A New Day in Foggy Bottom

It's important to note that the very large majority of people in this video are not political appointees.  In fact, most are probably career State Department and Foreign Service Officers who work hard at their jobs regardless of who is in the White House.  To me, that makes this response to their new boss all the more striking...

Housekeepers, Nannies, and Taxes, oh my !

Is this really happening? If the latest story is true - Caroline Kennedy decided to withdraw her name from consideration for the New York Senate seat because of "personal issues" related to problems with taxes and housekeepers.  Haven't we seen this before? Like, last week? And Kennedy, who has been running around the state of New York like a chicken with her head cut off trying to prove her political mettle, just realized this might be an issue? If this situation doesn't scream out for an segment of "Really!??! with Seth and Amy," I don't know what does. 

In fairness, given that this story has changed multiple times in the last 24 hours, this may not be the final story. No matter what the real reasons, however, there is no question that this bungled withdrawal is just another example of the sophomoric way in which this awkward campaign for appointment to the Senate has played out over the last month and a half.  New York deserves better. 

Big News from the First Day

The Obamastration has begun, and things appear to be forging forward at full steam. However, Bar's resting easy today as he finds out he'll be able to have a super top secret infinitely protected Blackberry (which I predict gets hacked into sometime in the next 3-6 weeks). I'm happy for him, I have the poor man's Blackberry, and cannot imagine having to sacrifice it for any reason at all. I mean, the poor guy's already had to give up one of his favorite vices, why should he have to give up another just because he's the most powerful leader in the land?

However, there's also some bad news, despite Blackberry access, all White House staffers will not be allowed to instant message, which is crushing my hopes to IM with Reggie Love and/or Jon Favreau. I'm going to have to reassess my stalking, ahem, I mean dating strategy.