( CNN ) On and off for over 40 years , I have had the privilege of roaming around the West Wing of the White House , usually as a member of the staff , sometimes as a journalist or visitor . For all that time , almost everything has been pretty much the same -- from the configuration of furniture in the oval to the four Norman Rockwell sketches hanging in the hallways . But this past weekend , making a visit , there was something that was brand new and entirely welcome : There among the stream of visitors touring the West Wing were many families of every color , especially African-Americans . You may not think that is so different , but it is . For as long as I have known , the West Wing has essentially been the preserve of whites , especially white men . My wife Anne and I , along with 10-year-old grandkids Gabriel Barnett and Maya Gergen , were there for a superb , two-hour tour by a young man , Clay Dumas , once a college intern working with me and now an aide to the President . ( He also happens to be white . ) Like most staff members over the years , Clay spoke with near reverence about his President as he pointed out many photos of Obama on the walls . What seemed so natural to him was what was what also struck me as new : Photo after photo showed people of color working and meeting their President alongside and of equal standing with whites . Of course , it did n't take a visit to the white house to know that Barack Obama has promoted diversity . Still , before seeing up close , I had not appreciated how deeply his approach has permeated day-to-day life . This White House appears to be a model of racial , ethnic and gender integration . To be sure , earlier presidents had already taken steps down this path . President Bill Clinton was the first to name a cabinet in which women and people of color outnumbered white males . President George W. Bush surprised some when he continued that tradition . But in the West Wing itself , white men continued to dominate the inner circles . President Obama 's efforts to allocate power in new ways have sometimes raised hackles . That three of the most influential people around him are African-American women is n't the issue , insist critics sotto voce ; rather it is whether two of them , Valerie Jarrett and Susan Rice , are the right people for their jobs . Both have come under periodic barrages . But to be fair , it is n't as if there has n't been a string of white males in the past who have been even less suited for powerful White House jobs . As I left the White House this past Saturday , I knew that I would continue to grind my teeth over many of President Obama 's policies along with his leadership style . But as a white southerner inspired by the civil rights movement , I must say that I was also impressed and grateful that he has made the West Wing such a welcome home for Americans of every color and background . It 's about time . I will write my young friend Clay and tell him that one day , accompanied by his grandchildren , he will return to the West Wing and be proud that he served under the first president to turn diversity into a living reality at the White House . That is one of the positive legacies of this President that deserves greater recognition .
David Gergen says Barack Obama does n't get enough credit for transforming the White House . Gergen : The President has turned diversity into a living reality in the West Wing .