More than Missing Dubyas
January 26, 2001 10:29 AM Subscribe
More than Missing Dubyas Following up yesterday's iffy Drudge link, a bit more conclusive (MSNBC) reporting of the so-called "pranks" that bitter Clinton & Gore staffers pulled before leaving their offices. (more inside)
Regarding taxpayer expense: I thought I heard this morning that a computer company (don't remember which one) is donating as many keyboards as is needed to remedy the missing W problem. So at least that is taken care of.
posted by doublehelix at 10:48 AM on January 26, 2001
posted by doublehelix at 10:48 AM on January 26, 2001
The Washington Post also covered the story today.
I think these claims are being exaggerated for political purposes -- Drudge says today that $200,000 in damage was done, and I don't believe that for a minute.
However, I agree that the cut phone lines and outgoing voicemail reports are the ones that go far beyond pranks.
One thing I don't get is Drudge's report that because of this, White House staffers now have to buy new computers because the old ones might be infected with viruses. I would think that for security reasons, every hard drive in the building would have been replaced for a new administration. Otherwise, you couldn't be sure that it was free of trojan programs allowing access to the machine's contents.
posted by rcade at 10:48 AM on January 26, 2001
I think these claims are being exaggerated for political purposes -- Drudge says today that $200,000 in damage was done, and I don't believe that for a minute.
However, I agree that the cut phone lines and outgoing voicemail reports are the ones that go far beyond pranks.
One thing I don't get is Drudge's report that because of this, White House staffers now have to buy new computers because the old ones might be infected with viruses. I would think that for security reasons, every hard drive in the building would have been replaced for a new administration. Otherwise, you couldn't be sure that it was free of trojan programs allowing access to the machine's contents.
posted by rcade at 10:48 AM on January 26, 2001
I'm just amazed the Democrats finally decided to give a shit.
posted by fullerine at 10:58 AM on January 26, 2001
posted by fullerine at 10:58 AM on January 26, 2001
Had coffee this morning with a computer guy who told me he had been called in to restore the mnissing hard drives, taken when Bush Number One left office. What's good for tghe goose is good for the gooser.
posted by Postroad at 11:01 AM on January 26, 2001
posted by Postroad at 11:01 AM on January 26, 2001
The thing that's very interesting about this whole ordeal, is that not it's basically been a tradition for some time now.
There's been pranks from the exiting-staff for a whole handful of administrations, but only now is it coming to press light.
Maybe Bush is trying to use it at leverage to make himself look better. Maybe he really was offended, but to be honest the Bush administration did the same thing to the Clinton administration when they arrived in 1994. I think there was already a post about that in the Seventy-Two Trillion other MeFi threads on this topic, though.
posted by christian at 11:20 AM on January 26, 2001
There's been pranks from the exiting-staff for a whole handful of administrations, but only now is it coming to press light.
Maybe Bush is trying to use it at leverage to make himself look better. Maybe he really was offended, but to be honest the Bush administration did the same thing to the Clinton administration when they arrived in 1994. I think there was already a post about that in the Seventy-Two Trillion other MeFi threads on this topic, though.
posted by christian at 11:20 AM on January 26, 2001
Has this always happened? Did the Ford staff trash the White House before Carter moved in?
posted by thirteen at 11:50 AM on January 26, 2001
posted by thirteen at 11:50 AM on January 26, 2001
The thing that's very interesting about this whole ordeal, is that not it's basically been a tradition for some time now.
That's what comes when you recruit your staffers straight from fraternity.
posted by holgate at 11:57 AM on January 26, 2001
That's what comes when you recruit your staffers straight from fraternity.
posted by holgate at 11:57 AM on January 26, 2001
1. Suddenly the accounts of a pornography-strewn white house have disappeared. Just plain lies.
2. The whine of "at taxpayers' expense" is so tired. The expense of installing a couple of phone lines is less than nothing when it comes to a new administration's costs. and it shows a real lack of perspective, or general common sense, on the part of the whiner.
in any other situation, it'd get someone fired or perhaps sued...
