The Oval Office has become associated in Americans ' minds with the presidency itself through memorable images , such as a young John F. Kennedy , Jr. peering through the front panel of his father 's desk , President Richard Nixon speaking by telephone with the Apollo 11 astronauts during their moonwalk , and daughter Amy Carter bringing her Siamese cat Misty Malarky Ying Yang to brighten President Jimmy Carter 's day . Several presidents have addressed the nation from the Oval Office on occasion . Examples include Kennedy presenting news of the Cuban Missile Crisis ( 1962 ) , Nixon announcing his resignation from office ( 1974 ) , Ronald Reagan following the Space Shuttle '' Challenger '' disaster ( 1986 ) , and George W. Bush in the wake of the September 11 attacks ( 2001 ) . In 2018 , former White House stenographer Beck Dorey-Stein published a memoir about her years working for Obama called '' From the Corner of the Oval ''
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Oval Office