The man who is a verb at the White House

The story behind the expression, “Goyaling the briefing”

The White House. File

Several Presidents and more press secretaries have come and gone in the last four decades, but Raghubir Goyal is still going strong in the White House briefing room, his hands never tired of being in the raised position always. His questions invariably start with a brief history of South Asia, which could go on until the briefer demands, “So, what is the question?”

“The question is… what is America going to do about it?” Mr. Goyal would conclude. It could be terrorism one day, Kashmir another.

Mr. Goyal says he represents a cable network and a print publication but that is immaterial given that U.S Presidents, from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, had known him by name. So did press secretaries and officials in the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. He has not been able to hit it off with the current incumbent — yet. Of all the Presidents, it was with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush that he had the best relations, Mr. Goyal recalls. In fact, it was during the Clinton era that “Goyaling the briefing” became an expression among White House correspondents.

“They had only one question: Monica Lewinsky. I wanted to know about Pakistan sponsoring terrorism,” recalls Mr. Goyal, who has been living in the U.S since the 1970s. Faced with a barrage of Lewinsky questions, Mr. Clinton’s spokesperson would call Mr. Goyal. The practice flourished since then, with White House spokespersons looking for Mr. Goyal when the going got tough. The briefing would go in a different direction after Mr. Goyal’s intervention.

When Mr. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister at that time, Stephen Harper, appeared for a joint briefing on Mr. Bush’s birthday in 2006, Mr. Goyal told him that it was his birthday too. Mr. Bush called him up to the podium, and correspondents sang happy birthday to the President, Mr. Goyal, and two more correspondents. You can Google the video. Mr. Bush did not forget to introduce Mr. Goyal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when the latter visited the White House.

Mr. Goyal has been written about in

Washington Post ,

The New York Times and

The New Yorker and has been given special treatment by several Presidents, including coveted invites to banquets. He carries

prasad from a temple all the time and offers it to strangers and acquaintances. His questions are the easiest for any briefer in Washington as nobody disagrees on the strategic importance of India-U.S relations.