3. LIGHTEN UP! In any other country, if a candidate has pulled the crap that the Bush campaign did in Florida (disruptive protests), they'd be arrested. or if a party had tried to shut down the government (a la gingrich), there would have been tanks in the streets. these were harmless pranks, and for republicans to bitch about them, after what's gone on recently in this country, is more childish than the pranks themselve. GET A GRIP!
posted by jpoulos at 12:28 PM on January 26, 2001
2. The whine of "at taxpayers' expense" is so tired. The expense of installing a couple of phone lines is less than nothing when it comes to a new administration's costs. and it shows a real lack of perspective, or general common sense, on the part of the whiner.
in any other situation, it'd get someone fired or perhaps sued...
3. LIGHTEN UP! In any other country, if a candidate has pulled the crap that the Bush campaign did in Florida (disruptive protests), they'd be arrested. or if a party had tried to shut down the government (a la gingrich), there would have been tanks in the streets. these were harmless pranks, and for republicans to bitch about them, after what's gone on recently in this country, is more childish than the pranks themselve. GET A GRIP!
posted by jpoulos at 12:28 PM on January 26, 2001
my problem is that this makes the government in general look very immature. as far as the bush senior thing, I've read a few places that the hard drives were taken to be put in the archives. given what computers were when he left office, the mess of the process might not have been avoidable. Either way, what does it say about government that this kind of stuff goes on? regardless of party affiliation, this seems silly...BTW the reports of pornography are still there on most sites.
posted by srw12 at 12:41 PM on January 26, 2001
posted by srw12 at 12:41 PM on January 26, 2001
Ah, vindication.
posted by aaron at 1:32 PM on January 26, 2001
Had coffee this morning with a computer guy who told me he had been called in to restore the mnissing hard drives, taken when Bush Number One left office.
Postroad, read the WashPost article:
Incoming administrations often accuse their predecessors of trying to make life difficult. In 1993, some Clinton officials cried foul when they found hard drives missing from their computers, but they turned out to have been seized by an independent prosecutor looking into the Bush administration's use of passport files.
Yes, there are often pranks by outgoing administration staffers. Most of this was not pranks. Pranks do not cause this much damage and lead to national news coverage.
But I think this graf from the Post says it all:
A Bush campaign official said the White House staff and Secret Service agents welcomed the Bush entourage especially warmly on Saturday. Some of the kitchen staff hugged members of the Bush family, the official said, adding, "You could sense an attitude, like, 'Thank God you're here.' "And yes, jpoulos, the porn accusations are still everywhere.
posted by aaron at 1:32 PM on January 26, 2001
:::Snort:::
God bless those mind-reading Bush campaign officials! How uniquely satisfying to probe the minds of the "help" and find nothing but eager anticipation at being able, finally, to serve someone who really, really deserves it.
The Post later wraps up the article:
"When asked for comment at his upstate New York double-wide trailer, President Clinton, clad only in a filthy whitish tank top and clutching a beer bottle, raved at this reporter to 'get'n offa mah lawn.' "
Well, I wish, anyway.
posted by Skot at 1:40 PM on January 26, 2001
God bless those mind-reading Bush campaign officials! How uniquely satisfying to probe the minds of the "help" and find nothing but eager anticipation at being able, finally, to serve someone who really, really deserves it.
The Post later wraps up the article:
"When asked for comment at his upstate New York double-wide trailer, President Clinton, clad only in a filthy whitish tank top and clutching a beer bottle, raved at this reporter to 'get'n offa mah lawn.' "
Well, I wish, anyway.
posted by Skot at 1:40 PM on January 26, 2001
Lighten up and get a grip? If you arrived to your first day on a new job and found these things done to your office and left for you to sort out, you'd be damned well pissed off. You'd be even more pissed off if someone told you to lighten up and get a grip, and rightly so. But these "pranksters" did exactly that, and yes, we are all paying to undo their damage. How much we will pay is irrelevant; the amount should have been zero because this kind of childish inanity should never have occured in the first place.
