Olivia: The person responsible for speaking to the entire world on behalf of the US President once got her most famous injury not from a political battle, but from a flying shoe... and a clumsy Secret Service agent. Jackson: Hold on, a flying shoe? That sounds less like a geopolitical incident and more like a cartoon mishap. You can't just leave it there. Olivia: It’s a bizarre, almost comical start to a very serious lesson. And that exact incident is the opening scene of Dana Perino's memoir, And the Good News Is...: Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side. Jackson: Right, and Perino is a fascinating figure. She was only the second woman ever to be White House Press Secretary, serving under President George W. Bush. Now she's a major anchor on Fox News. So she's seen politics from the absolute inside and from the media's outside, which is a pretty rare perspective. Olivia: Exactly. And that Baghdad story is the perfect entry point into our first big idea from the book: the kind of resilience that can only be forged in the crucible of the White House.

Jackson: Okay, you have to unpack this story for me. How does one get a black eye from a shoe that wasn't even aimed at them? Olivia: Well, picture this. It's December 2008, a top-secret trip to Baghdad. Security is incredibly tight. President Bush is holding a joint press conference with the Iraqi Prime Minister. Suddenly, an Iraqi journalist stands up, shouts insults, and hurls his shoe right at President Bush's head. Jackson: Wow. And Bush? Olivia: He ducks. Incredibly, he just smoothly dodges it. The journalist then throws his other shoe, and Bush dodges that one too. He’s remarkably calm. But in the chaos, a Secret Service agent lunges forward to protect the president and knocks over a heavy microphone stand. That stand swings around and smacks Dana Perino, who is standing off to the side, right in the face. Jackson: Oh man. So she literally took a hit for the team, just not in the way anyone expected. What was her reaction? Olivia: This is the crucial part. She's in pain, her eye is swelling shut, but her first thought isn't about herself. It's that the President has a major one-on-one interview with a journalist right after this press conference. So she gets a bag of ice, but she also makes sure the President's makeup is touched up and that he’s ready to go. Her focus was entirely on her duty. Jackson: That's an incredible level of dedication. But it also brings up a point some critics have made about the book. It's been highly praised for its inspirational tone, but some have noted that it reflects an almost uncritical loyalty to President Bush. Does she ever grapple with the more controversial parts of his presidency, or is it all seen through this lens of 'good news' and unwavering support? Olivia: That’s a very fair question, and it’s something she indirectly addresses. She doesn't offer a political critique of his policies, that's not the book's purpose. Instead, she focuses on character. A great example is the story she tells about Scott McClellan, her predecessor, who wrote a scathing tell-all book that was very critical of the Bush administration. Jackson: I remember that. It was a huge deal at the time. A former insider turning on the president. Olivia: Exactly. And Perino was furious. She felt betrayed and was preparing to go on the attack in her press briefings. But before she could, President Bush called her into the Oval Office. He told her, "I’d like you to try to forgive him. I don’t want you to live bitterly like he is. Nobody will remember this book three weeks from now. And we can’t let a book like this take us away from the important work we have to do." Jackson: Huh. That’s not the reaction I would have expected. He’s essentially coaching her on emotional resilience and perspective, not political strategy. Olivia: Precisely. For Perino, that was the real lesson in leadership. It wasn't about winning every fight or punishing every critic. It was about maintaining your own sense of peace and focusing on the bigger picture. It shows that her loyalty wasn't just blind; it was rooted in a deep respect for the man's character, which she saw up close in moments like that. Jackson: That adds a lot more depth to it. It’s not just about dodging shoes, it’s about dodging bitterness and distraction. Olivia: And that idea of perspective is a perfect bridge to the more personal side of her story. Because for all the high-stakes planning in the White House, her own life was profoundly shaped by a total lack of a plan.

