Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

site web  

WASHINGTON, D.C. — For Barry Jackson, a Butler County native, the White House stint that began in February 2001 represents the high point of a lifetime round trip that began in Washington, went through Ohio and Iowa, and returned to the nation's capital.

His mom (from Iowa) and dad (from West Virginia) met in Washington in the late 1950s while each worked for the FBI. The couple moved to Iowa so that Cletis Jackson, Barry's dad and later the founder of Mason-based Hi-Tek Manufacturing, could go to college.

Stints with General Electric led the Jacksons to New York, Virginia and Ohio, where Barry arrived as a grade-schooler at Lakota and remained through high school before heading to the University of Iowa.

It was in Iowa that Barry Jackson's fascination with politics drew him in. His tenure as the state's youngest GOP county chairman and several campaigns led him, through a mutual friend, to then-State Rep. John Boehner, who was considering a congressional race. Jackson eventually spent a decade on Boehner's congressional staff, serving as chief of staff and a key player on Capitol Hill.

Karl Rove said recenlty that Jackson's deft handling of the delicate chore of getting a gaggle of governors to move in unison caught the eye of Bush's top aides.

"It was unbelievable to see," Rove said. "It was like the guy starting to balance a couple of plates, then he adds more plates and more plates and he is keeping them all going at the same time."

Shortly after the January 2001 inauguration, Rove asked Jackson to sign on as director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives.

The initial mission was, Jackson said, to help "translate what the president talked about" into plans for enacting it. That task put Jackson in charge of coordinating the White House "strategery" shop, an operation that took it's name from a Saturday Night Live skit.

In 2002, Jackson was promoted to Rove's top deputy, a move that freed him from "strategery" responsibilities and made him — in Rove's words — a "utility fielder" free to handle all manner of tasks thrown his way. It also made Jackson a key player in issues such as international trade, immigration and farm policy.

In his current role, Jackson is taking a realistic view of what's possible in Bush's final year in office. He sees little to no chance for a Social Security overhaul but has hopes for other Bush domestic initiatives, including health care.

"Major is kind of a subjective word," he said when asked if any major Bush initiatives can win approval. "I do think there is a chance for things to get done. I don't think you can be in the White House serving the president and not have anything but that feeling."

Like all White House staffers, Jackson is not backing any presidential candidate, opting only to say it's important to have a Republican replace Bush.

He sees Ohio as crucial, again, in the presidential selection process, a notion that he and Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin, a product of Indian Hill near Cincinnati, often reinforce for each other.

"Joe and my line is, the only way to the Oval Office is through Ohio," Jackson said.

Jackson offers the standard "I serve at the pleasure of the president line" when asked if he plans to stay on board through Jan. 20, 2009. He acknowledged that in recent months he looked around Washington and had some "what-if" conversations that didn't lead to anything.

"I'm one of those crazy people in Washington. I've been working at this for 18 years between my time up on the hill and eight years with the president," he said. "I enjoy it, and as long as I think I can contribute then that's what I want to do."