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ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE
First book by a former Clinton
White House aide tells the inside story
In 1992, Ken Chitester was a young man, still in his twenties, when he seized the job opportunity of a lifetime: as White House Director of News Analysis for President Bill Clinton. As one of the youngest members of a young and vibrant team (headed by one of the youngest Chief Executives in U.S. history), Chitester went into the job with a fresh optimism and lots of energy. His new book, Aboard Air Force One-200,000 Miles With a White House Aide, is the story of how that energy was used-and used up. It is also a rare and entertaining and enlightening look at politics and communications in action and a President at work.
Chitester tells of the dizzying highs and crushing lows experienced by Presidential staffers. He reveals that one of the most striking aspects of working at the White House is how quickly the extraordinary becomes ordinary, and how different the view from inside the fish bowl is from the view outside.
Aboard Air Force One-200,000 Miles With a White House Aide is a fast-paced tale of bright people working hard to make our country run. The book is also peppered with stories of the same people at play, tossing witty banter back and forth at formal cocktail parties, or tossing a football back and forth on a South Carolina beach.
Chitester worked with the Clinton team for three years, from the triumphant primary elections in early 1992 to the trying midterm elections of late 1994. During his duty with the White House staff, each day he read hundreds of news stories that might be of interest to the President and his advisors. He traveled to 22 countries, 36 states, and 137 cities. He watched history happen from behind the curtain on the world's biggest stage.
About the Author: Ken Chitester grew up in Indianapolis, graduating from Indiana University in 1985. He was assistant sports editor and feature columnist for the Commerical-News in Danville, Illinois, and copy editor for the Arkansas Gazette, before joining the Clinton/Gore campaign in 1992. After leaving the Clinton administration tea in 1994, he returned to Little Rock, where he is now a political consultant with Wills Thompson Paschall. |
