In an exclusive five-part series, wowOwow goes to the verbal brains behind some of the nation’s most powerful people — the press secretaries.  The series begins with a talk with Dana Perino, the attractive press secretary to President George W. Bush.  In the course of our interview we learn how she deals with the fire cracker liberal reporter, Helen Thomas, why she’ll need a good body scrub come January, and how she deals with "thorny" issues with the president … besides offering shopping tips on where to go while in Crawford. Interestingly, no question was sequestered by this highly secretive member of the Oval Office’s inner-most sanctum.

wOw: Are you good at keeping secrets?

PERINO: Extremely.  Want to tell me one?

wOw: What’s the biggest bonus about having your job?

PERINO: The biggest bonus is having access to the smartest minds in government and policy-making every single day. On any given day I learn more than I could ever have imagined.  There are a lot of great aspects of the job – like getting to sit in the Oval Office while the president meets with a foreign leader; flying over the city on Marine One and getting a unique look at all of my favorite monuments; and being able to take friends and family on tours of the West Wing – but getting to work with this team during these fascinating times is the biggest bonus.

wOw: In a nutshell, how did you get your job working for the president?

PERINO: Not a day goes by that I don’t ask myself the same question! I often say to friends, ‘Who would have thought?!’  I certainly never thought I would be. I came back to Washington, D.C. from San Diego soon after September 11th.  I had worked with several administration officials on the Hill in the late 1990s, and I had kept in touch with them while I lived in England and then California. I was a supporter of George W. Bush since 1998, when he was governor.  My first position with the administration was at the Justice Department, and then I moved to the White House Council on Environmental Quality in September 2002.  In January 2005, Scott McClellan hired me to be one of his deputies. 

Usually press officers stay for about two years, but it was in May 2006 when Tony Snow took over and I became his principal deputy.  It was during those years that I got to know the president and when Tony decided to leave, the president asked me to take the position. I was honored and a bit overwhelmed at first.  As I’ve said, Tony left big shoes to fill and I only wear a size 6. On his last day, Tony asked me how I was feeling and I said I was apprehensive, and he said, "You’re better at this than you think you are, and you’re going to be absolutely great."  We’ve gone through a lot since then, especially with Tony’s passing last summer.  I’ll always be grateful for the opportunities I’ve been afforded here.

wOw: Does negative criticism about the president sting you, or have you become immune?

PERINO: Ari Fleischer had great advice for me when I first took the job – he said I should never take it personally.  He meant the criticism, the questions, the frustration – the natural tension between an administration and the press corps.  I have grown a thick skin – it’ll take one heck of a body scrub to get me back to normal come January.

wOw: Do you and the president have a daily meeting or daily meetings? 

PERINO: I am fortunate to get to see the president often – sometimes it’s multiple times a day, but there are days when he doesn’t have public events that I don’t see him.  He has an open door and a welcoming demeanor, and sometimes I try to pop in on him in the early mornings before the day starts so that I can get his reaction to news overnight or get his guidance on a particularly thorny issue. I enjoy his company – I’ve learned a lot from him, he inspires me and he knows how to crack a good, witty joke.

wOw: How do you deal with that fire cracker Helen Thomas?

PERINO: With a lot of deep breaths.  Helen and I have a good, warm relationship – but mostly we share that outside of the briefing room. Inside the room, she likes to share her opinions – so I share with her some of mine!  She’s been missed in the briefing room the last couple of months, but we expect to see her back soon.  She told me last Friday she’s ready to come back because she couldn’t stand watching daytime TV anymore.  She has accomplished so much in her life and she’s seen a lot of history made – I’m blessed to know her.