Isn’t This Cozy?

In Washington power is measured by a mysterious matrix of symbols representing the currency of access and information. The most sacred symbol of all is the White House pass. Normally, when anyone leaves the White House the U.S. Secret Service is hot on his heels out the door to retrieve his pass. The pass is no souvenir item. This can be a constructive lesson in humility. The bearer is reminded that he was accorded this privilege temporarily by virtue of where, and for whom, he worked.

But we have known for months that lobbyist Michael K. Deaver was granted an extraordinary privilege when he left his job as the President’s deputy chief of staff. Mike was special, so he got to keep his pass, although, like regular mortals, he still could have been admitted to the White House with a telephone call to the proper authority.

Now we learn that Deaver has been accorded another remarkable perquisite--the receipt of the President’s daily schedule, dispatched to him by one of his former assistants. The Washington Times reported that it is a confidential schedule given only to a select number of aides within the White House. The White House confirmed the basic report, but it said that some others outside the White House also receive it.

Can such privileges be misused? You bet, even by the most well-intentioned. Deaver’s business product these days is knowledge and influence. Imagine being able to tell a client over lunch, “Well, in fact, the President is meeting with so-and-so this very minute,” or knowing that a certain decision will be made on Monday. This special privilege, in a word, stinks. It should be ended immediately.