by Courtney Comstock
On Wednesday, I met President Obama.
I realize I'm supposed to act all cool and hard-bitten about this, as though it was just another day in the office.
But it wasn't.
I was at the Eisenhower Executive Offices (the building is almost next to the White House, where most of the staff works) for a press conference.
I was sitting around a table with a group of reporters and White House aide Heather Zichal, who was briefing us on how the White House is dealing with rising gas prices.
Then the President walked in.
Until that moment, just the press meeting alone had been exciting for me because I'd never been inside the White House. (My boss, Henry Blodget officially got the invite. Lucky for me he was booked and I raised my hand first when he asked the office, "Ok, who wants to go to the White House?").
We weren't expecting to meet the President. We had been given a general idea of who would be at the press conference -- people "like" Tim Geithner and Elizabeth Warren -- but we had no idea who the actual speakers would be. But of course, we were inside the Executive Offices, so anything was possible.
So there I was, happily sitting hearing how Eric Holder is monitoring speculation in oil and gas markets, and then behind me I heard a deep, "Hello, Everybody."
I spun around. President Obama walked past me and took a seat at the table.
First reaction: My jaw dropped. (Literally, there might be a video of it on the White House website soon. Embarrassing.)
Then I came back to earth and remembered where I was and why. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss economic policy, rising gas prices, and the economic recovery. Okay, reality check achieved. Then I told myself: Hold on, you just met the President. This might not happen again in your lifetime. It's okay to be dazzled.
Read more:
On Wednesday, I met President Obama.
I realize I'm supposed to act all cool and hard-bitten about this, as though it was just another day in the office.But it wasn't.
I was at the Eisenhower Executive Offices (the building is almost next to the White House, where most of the staff works) for a press conference.
I was sitting around a table with a group of reporters and White House aide Heather Zichal, who was briefing us on how the White House is dealing with rising gas prices.
Then the President walked in.
Until that moment, just the press meeting alone had been exciting for me because I'd never been inside the White House. (My boss, Henry Blodget officially got the invite. Lucky for me he was booked and I raised my hand first when he asked the office, "Ok, who wants to go to the White House?").
We weren't expecting to meet the President. We had been given a general idea of who would be at the press conference -- people "like" Tim Geithner and Elizabeth Warren -- but we had no idea who the actual speakers would be. But of course, we were inside the Executive Offices, so anything was possible.
So there I was, happily sitting hearing how Eric Holder is monitoring speculation in oil and gas markets, and then behind me I heard a deep, "Hello, Everybody."
I spun around. President Obama walked past me and took a seat at the table.
First reaction: My jaw dropped. (Literally, there might be a video of it on the White House website soon. Embarrassing.)
Then I came back to earth and remembered where I was and why. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss economic policy, rising gas prices, and the economic recovery. Okay, reality check achieved. Then I told myself: Hold on, you just met the President. This might not happen again in your lifetime. It's okay to be dazzled.
Read more:
