Democrats become the Slumber Party

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Oct 21, 1996 | by Woody West

The cost is a bit higher than a Super 8 motel, but it must be memorable to snooze in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House. The tab reportedly comes to $130,000 a night, though it's not clear if that includes the District of Columbia hotel tax.

The overnighters at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. are one way the Democratic National Committee is keeping itself in bacon and beans, according to Forbes magazine.

The fat cats have included Steven and Barbara Grossman, who've contributed at least $400,000 to their hosts, the Clintons, and the Democratic Party since 1990. Lew and Edie Wasserman have scraped up at least $450,000 to come to the aid of their party over the same period. (These figures were excavated by the Center for Public Integrity.) And. of course. with the first couple's commitment to culture, guests have included Steven Spielberg, Richard Dreyfuss, Tom Hanks and Chevy Chase -- all quick with the checkbook when the Dems come calling.

Guests' beds are turned down at night, with breakfast menus left on the pillow; they're asked what newspapers they'd like with their grits in the morning and are given a pass to wander the historically hallowed halls. More than 75 Democratic contributors and fund-raisers have slept the sleep of the just in the spiffy accommodations.

When the magazine's White House motel story was noted by David Brinkley on his Sunday morning TV show, a member of the Clinton campaign's quick-reaction squad asserted that many others had spent the night at the White House besides nabobs. These included the cook from the Arkansas governor's mansion, a theology student and the president's pastor and his wife, "and none of them paid as much as a dime."

Still, averaging out the Grossman/Wasserman contingent's contributions with the cook/pastor freebies represents a decent take for the Democrats.

The White House quota of populism likely accounts for the letter a friend recently received from a nephew of his wife's second cousin, who is a backhoe operator in northern Wisconsin:

"Marge mentioned on the phone about our night in the White House just before the Democratic convention. But you must be curious about how we got there and what our stay was like. I was really surprised when the Democratic committee called.

"We'd sent them 50 bucks, mostly because we're lifelong Democrats (though you know I'm very conservative on some social issues and voted twice for Ronald Reagan -- dang, I miss Dutch). Who was going to say no, though, when offered a night in the Lincoln Bedroom.

"There was a fuss at the gate when we told the guards we were there for the night, and it took a dozen calls before the Secret Service let us in. Marge was a little flustered when they searched her cosmetic bag and questioned her about the tube of blusher.

"The room was neat and the thought of sleeping where Abraham Lincoln himself slept was exciting, as you can imagine. The fellow who came in to turn down the bed clammed up when I asked if the scuttlebutt about Bill and Hillary screaming and getting in each other's face was true. At any rate, we didn't hear anything while there.

"Had an okay breakfast in the morning, though I'd have preferred an Egg McMuffin to the eggs Benedict, but Marge told me to show a little class. And no homefries. I'd asked for a copy of the Washington Times to read with breakfast, but our valet got huffy and said the White House had never heard of it and no one there read it anyhow.

"Afterward, Marge and I took a stroll. The White House is as pretty as it looks on TV. Lots of guys in suits and frowns were scurrying back and forth. Guess the prez keeps them hopping.

"Did see a couple of odd things. A little fellow with a mop of hair was skateboarding on that circular drive in front -- George Stephanopoulos. He looked a little old for the amusement but maybe that's how a `spinmeister' gets his ideas.

"Then, behind some bushes, two guys were shoving each other and cussing like in the parking lot at Zloty's on Saturday night. I recognized the tall one from C-Span -- Icky, Ikes, something like that, son of one of FDR's honchos. The other was Dick Morris, who as you probably read was the president's political guru until that business about the lady-not-his-wife that came out during the convention. Ho ho! But his book ought to be spicy, huh!

"Never did get to see Mr. Clinton. But an assistant took our picture in front of the White House. We're going to frame and hang it in the rec room.

"We did bump into the vice president, Mr. Gore. Nice fellow. But he started going on about global warming -- or was it global cooling? -- and we thought we'd never get away to catch the plane home. He didn't seem to have much to do.

"Odd place, Washington. But not bad for 50 bucks, huh!!!"