Executive sweet.

• Author: Georges, Christopher
• Position: White House perks

Think the last round of perk-purging got them all? Take a glimpse at the high life in the White House

"Imagine what it's like to fly first class on the best airline," says one Bush aide. "Well, think of one level better; now you're getting close to what White House travel is like." Bragging perhaps, but the sad truth is that he's right. And the perks don't just come at 20,000 feet; back on earth there's the White House Mess, the 29-car limo fleet, the health care benefits, the free gym, and more. How could this be, you ask? Didn't they clamp down on all those White House freebies back when they put the House bank out of business? Not a chance. Despite the podium pounding and the mea culpas from congressional and White House big wigs over perks, the dirty little secret on West Executive Drive is that as far as White House goodies go, it's business as usual.

And quite a business it is. The White House employs a staff of nearly 100 butlers, doormen, maids, drivers, chefs, waiters, "gift analyzers,'' florists (four of them), and calligraphers (five). Travel costs for the president and his staff come to more than $100 million annually. The total budget for White House expenses? About $150 million. The real cost of presidential perks, however, can't be measured in dollars, but by the attitude it engenders among the president's top aides. Eating lunch, for example, means a short walk down to the Mess where the waiter (who has been your personal waiter for the past two years) sits you down (at the table with an engraved pewter ingot that bears your name), and serves you a drink (which you didn't have to order because he already knows what you like). After that kind of treatment, you might just feel a little grander than the average person.

Of course, with the arrival of Bill Clinton, there's some hope that this may change. After all, central to his anointment was his ability to convince people that he does in fact empathize with the average American; that he's as likely to lunch at a Northeast McDonald's as at the West Wing Mess. But there's no guarantee that the Clintonires won't rely on the same arguments as have administrations before them to preserve their special status--namely that the perks make them more efficient and the freebies are no grander than those enjoyed by, say, business leaders or high priced lawyers.

Care, free

That, of course, may be true, but it's also true that their private sector counterparts don't make policy for the rest of America. Which is why the issue of perks can't simply be dismissed, as it often is, as a matter of a few harmless goodies that make life just a little bit easier for hard working White House staffers. Consider the health care perk, which is arguably the most damaging of them all, as it can easily blind top policymakers to the urgency of the nation's problem. White House big shots not only automatically receive the very best of health insurance plans (for just $100 per month), but have access to some of the best doctors and most sophisticated medical facilities in...