( in his thoughts herb had actually pulled himself short , substituting 'the president ' for 'lang-ford ' , and that made him angrier still ; it was part of the tension , part of the distance that white house authority demanded and dennison hated it ... after the inauguration and three years of calling him by his first name , jennings had spoken quietly to his chief of staff during one of the inaugural balls , spoken to him in that soft , jocular voice that dripped with self-deprecation and good humour .