the Pentagon ha dn't intervened, we
would have had to stay on the airplane for hours while he ( Johnson) was off
somewhere. Nixon never required that and the four (4) stops we made with him
he was cordial to the Secret Service and to me and my crew.
We had a neighbor when I lived in DC who was part of the secret service
presidential detail for many years. His stories of Kennedy and Johnson were
the same as those I heard from the guys who flew the presidents' plane
Yes, Kennedy did have Marilyn Monroe flown in for secret "dates," and LBJ
was a typical Texas "good ole boy" womanizer. Nixon, Bush 41, and Carter
never cheated on the ir wives. Clinton cheated, but couldn't match Kennedy
or LBJ in style or variety.
The information below is accurate: The elder Bush and current president Bush
make it a point to thank and take care of the air crews who fly them around.
When the president flies, there are several planes that also go, one carries
the armored limo, another the security detail, plus usually a press
aircraft.
Both Bushes made it a point to stay home on holidays, so the Air Force and
security people could have a day with their families.
Hillary Clinton was arrogant and orally abusive to her security detail. She
forbade her daughter, Chelsea, from exchanging pleasantries with them.
Sometimes Chelsea , miffed at her mother's obvious conceit and mean
spiritedness, ignored her demands and exchanged pleasantries regardless, but
never in her mother's presence. Chelsea really was a nice, kindhearted, and
lovely young lady. The consensus opinion was that Chelsea loved her Mom but
did not like her. Hillary Clinton was continuously rude and abrasive to
those who were charged to protect her life. Her security detail dutifully
did their job, as professionals should, but they all loathed her and wanted
to be on a different detail.
Hillary Clinton was despised by the Secret S e rvice as a whole. Former
President Bill Clinton was much more amiable than his wife. Often the Secret
Service would cringe at the verbal attacks Hillary would use against her
husband. They were embarrassed for his sake by the manner and frequency in
which she verbally insulted him, sometimes in the presence of the Secret
Service, and sometimes behind closed doors. Even behind closed doors Hillary
Clinton would scream and holler so loudly that everyone could hear what she
was saying. Many felt sorry for President Clinton and most wondered why he
tolerated it instead of just divorcing his "attack dog" wife. It was crystal
clear that the Clinton 's neither liked nor respected each other and this was
true long before the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Theirs was genuinely a
"marriage of convenience."
Chelsea was much closer to her father than her mother, even after the
Lewinsky scandal, which hurt her gravely. Bill Clinton di d in fact have
charisma, and occasionally would smile at or shake hands with his security
detail. Still, he always displayed an obvious air of superiority towards
them. His security detail uniformly believed him to be disingenuous, false,
and that he did nothing without a motive that in some way would enhance his
image and political career. He was polite, but not kind. They did not
particularly like him and nobody trusted him.
Al Gore was the male version of Hillary Clinton. They were friendlier toward
each other than either of them were towards former President Clinton. They
were not intimate, so please don't read that in. They were very close in a
political way. Tipper Gore was generally nice and pleasant. She initially
liked Hillary but soon after the election she had her "pegged" and no longer
liked her or associated with her except for events that were politically
obligatory.
Al Gor e was far more left wing than Bill Clinton. Al Gore resented Bill
Clinton and thought he was too "centrist." He despised all Republicans. His
hatred was bitter and this was long before he announced for the Presidency.
This hatred was something that he and Hillary had in common They often said
as much, even in the presence of their security detail. Neither of them
trusted Bill Clinton and, the Secret Service opined, neither of them even
liked him. Bill Clinton did have some good qualities, whereas Al Gore and
Hillary had none, in the view of their security details.
Al Gore, like Hillary, was very rude and arrogant toward his security
detail. He was extremely unappreciative and would not hesitate to scold them
in the presence of their peers for minor details over which they had no
control. Al Gore also looked down on them, as they finally observed and
learned with certainty on one occasion. Al got angry at his offspring and pointed at his security detail and said, "Do you want to grow up and be like
them?" Word of this insult by the former Vice-President quickly spread and
he became as disliked by the Secret Service as Hillary. Most of them prayed
Al Gore would not be elected President, and they really did have private
celebrations in a few of their homes after President Bush won. This was not
necessarily to celebrate President Bush's election, but to celebrate Al
Gore's defeat.
Everyone in the Secret Service wants to be on First Lady Laura Bush's
detail. Without exception, they concede that she is perhaps the nicest and
most kind person they have ever had the privilege of serving. Where Hillary
patently refused to allow her picture to be taken with her security detail,
Laura Bush doesn't even have to be asked, she offers. She doesn't just shake
their hand and say, "Thank you." Very often, she will give members of her
detail a kindhearted hug to express her appreciation. There is nothing false
about her. This is her genuine nature. Her security detail considers her to
be a "breath o f fresh air." They joke that comparing Laura Bush with Hillary
Clinton is like comparing "Mother Teresa" with the "Wicked Witch of the
North."
Likewise, the Secret Service considers President Bush to be a gem of a man
to work for. He always treats them with genuine respect and he always trusts
and listens to their expert advice. They really like the Crawford, Texas
detail. Every time the president goes to Crawford he has a Bar-B-Q for his
security detail and he helps serve their meals. He sits with them, eats with
them, and talks with them.. He knows each of them by their first name, and
calls them by their first name as a show of affection. He always asks about
their family, the names of which he always remembers. They believe that he
is deeply and genuinely appreciative of their service. They could not like,
love, or respect anyone more than President Bush. Most of them did not know
they would feel this way, until they had an opportunity to work for him and
learn that his manner was genuine and consistent. It has never changed since
he began his Presidency. He always treats them with the utmost respect,
kindness, and compassion.
Please pass this on. It is important for Americans to have a true inside
understanding of their President. And also the woman who is currently a
candidate for president..
