The President's Book of Secrets Page #11

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(Dr. Connie Mariano) This is

one of those rare jobs, if the

President is sick, it is the

doctor's problem.

The staff will come to you and

say, you know, "the President

looks tired.

You need to take care of that."

One of the challenges of White

House physician is dealing with

the legacy that you've inherited

from the prior administrations,

meaning there were medical

issues that you did not reveal

to the press, that you hid,

that you even denied.

Narrator:
In the past, some

Presidents have gone to great

lengths to hide illnesses from

the public.

In 1919, Woodrow Wilson

suffered a stroke, and his wife

was said to have been running

the White House in his

last days.

While in office, FDR concealed

not only his paralysis caused

by polio, but also the heart

disease that ultimately led to

his death in 1945.

Kennedy:
Let the word go

forth that the torch has been

passed to a new generation

of Americans.

O'Brien:
JFK was in

constant pain.

He suffered, from childhood,

from Addison's disease.

His back was giving him so much

pain on a regular basis that if

he didn't receive pain

medication every day, on a

regular schedule, he'd be flat

out on his back.

And consequently during his

Presidency, he was either a

little bit doped up or in

excruciating discomfort.

Nobody knew about it at

the time.

I mean, a very small clique of

people, very few friends,

and those reporters who knew

about it didn't talk about it.

Narrator:
So would a

President's Book of Secrets

detail for the

Commander in Chief the

extraordinary means by which his

or her health is to be

maintained, all while insuring

the utmost in national security?

Mariano:
We do have some

equipment that we can't talk

about in detail, such as for

biochemical warfare.

There is a private suite in

Bethesda Naval Hospital that is

armored, that has its own air

supply, its own water system;

that is bombproof and

it's locked.

It's called the METU, which

stands for Medical Evaluation

Treatment Unit.

The beauty of the suite, it is

self-contained.

On a regular day at the

hospital, you don't even know

the President's there.

The hospital goes on, business

as normal.

And the President could

be there, and he's totally

protected.

Narrator:
But what if

a President fails to heed his

doctor's advice?

Are there any secret methods of

persuasion used by a White

House physician?

Mariano:
One of the

secrets that White House

doctors have kept over the

years is, if the President

doesn't want to follow your

orders, you have no other

recourse but to resort to

higher authority, and that is

to appeal to the First Lady of

the United States.

You get pretty good compliance

after that.

Narrator:
For the men and

women who actively seek the

nation's highest office, it is

certainly no secret that the

physical changes from

inauguration to departure

can be startling.

Even the heartiest and

most fit will retire from office

looking noticeably grayer

and more careworn.

So why do it?

Is it for power, accomplishment,

fame?

Or is it for ultimate knowledge;

the type of knowledge contained

within a President's Book of

of Secrets?

On January 8, 2009, during the

last days of his Presidency,

George W. Bush invited

four men to a private reunion

at the White House.

George W. Bush:
I want to

thank the President-elect

for joining the ex-presidents.

Alter:
President Bush

had a lunch with his father

George H.W. Bush, Barack Obama,

Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

It's such a small club of

people who have been President

of the United States--

and only a handful still

living-- that they do have a

connection to each other, even

if they're from different

parties.

They're in the same club.

George W. Bush:
To the extent

we can, we look forward to

sharing our experiences

with you.

All of us who have served in

this office understand that the

office itself transcends

the individual.

Kaufman:
Former Presidents

talk more than people realize.

They don t advertise it.

But each President, I think,

uses the former Presidents,

'cause who better can explain

what it's like to be in some of

these circumstances?

Quayle:
They're able to give

a unique perspective because

they've been there.

They know what the

pressures are,

they know what the issues are.

And to have a President-to-

President discussion, you

understand the entire situation

and you're able to give

some insights.

Narrator:
Five men.

Five out of 44 in an

unbroken chain that stretches

back to George Washington and

the founding fathers.

Only five... who would know the

possible contents of

a President's Book of Secrets.

Corbi:
The problem with

putting that kind of

information together in one

journal is that it can be

stolen, copied, compromised.

I'd be very nervous if I were

the President and I knew some

other people had access to that.

Gingrich:
I can't quite

imagine what the handbook would

look like.

But we keep lots of secrets.

We keep an amazing number

of secrets.

Rather:
Well, if there is

such a book, I'm not

aware of it.

I have my doubts that there is

such a book.

But there are deep and

abiding secrets.

Zaid:
Presidents themselves

certainly keep secrets.

Secrecy is power.

Knowledge is power.

And the more knowledge that is

secret, the more powerful you

perceive yourself to be.

Kaufman:
The coin of the

realm in this town is not money.

It's not even power, per se.

It's information.

Those that have it are in power.

And those that don't have,

aren't.

Narrator:
But is there really

a President's Book of Secrets?

Or is it simply the collective

knowledge that only the

surviving presidents share?

One thing is certain:

They're not telling.

Quayle:
I'd say that

there are things that George

Bush 41 and I know that not too

many other people know.

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