Deja vu, All Over Again

Shades of Reverend Wright

Once again, as has so frequently happened in the past, Barack Obama is being drawn into the orbit of a powerful, knowledgeable, but sometimes erratically oriented man. How will it go and how will it end?

In a feature article published in today’s NY Times, Mark Leibovich has submitted a very penetrating, and surprisingly negative, report about the man Obama has chosen to be his White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel.

The sub headings to this article read “Partisan, Profane Confidant.” Rahm Emmanuel, who has played a crucial role in the selection of nearly every cabinet and White House Staff member is looked upon by some pundits as a bombastic, impulse driven man who is not above thumbing his nose at his adversaries. Spawned from that same notorious circle of volatile Illinois politicians that also produced Obama, he has quickly risen to be the "second" most powerful politico in the country.

It is no secret that our newly inaugurated President has come to rely heavily upon Rahm Emmanuel. He is his pillar of strength and fountain of wisdom. But there are foreboding observations in this report which imply that on occasion, the lines that should always sharply demarcate the borders of presidential authority, get somewhat blurred.

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Chiaroscuro!

O Tempora! O Mores!

Whereas we have whitening agents that some people use to lighten their complexions, now we may see sales of darkening agents for white people in Washington to darken their complexions.

Who has not noticed that Vice-President Joe Biden is now sporting a Grade 4 facial suntan? And coincidentally, is that unusual redness we have been seeing recently on Nancy Pelosi’s face the result of excessive use of a sun lamp? I find it entertainingly puzzling, that not a single reporter has made any reference to what is becoming so conspicuously evident. How can the media have failed to report these contrived excursions into post-inaugural sycophancy?

By the way, it was particularly jarring to hear President Obama address the world with these surprisingly undiplomatic words, “you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you!” One doesn’t need to be a psychoanalyst to see that Muslims, who until now have been courted by him with such effective and subtle grace, will take very strong exception to those “crusading” words. How much better it might have been for him to have said, “we will do everything possible to resolve and overcome the hostilty of our adversaries.” Where was Obama’s oversight and sensitivity when that badly conceived, jingoistic phrase was hammered out by his speech writers?

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How good it can be . . . at Il Forno's

Though the sun shone brightly, today was frigid - 23 degrees and heading lower. But we needed groceries - so, we drove to the A&P. In anticipation of heavy snow, there were more shoppers than usual and the checkout lanes were clogged. But with all the milling about, it was really a good time to strike up conversations with fellow shoppers.

On our way home, we decided to dine at our favorite restaurant, Il Forno. When we were served our Chianti, I toasted a woman who was dining alone at a nearby table and she warmly reciprocated by raising her glass. While we munched on our pizza and drank our wine, we had occasion to exchange warm glances with other friendly diners at adjacent tables.

As we prepared to leave, the waitress advised me that our tab had been paid by another diner. What a delightful and heart throbbing surprise! I walked over to him, identified myself, and expressed our gratitude. In response to my curiosity, he said that he, his wife and his two daughters were simply pleased to notice that Lenore and I created a very warm impression upon them. At the next table to them, a diner identified himself as Gino and his wife as Ella. He too had gone to the cashier to pay my bill. In the conversation that ensued with him and his wife, a remarkable coincidence was uncovered. Like my mother, Gino’s parents were from Sicily and like my father, Ella’s had come from Abruzzi.

Isn’t it amazing how with such little effort, we can generate so much good will? We can do so simply by being open and friendly and it helps to be in the kind of congenial environment that Il Forno has so graciously cultivated. Unfortunately, however, when we are disinclined to break through our cocoon, we risk ambling through life in depressing solitude.

Comments: mailto:domgab1914@comcast.net

Hi Dommie ~ I loved your story about Il Forno. It just goes to show you that people inherently respond to pleasant sightings. You and Nan have a warmth and a love that radiates and people respond in kind. More people should do kind gestures like that. Believe me - it gives just as much pleasure to the giver as to the receiver. Good Stuff ~ Love, Chrissy

Dad ~ I loved this story on your blog about your dinner at Il Forno. I can almost envision you and Mom sitting there, and people observing the two of you, like a scene from a movie. You both are truly memorable ~ Loretta