we drove to the airport, my phone rang with a call from the White House operator. The president was trying to get ahold of Mark, who wasn’t picking up. I was not in the same car as Mark. We ended the call and the operator called back several more times, so I called Mark myself. “Tell the boss I’m on the phone with Congress,” he instructed, after picking up on the first ring, “trying to get things done for him. I’ll talk to him on the plane.” I knew he wasn’t talking to Congress. He just did not want to be on the receiving end of the president’s anger.
