In the 1995 movie "The American President," the widower commander in chief, played by Michael Douglas, falls in love with a lobbyist, played by Annette Bening. In one memorable scene, the president calls a D.C. florist and tries to order her two dozen roses.

Like any customer, he's asked for his credit card information. He then buzzes his secretary.

"Janie! Do you know where my credit cards are?"

Janie responds: "They're in storage in Wisconsin with the rest of your personal items."

The president then asks to be billed, mentioning that he is the president. The florist shop hangs up on him.

The scene, although fictional, poses a real -- and interesting -- question: Does the president carry a wallet? And as protected and pampered as our top executive is, does he even need to carry one?

Here, on Presidents Day, are the answers, along with almost everything you'd ever want to know about personal presidential finances.

Does the president carry a wallet?

The first one did. In 1992, George Washington's well-worn, 10-inch long, brown leather wallet was stolen from a museum in New Jersey. It had a brass clasp that was inscribed with "GW 1775." Inside the wallet was a 1776 two-thirds dollar bill and a 1779 one-dollar bill.

The Library of Congress holds the contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets the night he was assassinated. Among them: a brown leather wallet with a purple silk lining. Inside the wallet he had a $5 bill -- a Confederate $5 bill -- and eight folded newspaper clippings.

Dwight Eisenhower once visited a five-and-dime and had to borrow money from a bodyguard to buy a toy for a grandchild.

During his presidency, Ronald Reagan visited a McDonald's in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He bought a burger and fries, pulled out his wallet and paid the $2.25 tab with a $20 bill.

In 1989, People magazine asked George H.W. Bush how much he carried. He pulled out his wallet and counted out $53. "I've had it there for quite a while," he said.

Two year later, Bush visited a school in Virginia. A skeptical 8-year-old asked him, "Are you really the president?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Didn't you know that?" said Bush. "What did you think I was -- a pretending guy? . . . Well, heck, how can I prove that to you?"

Bush then pulled out his wallet, showed the student his driver's license and then dug deeper.

"Do you accept American Express cards?" said Bush, pulling out his credit card.

In 2005, a Latin American reporter asked George W. Bush what he had in his pockets. The president pulled out a handkerchief -- and nothing else. He even turned his pockets inside out to show he wasn't hiding anything. "Es todo. No dinero" [That's all. No money], the president said. "No wallet, no bolsa [wallet]."

Earlier that year, as the collection plate approached him during the National Prayer Service, Bush found himself without money. Vice President Dick Cheney offered him some, but Bush refused and turned to his father, who was sitting behind him. The elder Bush slipped him some cash.

In February 1993, with the country climbing out of a recession, U.S. News & World Report quoted White House aides who said the new president, Bill Clinton, would pay for his coffee, clothes and even cat food for the first feline, and that he would carry a wallet and credit cards to make purchases.

By the end of his second term, however, Clinton did not carry credit cards or much cash, and he had become notorious for borrowing money from his Secret Service guards while out shopping, according to longtime White House correspondent Connie Lawn.

Barack Obama may or may not carry a wallet (the White House did not respond to a PDQ query asking if he did), but he carries cash. During various trips, he's paid cash for cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, shaved ice in Hawaii, books in Iowa and a giant pastry in Wisconsin.

How much does the president make?

His annual salary is $400,000, and he is paid monthly, presumably by direct deposit. (His checks are processed by the Cleveland office of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.)

The president also gets a $50,000 expense account annually for job-related costs, and a $19,000 entertainment budget.

At the start of each term, the president is given $100,000 for decoration of the White House.

Presidential salary history

Since 2001: $400,000

1969 to 2001: $200,000

1949 to 1969: $100,000

1909 to 1949: $75,000

1873 to 1909: $50,000

1789 to 1873: $25,000

What does he pay for?

The president is required to pay for personal expenses (dry cleaning, for example) and clothes that aren't used on the job (a new suit is probably covered but basketball shorts probably aren't). The president also pays for his and the first family's food, although food served during state dinners and official events is covered.

What about perks?

The perks are great. Free lodging at the 132-room White House and free use of its chefs and staff. Travel is free in two presidential jumbo jets or a fleet of helicopters and limos. Health care is free and so are prescription drugs. There's also a decent free vacation spot at Camp David in Maryland.

Retirement

Former presidents can look forward to a retirement of riches, thanks to consulting gigs, seats on corporate boards, six-figure speaking fees and book deals. It's as if ex-presidents have printing presses for cash.

Clinton left office with a pile of legal debt, which he quickly erased. The Clintons reportedly have earned more than $100 million since leaving the White House (the advance on his book deal alone was $15 million). By 2007, Clinton had earned $40 million in speaking fees -- two-thirds of it from foreign sources.

Gerald Ford sat on the corporate boards of American Express, 20th Century Fox and Primerica. And in 1989, Reagan received $2 million for two 20-minute speeches in Japan.

Then there's the official presidential pension, which starts at $186,000 a year (regardless of age) and increases yearly thereafter.

Retired presidents also receive security, reimbursement for office costs and even a stipend for phone bills.

It was a different story only 58 years ago, when Harry Truman left Washington and took the train back home to Missouri.

He refused gifts (Toyota offered him a free car to help boost U.S.-Japanese relations) and lucrative offers from corporations. Until he sold his memoir to Life magazine, he lived on his $112-a-month pension from the Army.

Congress passed the Former Presidents Act in 1958, which finally gave pensions to former commanders in chief.

Truman wrote: "I could never lend myself to any transaction, however respectable, that would commercialize on the prestige and dignity of the office of the presidency."

Sources: Plain Dealer research, Washington Post, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, CBS News, Fort Worth Star Telegram, Southland Times (New Zealand), USA Today, New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Slate Magazine, University of Michigan, CNN, Inside Bay Area (California).