Good news: White House is crawling with flies

I’m tempted to say “No wonder with all the garbage coming out of it these days,” but that joke would be too hacky even for Letterman. Maybe if we punched it up with a gratuitous sexual reference to the Palin daughters?

A commenter in Headlines said this means Obama is lord of the flies, distinguishing him from the last Democrat to hold the office, who was lord of the fly. Groan. You’re welcome, Jay Leno.

White House staff members report that they and their boss have been routinely bothered by the bugs, and have seen the First Exterminator personally enforcing a no-fly zone in the West Wing…

White House officials say that strenuous debugging measures have been undertaken in recent weeks: Anti-insect lights have been installed in the National Security Council suite and the lower press office. Staff members have been issued fly swatters, and one, Brian Mosteller, stood at the ready during Mr. Obama’s television interviews on Tuesday (a lot of good he did). Some staff members have requested chemical intervention but have been denied.

It’s not clear why there has been so much buzz in the Obama White House. The chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who swatted at a fly in a recent interview, has blamed the opening of vents in the West Wing for the infestation, while Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, has blamed careless staff members who forgot to close unscreened windows, an official said.

There are numerous accounts of infestations in previous administrations, including a cameo by a fly during an Associated Press interview with Vice President Dick Cheney just a few days before Mr. Obama was sworn into office.

What this story really illustrates: D.C. is a swampy hellhole in the summer. Thanks for the scoop, Times-ers. Exit question: World Net Daily is going to work this into a story about the ten plagues being visited upon Obama or something, isn’t it?

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