The job gets hard

By Ruben Holly

Marlin Fitzwater is a rather remarkable man. He is the only Press Secretary to work under two United States presidents, a total of 10 years. This was only the pinnacle of an extensive government job list, including the Appalachian Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

When asked if there was ever a decision made by either president Fitzwater served under that he asked himself “My god, I have to explain this!” he wasted no time in saying the invasion of Kuwait under the leadership of George H. W. Bush. First he knew he would have to explain why, which wouldn’t be too bad, saying that it was an incident of principle. What he said did cause him to worry though was when President H.W. Bush told him they would be starting the invasion tomorrow “…400,000 troops…over 6 months.” He went on to express the further unease when Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President H.W. Bush, told him war isn’t easy.

Fitzwater said it made him think “What happens when one of our bombs misses[?]…that’s exactly what happened.” He was speaking of the Iraqi practice of placing civilians in high-risk areas in order to deter forces from attacking.

Fitzwater made his job incredibly real, holding back no emotion as he said, in relation to Kuwait, “I cried a lot those nights.”