TGL 25 | 25 Years as George H.W. Bush's Chief of Staff Jean Becker - The Insider Stories Never Heard

Every time a president walks into a room, hundreds of decisions have already been made — the route, the handshakes, the camera angles, and the escape plan. And sometimes, despite all the planning, things go sideways. Jean Becker spent nearly 25 years as Chief of Staff to President George H.W. Bush — running his post-presidential office, managing his state funeral, and living inside the machinery of American power longer than most people can imagine. She's also the editor of Don't Tell the President, a collection of 96 behind-the-scenes essays from advance teams spanning LBJ to Obama — covering everything from fall-down funny road stories to the moments that made history: 9/11, Reagan's assassination attempt, Sandy Hook, and a secret Thanksgiving trip to Iraq that even Bush 41 didn't know about until it was over. In this episode, Maryanne Maldonado sits down with Jean to talk about what presidential advance actually means, what really went wrong at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and what George H.W. Bush was actually like behind closed doors — the man whose moral character, she says, was simply in his DNA. This is the side of American power you don't read about in official records. Hosted by Maryanne Maldonado | The Greater Loop — A podcast of the World Affairs Council of Houston Subscribe for global affairs content that connects the world to your world. Topics covered: What presidential advance actually is — and how it works The White House Correspondents' Dinner security breach — what went wrong Running Bush 41's post-presidency for 25 years The secret Thanksgiving trip to Iraq — and why Barbara Bush couldn't know What Obama looked like before facing the Sandy Hook families The moral character of George H.W. Bush — discipline or DNA? What life looks like for a president after leaving office Don't Tell the President — the book behind the stories https://wachouston.org/event/1082-win...