It's All So Random

Barbra Streisand kissed George Bush. OK, she did it at the Kennedy Center Honors. She was sitting in the Presidential box. It’s pretty heady in that box. I have been there many times. Admittedly, it wasn’t with any President, but that was even better because I didn't have to behave. There is a Presidential box in each of the Kennedy Center theaters. The box is a perk for VIPs—unless the President wants to go to a show. Then he gets to invite the guests. But when he’s not using it, the tickets are available to whomever wants to go—or rather whomever the person who controls them in the West Wing, wants to allow to use it. When Jordan and Seth were small (during the Carter and Clinton Administrations), I knew those people. I got to take my children and my Mom. (The perks are really the only reason to serve in any Administration—otherwise it’s all work and no play). Jordan saw so many musicals from the President’s box that the first time we went to a theater in NY, she was annoyed that there was someone sitting in front of her. And of course that there wasn’t an ante room with a refrigerator and Presidential snacks, including White House boxed M&Ms.

But I digress. No surprise. Enough about me and back to Barbra , who I met at the Vice President’s residence at a Christmas party. No, not Dick Cheney. The nice VP, Al Gore. Admittedly, I was appalled and had questions. Did she like it? Did she do it because she was so excited she didn’t know what she was doing? Was she thinking that she kissed the President not the man? (Can you separate the two?) After all her years of derision, how did she do it without thinking – as Charley Brown would say—“my lips kissed dog lips". Is James Brolin a Republican? There is no explanation other than her mother taught her good manners.

Speaking of confusion. Why can’t I remember that guy’s name? Something like “Bad Boy or Bitch” (I guess that’s his wife who has also been described as a potty mouth). He’s the Governor of Illinois. Until just a few days ago I loved him. Yes I did. When he went out on the street and stood up for the workers who were abruptly put out on the street without notice or the pay due them, I cheered for him. At first I didn’t understand that The Bank of America (which received billions in the bailout) had cut off credit to their company and the owners had no choice but to close down. The employees went out on the street to scream about the injustice, and the Governor was right there with them. He announced that the State wouldn’t be doing business with the Bank of America anymore—it was terrific. I said the Bank needed a crisis public relations plan and they got it. The Governor, it appears, is a criminal. The Governor was trying to sell the Senate seat left vacated by the newly elected President. The Governor has a foul mouth. The Lt. Governor hasn’t talked to the Governor in over a year. The Governor’s wife is a bitch. Did the Bank of America luck out or what? No one is paying attention to the workers or their suffering. The Governor, not the bank is the headline, the outrage.

This morning, when I was trying to understand what was happening, I watched the news shows on CNN and MSNBC after “Morning Joe”. I can never get news from Morning Joe. It’s much too entertaining. I hate when my entertainment is interrupted by the news. Anyway, it was not easy because there was so much information circulating about this topic of national interest that I could hardly keep the facts straight. Here’s what I discovered. Most of the reporters (who call themselves journalists but they’re really talking heads – not Mike Barnacle, who is a journalist), are trying as hard as they can, to link the President with the Bad Boy and Bitch, are frustrated because it is not working. Obama has asked the Governor to resign. But it appears that’s not enough. It’s not enough because then the news readers will have nothing to say. So the questions surrounding the President will involve any contact they had. Did Axelrod say Obama was involved and then changed his mind? Will the Governor stay despite his arrest? The arrest should be colorful – although nothing surprises me about Illinois or Louisiana politics. Will the President answer questions about the controversy when all he wants to do is announce new appointments? Will there be a special election? And is the elephant in the room, Jesse Jackson Jr., involved in any way. Well, maybe it’s not an elephant but it is at least, a rabbit.

What should the President-elect do? Certainly not listen to any advice from the “journalists”. But what about me? What do I have to say? Keep moving ahead. Address the issue people care about. Don’t get involved in local political issues—even if they are in his backyard. Stay away from commenting on Bad Boys and Bitches other than to comment on the outrageous behavior. The Senate seat in Illinois does not belong to the Governor, it belongs to the people – just like Barbra Streisand and the Kennedy Center.