One of the goofiest stories to ever come out of the White House was reported last week when former Clinton administration officials bragged about pulling pranks during their last moments in the 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. house.
Apparently, Clinton and Gore folks thought it would be funny to take the “W” key off most of the computer keyboards in the West Wing. The “W” being significant because it is our new president’s middle initial, and nickname to friends and family.
The Bush people confirmed the pranks were played and that further damage was done, including the cutting of phone and other electrical lines. The president’s press secretary, Ari Fleisher, said the White House response was, “‘O.’ It would have been ‘Wow,’ but since the ‘W’ was missing it was just ‘O.’” I thought that was a pretty clever way of putting a ridiculous story into some sort of context.
But for those former White House officials who did this, there is only one thing to say: Grow up.
The Clinton folks say when they inherited the West Wing in 1993, they needed months to scrape off the Bush/Quayle ’92 bumper stickers from their desks. It’s only fair to leave Bush’s son some parting shots of their own, they argue.
Clinton critics have used this to fuel one last round of bashes on his presidency. From wearing jeans in the Oval Office to doing other “things” in there that were well-documented, Clinton’s critics argue the past administration had a lack of respect for the office.
I really don’t want to turn this into a political column so I won’t agree or disagree with that assessment. Surely, no matter what your ideology or whether you liked Clinton, there must be respect for his long service to the country.
Still, his administration could have left the stage without these childish pranks. In addition to the missing Ws, there have been reports that aides to Gore posted official signs throughout the West Wing making light of Bush’s campaign misstatements and changed a recorded answering message to say, “You have reached the office of Al Gore. Due to a Constitutional crisis, I will not be here for the next four years.”
Some of the stuff was funny and the Bush people acted accordingly, suggesting a majority of the transition time was cordial and serious.
Certainly most everyone on this campus has either pulled a prank or had a prank pulled on him or her. College dorms are a fertile environment for many pranks, including, but not limited to, calling people at 3 a.m. There is occasional vandalism that may be intended as a prank, but for the most part, it is harmless. The White House pranks were also harmless, but the West Wing is a far different environment from Case Hall.
Cutting power lines is not a harmless gag and the repairs will cost taxpayers money. But Bush officials insist there will not be an investigation, as there shouldn’t be. There are more important issues facing the country, more important than missing Ws and phony answering machine recordings.
But if that is my feeling, then what is the point of all of this tomfoolery talk? The point has to be that pranks have their time and place, and the White House is neither the time nor the place. A college dorm on a Friday night is one thing, the Blue Room is quite another.
Some believe Bush’s history studyin’ is limited, but he does realize the White House is America’s house and should be treated accordingly.
As for the college pranksters, by all means continue your work. Short of vandalism, a good prank on a friend or roommate can be quite humorous. However, when you leave your dorm room or apartment this spring, try to leave things the way you found them. That will be a greater sign of maturity than President Clinton’s staff ever showed.
Because everyone’s lease is up sometime, even the president’s.
Michael Webber, State News Loop columnist, can be reached at webbermi@msu.edu.
