Liberal Burblings

Archive for January, 2009

The new President Bartlet’s Obama’s daily habits are outlined by the New York Times:

The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.
“He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”
Thus did an ironclad rule of the George W. Bush administration — coat and tie in the Oval Office at all times — fall by the wayside, only the first of many signs that a more informal culture is growing up in the White House under new management. Mr. Obama promised to bring change to Washington and he has — not just in substance, but in presidential style.
Although his presidency is barely a week old, some of Mr. Obama’s work habits are already becoming clear. He shows up at the Oval Office shortly before 9 in the morning, roughly two hours later than his early-to-bed, early-to-rise predecessor. Mr. Obama likes to have his workout — weights and cardio — first thing in the morning, at 6:45. (Mr. Bush slipped away to exercise midday.)
He reads several papers, eats breakfast with his family and helps pack his daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, off to school before making the 30-second commute downstairs — a definite perk for a man trying to balance work and family life. He eats dinner with his family, then often returns to work; aides have seen him in the Oval Office as late as 10 p.m., reading briefing papers for the next day.
“Even as he is sober about these challenges, I have never seen him happier,” Mr. Axelrod said. “The chance to be under the same roof with his kids, essentially to live over the store, to be able to see them whenever he wants, to wake up with them, have breakfast and dinner with them — that has made him a very happy man.”
In the West Wing, Mr. Obama is a bit of a wanderer. When Mr. Bush wanted to see a member of his staff, the aide was summoned to the Oval Office. But Mr. Obama tends to roam the halls; one day last week, he turned up in the office of his press secretary, Robert Gibbs, who was in the unfortunate position of having his feet up on the desk when the boss walked in.

Oh dear. Oh dearie dearie me.

Last night’s Newsnight contained quite a spectacle.

Michael Crick was on the case of the Scottish non-budget with his usual terrier-like determination, charging round the Scottish parliament with his microphone to prick the pomposity of Messrs Salmond and Swinney.

What saddened me greatly (and I had to get a box of Kleenex out) was to see poor old Alex Salmond being forced to comment as he waited impatiently for the doors of his lift to close. “It’s a bad day for Scotland” he was forced to declaim, through pursed lips.

Poor, poor Alex Salmond!

I thought it was particularly hilarious that Salmond blamed those who voted against the budget for jeopardising Scotland’s public services.

Nothing to do with him then – throwing together last minute changes to the budget by the seat of his pants to try and squeeze it through.

Of course not.

Would it be totally un-called for to mention that Alex Salmond was once described, by a fellow Scot, as “a man who is so pleased with himself, he’d drink his own bathwater”? (And that’s the clean version).

There you are. I thought it was only right and proper to record how much money Derek Conway has been asked to repay the public after overpaying his sons Freddie (£13,161) and Henry (£3,757).

The new President Bartlet’s Obama’s daily habits are outlined by the New York Times:

The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.
“He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”
Thus did an ironclad rule of the George W. Bush administration — coat and tie in the Oval Office at all times — fall by the wayside, only the first of many signs that a more informal culture is growing up in the White House under new management. Mr. Obama promised to bring change to Washington and he has — not just in substance, but in presidential style.
Although his presidency is barely a week old, some of Mr. Obama’s work habits are already becoming clear. He shows up at the Oval Office shortly before 9 in the morning, roughly two hours later than his early-to-bed, early-to-rise predecessor. Mr. Obama likes to have his workout — weights and cardio — first thing in the morning, at 6:45. (Mr. Bush slipped away to exercise midday.)
He reads several papers, eats breakfast with his family and helps pack his daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, off to school before making the 30-second commute downstairs — a definite perk for a man trying to balance work and family life. He eats dinner with his family, then often returns to work; aides have seen him in the Oval Office as late as 10 p.m., reading briefing papers for the next day.
“Even as he is sober about these challenges, I have never seen him happier,” Mr. Axelrod said. “The chance to be under the same roof with his kids, essentially to live over the store, to be able to see them whenever he wants, to wake up with them, have breakfast and dinner with them — that has made him a very happy man.”
In the West Wing, Mr. Obama is a bit of a wanderer. When Mr. Bush wanted to see a member of his staff, the aide was summoned to the Oval Office. But Mr. Obama tends to roam the halls; one day last week, he turned up in the office of his press secretary, Robert Gibbs, who was in the unfortunate position of having his feet up on the desk when the boss walked in.

Ah yes!

Wicksie as the lead PC.

Mr Derek as a young sargeant.

Then Mr Derek as an old sargeant.

Then Mr Derek as an old landlord.

Greengrass.

Then Greengrass’ brother, the bloke from Corrie.

Then Greengrass’ distant cousin, the woman with the awful teeth (onscreen that is – not in reallife)

And that Lord fellow.

And of course, the key star of the whole lot – Ventress.

And the Yorkshire Moors of course. And Trish.

And all those women doctors who fell in love with the lead PC and then died.

And the fact that hardly anyone ever died (except the women doctors after they had fallen in love…..).

Dear me, we will miss you all!

And let’s not forget The Royal which is also going. Wendy Criag. Dear, dear Wendy. And of course, dear dear Ian Carmichael. Dear Ian!

Oh dear. Sarah Palin has set up a website handing the cap around for donations. Nothing wrong with that. But it’s the name of enterprise which gets me. SarahPAC. Oh dear. (PAC means Political Action Committee by the way).

And she’s lining up a book deal which has been estimated as being worth anywhere between $7 and 11 million.

No chance of the cult of personality sweeping away rational debate, here, is there?

Ego. Ego. Ego.

What will be interesting will be to compare the quality of Palin’s prose with that of Barack Obama. I have just read a passage in “Dreams from my father” which is simply one of the most beautiful passages of prose I have ever read. It is where he describes a run-down African American estate in Chicago at the time he was a community organiser.

It will be interesting to see how Palin’s prose (if she actually writes the thing, that is) measures up to Obama’s.

I can hardly wait…..not.