(As for the MetaTalk allegations about duplicate postings to perpetuate topics, that was not my intention. I knew of the Drudge topic, and felt that this report was significantly more detailed and from a significantly more reliable source to warrant the posting. I did not realise that there was an intervening post on the topic since the Drudge link -- I blended the two together in my mind.)
posted by Dreama at 2:13 PM on January 26, 2001
(As for the MetaTalk allegations about duplicate postings to perpetuate topics, that was not my intention. I knew of the Drudge topic, and felt that this report was significantly more detailed and from a significantly more reliable source to warrant the posting. I did not realise that there was an intervening post on the topic since the Drudge link -- I blended the two together in my mind.)
posted by Dreama at 2:13 PM on January 26, 2001
Regarding taxpayers expense. Think the Republicans will refund the $100 million in taxpayer monney they spent trying to get any dirt they possibly could on Bill and Hill? I didn't think so.
The pranks were exactly that, pranks. And the Clintonites weren't the ones who originated them. Bush the smarter...errr.... elder and his staff plastered Bush/Quayle stickers all over the white house; sharpened all the pencils to nubs, and even removed databases.
The guy has left office and yet the Republicans still are obsessed. Get lives.
posted by terrapin at 3:13 PM on January 26, 2001
The pranks were exactly that, pranks. And the Clintonites weren't the ones who originated them. Bush the smarter...errr.... elder and his staff plastered Bush/Quayle stickers all over the white house; sharpened all the pencils to nubs, and even removed databases.
The guy has left office and yet the Republicans still are obsessed. Get lives.
posted by terrapin at 3:13 PM on January 26, 2001
Move along. Nothing to see here.
"There might have been a prank or two, maybe somebody put a cartoon on the wall, but that's OK," Bush said Friday. "It's time now to move forward."
Since the people who are outraged about these pranks are the same ones who believe Bush is incapable of lying, I guess they have to take him at his word. He took an oath. So help him God.
(As for the MetaTalk allegations, please note how I posted this link in the existing thread rather than creating a new one, despite the fact that it sheds important new light on the subject.)
posted by rcade at 3:15 PM on January 26, 2001
"There might have been a prank or two, maybe somebody put a cartoon on the wall, but that's OK," Bush said Friday. "It's time now to move forward."
Since the people who are outraged about these pranks are the same ones who believe Bush is incapable of lying, I guess they have to take him at his word. He took an oath. So help him God.
(As for the MetaTalk allegations, please note how I posted this link in the existing thread rather than creating a new one, despite the fact that it sheds important new light on the subject.)
posted by rcade at 3:15 PM on January 26, 2001
my problem is that this makes the government in general look very immature.
You mean the government in general once appeared to be anything but immature?
-Mars
posted by Mars Saxman at 4:00 PM on January 26, 2001
You mean the government in general once appeared to be anything but immature?
-Mars
posted by Mars Saxman at 4:00 PM on January 26, 2001
Regarding taxpayer expense: I thought I heard this morning that a computer company ... is donating as many keyboards as is needed to remedy the missing W problem. So at least that is taken care of.
I think that, like all the many other "contributions" and "help" and influence, this is going to cost the taxpayers something, though it may not be as easy to count as dollars and cents.
posted by locombia at 7:40 PM on January 26, 2001
I think that, like all the many other "contributions" and "help" and influence, this is going to cost the taxpayers something, though it may not be as easy to count as dollars and cents.
posted by locombia at 7:40 PM on January 26, 2001
we are all paying to undo their damage
yeah, and we'll be paying 4 years from now too. except much more.
posted by centrs at 8:08 PM on January 26, 2001
yeah, and we'll be paying 4 years from now too. except much more.
posted by centrs at 8:08 PM on January 26, 2001
If you arrived to your first day on a new job and found these things done to your office and left for you to sort out, you'd be damned well pissed off.
I'm sorry, Dreama, I didn't realize that you worked at the White House.
In fairness, the porn allegations haven't gone away, so I stand corrected on that. I still maintain, however, that complaining about the expense is absolutely ridiculous--and offensive given the money Bush is trying to give his millionaire oil buddies (by raping the wilderness and ludicrous tax cuts) and the huge bill that terrapin brought up.
