Confusion reigns. Our president has said no to a return war in Iraq and environs, some of his generals see it differently, and John Kerry is hoping to rely on Iran or CodePink or Pink Floyd. About the only think certain is that among administration representatives ISIL has emerged as the acronym of choice. Before it’s all over someone will be asking for Isilum. Or converting to it.
Happier are those who heard Joe Biden invoking Shakespeare, even if he thinks Shylock is a banker in one of the comedies. He gets things wrong with a steady consistency. In Florida the other day, his nominal boss said “the one constant is American leadership.” We’d revise that to read: “The one constant is Joe Biden’s leadership.”
We owe an apology to Nancy Pelosi, that poor forgotten victim of our war on women. Even if she’s always saying something creepy, we shouldn’t be tuning her out just because we judge her by different standards. She’s actually quite gracious and kind, rehabilitating Gov. Chris Christie at the grand opening of a prisoner reentry center in Jersey City by holding his hand during the Serenity prayer. Governor Christie has rarely looked so over the moon. They do make a lovely couple.
As the New York Times headlined apropos the MacArthur Foundation’s annual genius stipends, “MacArthur Awards Go to 21 Diverse Fellows.” If there were justice in the world, all of that MacArthur dough — $13,125,000 in toto, if you’re from the IRS — would go straight to our president, given as he’s always the smartest genius in any room. And besides, are those fellows really as diverse as advertised? To our mind, only if playwright Samuel D. Hunter were to switch places with the actor who starred in Hunter’s 2012 play, The Whale, “about a morbidly obese man.” If the photo accompanying the Times story is accurate, his case is one even our well-dressed First Lady would have to pass on.
Which leads us naturally to the unfortunate Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who ended up looking like Cinderella as midnight struck and let loose on the world a Politico takedown of internecine takedowns. Yesterday’s shocker, all of it covered with Democratic fingerprints, exposed the DNC chairwoman turned charwoman as a self-serving operative who on at least three occasions wanted her party to pay for her fancy threads. Sarah Palin is on apology standby. Maybe Mrs. Bob McDonnell as well.
If you’ve met the press, you’ve met Meet the Press. Two weeks into its remaking the Sunday morning show for those who aren’t in church or on the golf course is safely positioned again in third place. It’s true when they say that change comes slowly in Washington. By the way, the show’s host remains Chuck Todd.
We’ve lost track of the Roger Goodell saga and the growing number of players linked to the NFL scandals. Fortunately, along came a little-known California congresswoman, whose first name is borrowed from Jacqueline Kennedy, to call for Commissioner Goodell’s resignation before next Sunday’s one p.m. kickoffs. Her impeccable logic had a way of clearing our mind. Here’s Rep. Jackie Speier’s comment, as delivered on MSNBC last Wednesday night: “I think that Roger Goodell should resign, I absolutely think so.” Okay, so far so good, but then she added: “Whether he does or not is probably, I think, unlikely.” If you’re still scratching your head about that one, it’s not because you have eczema.
Soon enough, Cong. Speier did the expected and suggested “this is really all about money.” Thus setting up the Scottish referendum to a tee. We met our EOW for this week at 04:43 this morning BBC time just as it became clear that the “Yes” cause was going down to defeat. It was then that the “Yes” activist and former Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan told BBC Scotland, “It is not looking good to be honest. I am feeling almost broken-hearted.” He next proceeded to break our hearts as he revealed himself a very sore loser: “I feel that the British establishment has mobilised the big guns, they have mobilised the bankers, they have mobilised the billionaires, they have mobilised the supermarkets, they have all been corralled into Number 10 and told to get out there and frighten people and I think that people have been frightened.” So much for the Bravehearts. Of course, it could have been worse. Tommy might have called those billionaire bankers Shylocks.
