Mr Obama, tear down this wall!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 1:17PM Recently, Shandra in Michigan wrote us and asked:
"I read your entry about enjoying sites like the Washington Monument without tickets but I didn't see anything specific to the White House. Any advice on how to visit the President's pad without scoring a coveted ticket?"
I'm afraid my lack of advice about the White House wasn't due to an oversight on my part. Despite the protestations of Laura Bush, the White House is, sadly, closed to just about all comers. Theoretically, it's possible. According to the White House website:
"Public tours of the White House are available for groups of 10 or more people. Requests must be submitted through one's Member of Congress and are accepted up to six months in advance. These self-guided tours are available from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday (excluding federal holidays)."
That all sounds very nice, but it presupposes you have a Congressman that gives a damn. Many do, and I can personally vouch for the New York Seventh and the Texas Fifteenth. But even if you do, the chances are still pretty long. I can't really blame Congressmen for just giving you a "sorry, can't be done.". The White House is pretty disingenuous on it's website; they've very neatly made it look as if your Congressman can't get tickets. "Hey, we've got an open system! You just need to call your Congressman!" Ha! You might as well call them up and ask for a ride on the Space Shuttle.
And frankly, I'd say don't even bother even if you do get them. The "tour" is mostly just a self guided cattle call through a few rooms before it dumps you out on Pennsylvania Avenue. About once a year, I get a group that has actually scored an appointment here. I kid you not, by the time the last kid gets through the security facility and I walk around the building, the first group is coming out. The overwhelmingly most heard comment: "That was it?"
And to add insult to injury, no cameras are allowed, at all. So unless you're staying at a hotel across the street, you've got to leave your camera back at the hotel and head back later if you want a picture of the White House. Very convenient. Perversely enough, cell phones are allowed.
So what to do? Buy a copy of The West Wing
White House 
Reader Comments (5)
As a former Congressional intern who did some work scheduling White House Tours, I wish I could shed a bit more light on the process. Unfortunately, even on the Congressional office side of things, the process is not very transparent.
Assuming somebody calls us far enough in advance (though 6 months is a good guideline, if you don't take no for an answer, even 4 months before can be done), usually any group we get a request for (whether it's two people or ten) is put in as a request of ten, to meet the minimum-person requirement. (You don't need to know who all ten are at the time of request.) In the event the tour gets approved, we then offer the remaining slots to other people who would be there that weekend who previously got rejected. If that doesn't fill all the slots, we would offer the extra spaces to other Congressional offices in our party/state to give out (it usually doesn't get this far.) I know some other offices just put in tour requests for every weekend 6 months in advance using fake names, whether they have a request or not, and then offer them out as they get them approved.
But as far as telling what gets approved, no one I talked to seemed to have any idea. We simply put the requests in the system, and they come back a few months later with an approval or rejection, with no explanation given. As far as we could tell, it bore little or no connection to party, seniority, or swing-state status of home state. It also didn't seem to matter how far in advance you put in the request. As far as we could tell, they were just drawing names out of a hat.
An inability to get tickets has nothing to do with congressmen not caring or bot being influential enough. There are a limited number of spaces, and no real way for Congressional offices to influence the process.
Hope that helps a least a little! Let me know if I can answer anything else about the process.
Doug,
Thanks so much! Great perspective! I would add, in regards to the second to last paragraph, that there are some Congressmen and their staffs that simply don't care.
But you're fundamentally right. I don't want to make it sound as if this is somehow Congress's fault or that the fact that a family doesn't get in lies at the feet of a lazy Congressman. From what I've seen, there's no partisan bias, it's just an impenetrable mystery who gets in and who doesn't.
Thanks again for sharing your experience. It really helps to know a little more from a Congressional staffers perspective.
I suppose ignorance, of the difficult process, is bliss. I requested a tour for four at the end of September from Van Hollen (MD 8th) and got tickets for December. I requested any time during the entire month of December so maybe being more flexible than a specific weekend helped?
I was hoping that the Christmas decorations would be up for our tour but since I'm not sure exactly when those go up (google has failed me in this regard) I don't know what we'll see. Hopefully not a bunch of boxes of ornaments like my house. The real downside of course is getting to the White House by 7:15am - ugh, a day "off" and we wont be able to sleep in!
You're right Margaret, being flexible definitely helps. If you requested so "soon," the office probably didn't even put in a request for your specific family, but offered you the extras of another family who had less than 10 people. That's about 4 times more likely to happen when you're available for an entire month compared to when you're only available during one week.
This year I requested for a White House tour through my Congresswoman's office for some April dates, and was not successful. I did get a chance for a tour in June with a group from Massachusetts.
I disagree with the author of the article when it says "And frankly, I'd say don't even bother even if you do get them. The "tour" is mostly just a self guided cattle call through a few rooms before it dumps you out on Pennsylvania Avenue." It is true that you can't take cameras, and you only get to see the East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room, and The State Dining Room.
I had no illusion that I would be allowed to traipse about all over the White House and see everything, especially in light of 9/11. I felt honored and privileged that I had the opportunity at all. I did go with a school group that just shuffled through. But I found that there were knowledgeable NPS Rangers, staff, and WH house security that were more than willing to talk about the room you were in, the history, some of the artifacts and artwork, especially if you asked questions. The Security Officer in the East Room, allowed me to get inches away from the original Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington and he pointed out the "mistake," all because I asked him if I could go look at it! I went through each room with wonder and amazement, and the knowledge that I was walking in the footsteps of great women and men, and part of our nation's amazing history.
I went through each room and on to the State Dining Room, which is the last room you view before your exit. I walked BACK into the Blue, Red, and Green Rooms for a 2nd look, without a problem. We were not "shuffled," it is just the way the crowd tends to move mindlessly. Of course they don't want the big crowds just lingering, and they do have to move people along. I felt more "shuffled" when we were quickly escorted through the Mt.Vernon house. Any of these activities usually involve large crowds and in the unfortunate nature of the situation, you get moved through so the next group can enjoy the activity.
I lead tours all the time, and for the most part you only get a "taste" of something. I think one must view and experience everything with a sense of "quality" and "mindfulness." Experience whatever it is with all 5 senses when possible. It is not how much you can cram into your visit, and how many pictures you take of it (I am a photographer, and I appreciate photos, believe me!), but to experience each event with a sense of wonderment and curiosity. I try to go to each event or experience with some background knowledge and history. It helps you appreciate even more, whatever you are looking at.
I will apply for a White House tour again, and hope to go again and again. Another really cool thing to do is in the spring and fall. The White House offers a garden tour on the South Lawn. It happens one weekend in April and one in Oct. The best way to find out the dates is through your Congress person's website or office. The activity is free and you can take all the pictures you want. There are military bands, lots of photos and information and history on past Presidential families and their influence on the trees and plants and gardens. You get to linger as long as you like.
Washington DC is an amazing place with much to see, and do. I encourage everyone to go and go again and pick something you are interested in doing, and do that with gusto, spend quality time rather than trying to cram it all in. Do it with a sense of mindfulness,wonderment, and curiosity, and research the subject, arm yourself with background knowledge...it will enhance your experience!
One other helpful piece of advice....get a friend who works in the West Wing! You will be privvy to more of the White House! (I am still looking for that friend!)