Conchita Picciotto has been a neighbor to presidents since 1981
FOR 25 YEARS Concepcion “Conchita” Picciotto has lived on the street in front of the White House, protesting nuclear arms. Hers may be the longest continuous vigil in history.
In 1981, when Picciotto took up residence in Lafayette Square, Jimmy Carter was president. She counts off the others on her fingers: “Ronald Reagan, two terms, then President Bush's father, then President Clinton, two terms too, and now the son of the father.”
But in all that time, she's never talked to any of her presidential neighbors.
Asked what one message she would give President Bush if she could, Picciotto says, “My goodness! The first thing, to come to his senses and stop killing.”
Conchita is regarded as a permanent fixture in D.C. She's been listed twice in the Berlitz guide to the city, and she appeared in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911.
