Of all the weirdness that spewed like spray paint from the last White House days of William Jefferson Clinton, perhaps the most bizarre episode involves furniture. Chairs.

The chairs were a gift from Denise Rich, the ex-wife of pardoned fugitive financier Marc Rich. The parties involved said there was no quid pro quo, meaning that they want us to believe they would not actually be caught trading chairs for pardons.

But that’s beside the point. I find it very odd, no matter how tight the Clintons and the Rich's may be, for friends to be exchanging furniture. I rarely exchange furniture, or anything larger than a six-pack, with my friends. Once, my mother donated an old refrigerator to one of my bachelor pads, but the freezer door never completely shut and the paint was chipped. The color paint I chose to cover the fridge in was a tad brighter than it appeared in the hardware store, and so I was left with what looked like a school bus festooned in icicles.

There is a certain amount of traffic in sofas among friends, but I encourage you to avoid it if you can. I once came into possession of a crushed velour, brown — let's call it cocoa — number the size of a minivan with an iron-clad, queen-sized hideaway bed tucked inside. I begged friends, acquaintances, and the Sparkletts delivery guy to take it away. If I knew they needed furniture, though, I would have offered it to the Clintons.

I don’t begrudge the Clintons their furniture, though you would think at this point in their careers, they could afford their own chairs. There are buys to be had at IKEA, for example. I just wish they would be more upfront about it. In fact, instead of a Presidential farewell speech, we could have had a game show where the First Family issues a pardon and in return receives fabulous prizes.

"That's right, Mr. President, feast your eyes on this living room suite by Broyhill. The 18-foot velveteen sectional sofa is complemented by these endangered forest teak end tables."

And they already have the chairs!

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