Allyson Bird - Internship Diary

Oct. 6

Today was one of those days I'll remember when I look back on this semester. I started off writing a first draft for a features story and then asked at lunchtime if I could go to a press conference on voter intimidation. I hopped on the Metro and just made it to the Cannon Terrace at the House to see Sen. Hillary Clinton preparing to speak. She was joined at the conference by House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and others. I knew I was in the right place when I saw the guys in black leaning on the banister with large guns in hand.

Afterward I headed over to George Washington University for a live National Public Radio debate between former Bush campaign lawyer Ben Ginsberg and Democratic National Committee lawyer Joe Sandler on potential voting problems for next month's election, one of which is voter intimidation. The debate was broadcast on the "Justice Talking" program. I got back to the office around 5 p.m. and had to make some final edits to a piece my editor and I have been polishing for what seems like an eternity. It runs Sunday.

As I was leaving for the day, one of my friends from the program called and told me to go to the National Press Club upstairs. Helen Thomas, the longest-serving member of the White House Press Corps, was there for a roundtable discussion. Since the event hadn't been well publicized, I was one of about a dozen people there to listen to "The First Lady of the Press." My friends and I couldn't believe we were really sitting at a table with Helen, the woman who always got to close White House press conferences, who has a seat with a gold label in the White House briefing room, who paved the way for women journalists by simply being the best.

As a side note, I have to mention that while I was at the NPR debate, I overheard a child behind me asking his mother about aides. "Politicians have aides, but do the aides have aides, and do the aides' aides have aides?" She said, "Yeah, they're called interns."

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