Jackson: Oh, I love this part of the book. The classic 'quarter-life crisis.' It makes her so much more relatable than just 'White House official.' It's the 90s version of doom-scrolling LinkedIn and feeling like everyone else has their life perfectly figured out. Olivia: It really is. At age 25, she's working on Capitol Hill, has a good job, but feels completely stuck. She's anxious about her career, her dating life, everything. She starts making these detailed lists of what she wants to change, trying to engineer a better future for herself. Jackson: The classic over-thinker's approach. I know it well. Olivia: But life had other plans. She's on a flight from Denver to D.C., and she's seated next to a man named Peter McMahon. He's a British businessman, almost two decades older than her, and they just start talking. The connection is immediate and powerful. Jackson: A complete chance encounter. Olivia: Completely. They exchange contact information. He's so smitten that he immediately emails her, but the address bounces back. He thinks he's lost his chance. Meanwhile, Dana, feeling the same connection, decides to do something very old-fashioned. She sends him a postcard to his office in the UK. Jackson: A postcard! That’s amazing. It’s so much more intentional than a text. It required real effort. Olivia: And it worked. The postcard arrived, he found her correct email, and they started this whirlwind long-distance romance. Within a year, she quits her job, leaves her life in D.C., and moves to a small village in the north of England to be with him. Jackson: That is a massive leap of faith. It seems to go against every instinct of a cautious, career-driven person. How does she explain that decision? It feels like two different people in one body. Olivia: That's the core of her advice here. She argues for embracing serendipity. She realized that all her careful planning and list-making was just making her anxious. The best thing that ever happened to her came from a moment she couldn't possibly have planned. It taught her to be open to the universe, to trust her gut. Jackson: But it wasn't a perfect fairytale ending right away, was it? She moves to England and then finds herself... bored. Olivia: Terribly bored. She's in a new country with no job and no purpose. And this leads to another key moment. They eventually move to San Diego for the sunshine, but she's still unfulfilled, working in PR jobs that don't inspire her. She desperately misses the energy of Washington. Jackson: So how did she get back? Olivia: It was her husband, Peter, who helped her. He pulls out a whiteboard one day and makes her list everything she wants and doesn't want in a job. The exercise makes it glaringly obvious that her heart is still in D.C. And he, being this incredibly supportive partner, tells her to go back, even if it means living apart for a while. He recognized that her fulfillment was essential for their happiness as a couple. Jackson: Wow. So the man she met by chance is the one who helps her find her way back to her true calling. It all comes full circle. Olivia: Exactly. The unplanned moment on the plane didn't just lead to love; it ultimately led her back to the career that would define her life, culminating in her role at the White House. It's a powerful argument for letting go of rigid life plans.

Jackson: Okay, so she finds her way back to D.C., back to the center of power. And this brings us to what might be the book's most urgent message for today: her passionate call for civility. Olivia: It really is the heart of her philosophy. And she opens that discussion with an incredible story. In the final days of the Bush administration, the President invited all the living former presidents—his father, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter—along with President-elect Obama to the White House for lunch. Jackson: That image feels like it's from a different century, not just a decade or so ago. It's genuinely hard to imagine that happening with the same spirit today. Olivia: Perino describes the atmosphere as one of profound respect. These were men who had fiercely competed against each other, who had deep political disagreements, but they were united by the unique experience of having held that office. They were there to support the incoming president, to ensure a smooth transition of power for the good of the country. For her, that moment was the pinnacle of American civility. Jackson: It's a beautiful picture. But does she offer any practical advice for how we, as regular people, can get back to that? It's one thing for presidents in the Oval Office, but it's another thing at the Thanksgiving dinner table or on social media. Olivia: She does, and her advice is grounded in personal experience. She tells a story about being at a dog park in New York City. A neighbor, a big-time Democratic fundraiser, kept trying to bait her into political debates. For weeks, she politely dodged him. Finally, one day, he cornered her, and she just firmly but kindly said, "I'm sorry, I don't discuss politics at the dog park. This is my one refuge." Jackson: And how did he react? Olivia: He respected it. From that day on, they had pleasant conversations about their dogs, the weather, anything but politics. Her point is that civility sometimes means actively creating politics-free zones in your life. It's about setting boundaries. Jackson: So it’s not about being a doormat or agreeing with everyone. It's about choosing your battles and protecting your peace. That’s a much more practical takeaway. Olivia: It's also about how you handle direct insults. She was invited to give a commencement speech at her alma mater, and the university president introduced her with a snide political jab, saying, "And now, despite her party affiliation, I’m pleased to introduce Dana Perino." Jackson: Ouch. In front of everyone. Olivia: The audience gasped. But she just smiled, walked to the podium, and gave her speech with as much grace as she could muster. She didn't fire back. Later, the university was flooded with complaints, and the president had to call and apologize. Her lesson was that if you maintain your dignity, others will often fight your battles for you. Civility can be a form of strength.

Olivia: And when you put all three of these pieces together—the resilience forged under pressure, the openness to life's random turns, and this deep commitment to civility—you get a really coherent and powerful philosophy for life. Jackson: It really does connect. It seems to be about building a strong internal core. Whether it's a flying shoe in Baghdad, a chance meeting on a plane, or a rude comment at a graduation, her response is always grounded in a sense of self that isn't easily shaken. The 'good news' isn't that bad things don't happen, but that you have the internal tools to handle them with grace. Olivia: That's it perfectly. She actually has a term for it: 'productive serenity.' It's this idea of actively striving to be calm, generous, and dignified, even when it's hard. And she says she found a Zen saying on a card left in a hotel room once that became her guide. Jackson: What did it say? Olivia: It read, "Say little. But when you speak, utter gentle words that touch the heart. Be truthful. Express kindness. Abstain from vanity. This is the way." Jackson: That's a powerful thought to end on. In a world that rewards being loud and provocative, her argument is for the quiet strength of being clear and kind. What a great lesson. We'd love to hear what our listeners think. Does this idea of civility still have a place in our world today? Let us know your thoughts on our social channels. Olivia: This is Aibrary, signing off.