OBSERVER Photo by Sara Holthouse Former Chief of Staff for three presidents, Andrew Card Jr, gave a lecture at Chautauqua Institution on Wednesday to discuss how politics has changed over the years.

CHAUTAUQUA — Having experienced the White House during the time of three different presidents, Andrew Card Jr., former chief of staff, has seen the changes in the political state of America during his time in the position.

Speaking at Chautauqua Institution on Wednesday as a part of the Institution’s opening week, Card began by discussing how he first got into politics and how he was a big fan of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, two of the three presidents he would work under.

Card became “very involved” in campaigns, including the 1980 cycle, which he said involved 22 Republicans. Card said there was a time during the convention at that time where it was rumored that Reagan was going to choose Ford as his running mate instead of Bush, but eventually it was revealed that Bush was chosen after all.

Card also ran for governor in 1982 and lost, but this loss led to him working for Reagan.

“I received a phone call a few days after the primary election from another hero of mine in politics, with the initials JAB the third, James A. Baker the third,” Card said. “He called me and he was chief of staff to President Reagan, and he said ‘would you like to come down to Washington, D.C., and work with President Reagan?’ And I said yes.”

This opportunity, Card said, had him celebrating his grandmother. He said his grandmother would say the very first word of the Constitution, “we”, is the most important.

“We are the government,” Card said. “It is our government and we get invited to participate. We’re not obligated unless we get drafted. We get invited. You’re invited to register to vote, you’re not obligated. You’re invited to vote. You’re not obligated to vote. You’re invited to run for office. You’re not obligated to run for office.”

Card said his grandmother would say to accept the invitation, especially since she did not get the invitation to vote until August of 1920 when women in America were given the right to vote. She was also the first woman to register to vote in their town in Massachusetts, which Card said he did not originally believe but later found out was true.

“When Jim Baker called me, my grandmother’s consciousness was right there,” Card said.

Card then went on to talk about his time in the White House, first under Reagan, then George H.W. Bush and then George W. Bush. He told stories of all three presidents, including one time where George H.W. Bush brought him a tie and made him put it on when he was dressed casually before coming into the Oval Office, because that’s how much respect the president had for the office.

Card told another story of a time Mother Teresa came to the Oval Office to ask George HW Bush for money, adding that after asking him to pray twice she was able to secure the money she wanted. Others, he said, would come into the office with bravado and end up whimpering in front of the president.

Card also discussed the differences for him under each president, saying that he was also a different person serving under each. For Card, Reagan was like his grandfather, George H.W. Bush was like his father and George W. Bush was like his brother.

“My relationship was different with each president,” Card said. “What was the same with each of those presidents was the tremendous respect they had for the institutions of government. They polished the institutions rather than tarnished them. They vet the responsibility by lifting people up rather than putting them down.”

Card then put that in contrast to today, briefly talking about the upcoming debate held Thursday. He discussed respecting the office of the presidency, saying that being president is not only for the people who elected them as president. He said the White House and office of the presidency needs to provide a light and be a beacon to let people follow it.

“I love campaigns, this is a season I am supposed to love,” Card said. “But, I find love is not a two-way street. I’m not sure either candidate is expressing the same kind of love that I witnessed out of Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush. I want us to remember that we are we. Answer the call. Register to vote. Vote, and you can make a difference.”

The rest of Card’s lecture focused on how the White House was different under all three presidents he served, the changes in both politics and journalism throughout the years, and how things like cellphones have affected places like the Senate. He said when you go into the White House you have to put your phone in a box and cannot get it until you leave, and he wishes they could do the same in the Senate.

Card discussed his job of helping not to waste the president’s time, and that the president should be focused on presidential decisions, not government decisions. He ended by saying focusing on the truth is critical to the success of the presidency, and with a story about George W Bush’s reaction to 9/11 on that day. Card told the story from his perspective as Chief of Staff at the time, and said that Bush’s address to the nation changed foreign policy forever.

“I tell this story because 2,800 people died,” Card said. “More died in response to the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we all promised we would never forget. We also rallied as a nation. George Bush was elected by a chance hanging in Florida, a very controversial election. 9/11 taught us how to be unified. We are one nation under God. President Bush did a remarkable job of leading us, and the response from the American people and the house and the senate was overwhelming.”