The Only People Who Can Stop Him Now Are The Preservationists

What’s the most ridiculous aspect of the Bloomberg for President hype? Is it New York City’s nationwide agenda? Is it the Genesis-like porterhouse-fueled dare myth? No, it’s the speculation that Hizzoner would reconfigure the Oval Office to accommodate his signature “bullpen” layout:

The Oval Office is among the most recognizable symbols of the American presidency, but if Mayor Bloomberg ends up in the White House, the real business of the country could get done down the hall.

If history is an indication, Mr. Bloomberg will want to reconfigure some area of the White House to make room for an open, newsroom-style office if he’s elected president. Since his days as the founder and CEO of the information technology company Bloomberg L.P., the mayor has opted to forgo a private corner office to work in a “bullpen” surrounded by his top lieutenants and aides. Starting today, Mr. Bloomberg’s bullpen is moving to the city’s emergency command center in Brooklyn for two weeks while the City Hall workspace gets an electrical upgrade and a fresh coat of paint.

The rearranging of the White House furniture hinges, of course, on a lot of ifs — with the top two being if Mr. Bloomberg decides to run and if he wins. But those who have followed his career or worked in the White House say if Mr. Bloomberg does become the next commander-in-chief he will be able to find a space for his beloved bullpen at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

“He could go to the Old Executive Office [Building], which is across the alley. There’s a space on the third floor there where he could create a bullpen about the size that he has at City Hall,” a Republican strategist and former assistant to President Reagan, Edward Rollins, said.

Mr. Rollins, who worked in the White House between 1981 and 1986 with some time off for Mr. Reagan’s re-election campaign, said creating a bullpen in the West Wing would be next to impossible because it would require “knocking down the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, and the Roosevelt Room.”