Bush's reaction to this "scandal"--that is, letting it roll off his back--is the only reasonable thing he did all week. I don't know why it's bothering everyone else so much.
posted by jpoulos at 8:10 PM on January 26, 2001
I'm sorry, Dreama, I didn't realize that you worked at the White House.
In fairness, the porn allegations haven't gone away, so I stand corrected on that. I still maintain, however, that complaining about the expense is absolutely ridiculous--and offensive given the money Bush is trying to give his millionaire oil buddies (by raping the wilderness and ludicrous tax cuts) and the huge bill that terrapin brought up.
Bush's reaction to this "scandal"--that is, letting it roll off his back--is the only reasonable thing he did all week. I don't know why it's bothering everyone else so much.
posted by jpoulos at 8:10 PM on January 26, 2001
As Joshua points out, despite the fact that Dubya and his team have said that they don't want to dwell in the past, and that it's not "business as usual," and that Bush wants to run a tight ship with no leaks, the fact that this is a recurring story every day for the past 5 is that the Bush team is letting stuff leak about it, like a four-year-old's runny nose.
Business as usual.
Meanwhile, Clinton aide denies reports of White House vandalism.
posted by crunchland at 8:24 PM on January 26, 2001
Business as usual.
Meanwhile, Clinton aide denies reports of White House vandalism.
posted by crunchland at 8:24 PM on January 26, 2001
If I'm ever elected president, when it's time for me to leave the White House, I'm gonna ask the crew from Modern Humorist for some tips on pranls. I like their ideas better. [thanks to BradLands reader RSOKent for pointing this out]
posted by bradlands at 8:28 PM on January 26, 2001
posted by bradlands at 8:28 PM on January 26, 2001
At least we can get the cool Air Force One swag back from Ebay.
posted by scottst at 8:47 PM on January 26, 2001
posted by scottst at 8:47 PM on January 26, 2001
How many aggrieved and unsupervised staffers does it take to pry off some Dubyas and strew trash around some offices?
This reminds me of the time that somebody got pissed off at the Coke machine in our dorm and managed to topple it face down. They couldn't figure out who did it. Guess what happened? We all had to pay for the damned thing (everyone in the dorm paid a share), and next year nobody had Coke machines in the dorms. Nobody. So all for one ijit's bad temper, probably someone who didn't even live in our dorm, and he ended up ruining it for everyone in the building, and eventually for the entire freaking school.
posted by dhartung at 8:56 PM on January 26, 2001
This reminds me of the time that somebody got pissed off at the Coke machine in our dorm and managed to topple it face down. They couldn't figure out who did it. Guess what happened? We all had to pay for the damned thing (everyone in the dorm paid a share), and next year nobody had Coke machines in the dorms. Nobody. So all for one ijit's bad temper, probably someone who didn't even live in our dorm, and he ended up ruining it for everyone in the building, and eventually for the entire freaking school.
posted by dhartung at 8:56 PM on January 26, 2001
Clinton officials said they didn't see any "destruction". More Republikan spin?
posted by owillis at 8:57 AM on January 27, 2001
posted by owillis at 8:57 AM on January 27, 2001
US News & World Report: $10,000 a day - The Bush White House is spending $10,000 a day to reprogram and reconnect the hundreds of phones yanked out of their wall jacks by exiting Clinton-Gore aides. It's a major undertaking. Each phone is programmed for a specific wall jack, and there are matching serial numbers on the phones to ease installation. But the former aides scratched the numbers off many of the phones or moved the handsets to other offices. Reprogramming each one takes an hour.
posted by aaron at 1:07 AM on February 5, 2001
posted by aaron at 1:07 AM on February 5, 2001
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But unprofessional communication on an official phone line and damaged and destroyed property isn't funny; in any other situation, it'd get someone fired or perhaps sued. When students pulled a stunt like this at my university (which just hired Al Gore as a visiting professor, ptoo!) they were expelled, their parents were charged for the repairs, and criminal charges were filed.
Like the Seattle protestors who were breaking windows or the Lakers fans who set cars on fire, this is a pathetic way of getting your message across -- and it's at taxpayer expense.
posted by Dreama at 10:35 AM on January 26, 2001