'No-cussing zone' for White House?

Does the current administration in Washington hold the record for profanity proneness? The media had to delete an adjective from Vice President Biden's greeting of President Obama at the signing ceremony of the health care bill.

The president didn't seem shocked by his VP's word choice. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel acknowledges that he expresses himself regularly with expletives. Sadly, such language may have become the lingua franca of those now working in the West Wing.

I wonder if this was the way Abraham Lincoln's cabinet and aides talked when in the Executive Mansion. Most American citizens have a respect and awe, almost a reverence, when they have an opportunity to visit the White House. They would not think of polluting the corridors and offices with purple prose.

That's the attitude that I observed when taking college and graduate students to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for 20 years. President Reagan showed his respect for the Oval Office by wearing a suit and tie when he entered it. Perhaps President Obama could illustrate his by issuing an executive order declaring the White House a "No-Cussing Zone."

Glenn F. Arnold

Wheaton