Anderson Cooper Says White House Oval Office Is Hot

Anderson Cooper and Ellen Degeneres have a great chemistry together.  Anderson recently visited Ellen to chat about a myriad of different topics.  One subject I found incredibly fascinating was his feedback on his recent interview with new President, Barack Obama.

(Image of Anderson Cooper - 2005 Vanity Fair Oscar Party - 02-28-05 - DailyCeleb.com - All Rights Reserved).

Before they discussed Anderson's interview in the Oval Office he was talking about his addiction to reality TV because it helps him unplug and zone out.  For him "it's a total escape."

Ellen continued "because you're always having to sharp and on and you got to interview the President in the Oval Office, that must have been amazing?"  Anderson replied "it was.  It was the first time I interviewed a sitting President in the Oval Office."

The funny lady questioned Anderson further by asking "in the Oval Office also?"  Anderson "yeah and its surreal to walk in the Oval Office and see the President sitting there waiting for you."  At that point she flashed a photo of Anderson sitting and interviewing President Obama.

Anderson talked about the temperature when he visited.  He told the audience "it's incredibly hot in the Oval Office."  He continued, "I don't know if you know this, but President Barack Obama likes the Oval Office to be very warm and I like everything to be cold."  Ellen said "me, like this - and she gestured around."  Anderson said "yes" agreeing about the stage temp.  He continued "but someone told the New York Times it's so hot in there (Oval Office) you could grow orchids.  And it's actually true in the Oval Office.  It's very warm.  So I sat down and within two minutes like a bead of sweat was rolling down my forehead.  Within 5 minutes I was drenched in sweat like Albert Brooks in Broadcast News.   And of course he's (The President) cool as a cucumber."

Ellen asked "how is that? And so that's the only office that is that warm?"  Anderson "you know, its the only office they allowed me to so I don't know if he keeps all of the White House like that, but the rest of the White House, you know, they need to replace the carpets and spruce it up a little." The funny lady said "well didn't they do that when they moved in?"

Anderson "I don't think they have had time to yet and I don't think we have any more money left." Ellen said "yeah what happened to our money?"

Ironically the report of President Obama keeping the Oval Office at 72 degrees resulted in criticism from the media for wasting energy to be comfortable.  Others pointed out that President Obama is from Hawaii and is sensitive to the very cold temperatures in Washington, D.C. in the Winter months.

Regardless of whether its right or not to keep the Oval Office so warm, it was very interesting to hear Anderson's thoughts about visiting the Oval Office.  I am always intriqued to hear what others experienced when doing an interview.