When I Became White House Press Secretary,

The Press Never Accepts At Face Value That The President Is Taking A Certain Action Because He Wants To Create Jobs Or Because He Believes That It Is In The Best Interests Of The American People Or That He Is Genuinely Committed To Making Life Better For People.

Washington Is Still Very Much A Male-oriented Culture. Being From Los Angeles, I Think It Is Less So There - There Is Less Attachment To Tradition, Perhaps, There Is More Flexibility, More Acceptance Of Change Generally. That Is Partly Because Of Hollywood.

Study After Study Confirms That Even When You Control For Variables Like Profession, Education, Hours Worked, Age, Marital Status, And Children, Men Still Are Compensated Substantially More - Even In Professions, Like Nursing, Dominated By Women. No Wonder There's A Gender Gap.

My Job Is To Be A Spokesman - The Spokesman, I Suppose - For The President, For The White House, To Do The Daily Briefings, To Manage The Press Corps In Terms Of Travel, Day-to-day Needs, Access, Interviews, All Those Issues.

I Am Endlessly Fascinated That Playing Football Is Considered A Training Ground For Leadership, But Raising Children Isn't. Hey, It Made Me A Better Leader: You Have To Take A Lot Of People's Needs Into Account; You Have To Look Down The Road. Trying To Negotiate Getting A Couple Of Kids To Watch The Same Tv Show Requires Serious Diplomacy.