Egotists are us

So NYC mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner is asked a question by a voter who wants to know how he can lead a city administration and expect employees to behave in an ethical manner when he can't.  Watch this CNN video.

IMO the problem isn't that Anthony Weiner is a douche who can't control his fantasies, but that he's an egotistical, self-centered ass who can't ever admit that he isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread.   He actually can't tell when he's gone off the rails.  As a result, he can't see the utter contempt that he attracts.  

New Yorkers don't have to settle this low for a mayor.  The rest of us also have our own collections of egotistical, self-centered politicians pandering for votes.  We shouldn't settle that low either.

In a related video, The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi tries selling a promising congressional candidate on going to Washington DC, despite its 535 obvious flaws.  The conclusion? 

"Washington is too gridlocked to attract the kind of results-oriented politicians we need to break the gridlock."

One Fastfood Is (Not) Like Any Other

Open Letter to McDonald's Corporation:

Based on personal experience, you have nothing to fear from Subway's foray into serving breakfast foods.  Their menu sounds decent enough, but the execution is, well, not very impressive.  The crew didn't seem to know how to assemble the breakfast and the components tasted like they had been sitting around for a couple hours.  Which they probably had been.  I was asked if I wanted "white or yellow" (egg) and my choice was "yellow" (if I was that health conscious I wouldn't be getting breakfast at a fastfood restaurant).  I got both.  The five (count 'em) hash brown "patties" were hard by the time I got home.  And "Seattle's Best" coffee?  Not so best.

Perhaps corporations might be advised to stick with what they know instead of trying to fill every niche.  Maybe I won't be using the rest of those coupons.  

It's Called Quitting

OK, so the only apparent Republican on the national scene under age 60 quit her job as Governor of Alaska the other day. There's a lot of commentary and opinion flying around now about what it means and why she did it. I generally can't understand 90% of whatever Governor Palin says because it sounds like some sort of encrypted code most of the time.

"Many just accept that lame-duck status, and they hit that road," Palin said. "They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that."

Barely half-way into her first term as Governor, she decided to walk away from her job and tried to paint it as a patriotic and high-minded act. Lame-duck status? They hit that road? They kind of milk it? What on earth is she talking about? Palin asserts she's not a "quitter," but that's exactly what she did. It's called quitting in the middle of your term. So the former Republican candidate for Vice-President who had hardly any credentials to begin with, now has less. Unless, of course, you count her responding to some sort of "higher calling." I'm afraid to even hazard a guess as to what that means.

I never had any use for Palin as a candidate, so I'm hoping she'll just go away now. We should be so lucky.