We speak DC

A little while ago, I told SM that I was hungry. He asked me if there were anything he could do to remediate the situation.

I told him he's been working for the government too long.

My re-cap of the Avon Walk last May (because I said I'd post this in the post below)

(Note: this is the email I sent folks who supported my participation in the Avon Walk for the Cure, this past May.)

33.3...

Miles, that is. Although, it felt just about that hot (in Celsius) this weekend while we were walking. Yes, this past weekend, I finally did the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. No, I didn't train all that much for it, but somehow I survived... no thanks to Mother Nature! After all the 60-degree weather during the week, Mother Nature decided to slam us with 90-degree weather on Saturday and Sunday. And oh, the humidity!

Day one started with my sister and I getting up at oh-dark-hundred to be down at the Washington Monument by 6:15 AM. For those of you who know us, that in itself is a major sacrifice. Ooof. The opening ceremonies started at 6:30, and the walk officially began at 7:00 AM… while many of you were still asleep and I certainly would have been on any other Saturday.

The first many miles were through the streets of downtown DC. And while DC is a beautiful city, I felt like we weren’t making any progress because we were still in downtown DC after walking for several hours. In fact, it took us 6.2 miles to get from the Washington Monument to Union Station. For those of you who aren’t familiar with DC, it’s actually only about 1.5 miles across the Mall. We definitely took the scenic route – and then some. I was happy to see hubby SM who was at the first “cheering station” to provide lots of moral support, hugs and “atta girls” for us, and then onward we schlepped, past Georgetown Law, through the gates of Chinatown block and near the White House before heading north towards Dupont Circle. (Apologies to those who could care less about the geographic details.)

We hit the lunch break at mile 9.2 at about 10:15 AM. I have to say that I’ve never eaten lunch at 10:15 AM. But when you eat breakfast at 5:30 AM and have been walking for several hours, you’re ready for lunch at 10:15. We stopped at a middle school in the West End (around 24th/M Street), just before crossing into Georgetown. Lunch was a nice break, but we didn’t want to sit too too long for fear of inertia keeping us down. So onward, onward!

At this point, the day was really starting to heat up. The streets of Georgetown were fairly well shaded, but that was small solace. We hit mile 13.1 somewhere in NW, and we were both still feeling pretty good physically – definitely better than we thought we would. It certainly helped that many, many people turned out all along the route to cheer us on, provide snacks and give us moral support. Our family as well as friends met us on MacArthur Blvd. for more “atta girls” and a change of socks for both of us. At this point, getting up and going again was getting harder and harder. Whenever we had to cross the street, we hoped for a green light. You might think that we would have preferred a red light for rest, but noooooooooo. That only gave our muscles the opportunity to tighten. Walking was easier than stopping. And hills? Whose bright idea was it to put in the hills after the halfway point? That’s just evil. I never realized what hills there were in NW DC. Ugh. Loughboro Road. Ugh. No fun.

Anyway, we continued through some very lovely neighborhoods in NW DC, and I saw some streets I’ve never seen before. Eventually, we crossed into Maryland at the Chevy Chase Circle, around mile 19 or so. We continued up Connecticut Avenue and into Chevy Chase where my friend C. and her two babies E. (of the cute toddler variety, in his stroller) and E. (of the cute four-legged doggy variety, on her leash) met us to cheer us along and walk with us for a few blocks. At mile 21.2, still in Chevy Chase, we took a fairly long break at a rest stop. Sis wasn’t feeling so great, so we parked our butts for a bit so that she could get some food and Gatorade.

After that, we continued along the Capital Crescent Trail and back over to Connecticut Ave up to Kensington Parkway where we picked up Rock Creek Trail (along Beach Drive). At this point, people kept saying that we were almost there, almost there… but they lied! We soon figured out that we still had several miles to go, which just isn't "almost there" when you're walking. Even though some guy told us around mile 24 that it was all downhill from there, it wasn’t. But none of us were going back to chastise him for it. But it was easier in the shade and the cooler temperatures of the late afternoon. We followed Rock Creek Trail past the Mormon Temple, back under the Beltway and then across East-West Highway to Meadowbrook Lane. Despite having grown up in the area, I had no idea there were stables and horses there!

At this point, the end was in sight. For real this time. SM met us at mile 25.8 to walk with us, and my stepmother (sis's mother) and sister met us too. We walked across the finish line into the “Wellness Village” (where many, but not us, camped overnight – you think I’m going to spend the night in a tent when my own bed is mere miles away? Nooo way. I would have walked home if I had to, to have my own bed and no line for a shower). Then we promptly walked back out and got into our respective cars to go home. I don’t know who was asleep sooner – sis or me – but I do know that I crashed pretty hard after 26.2 miles and being out from 6:30 AM to about 6:30 PM, which is about when we finished. During that 12 hours, we probably walked about 10 hours’ worth in some serious heat. When I got home and peeled off my shoes, I had one monster blister that was more than an inch long! Ouch.

Day two started, thankfully, a little later. The walk started at 7:30 AM, and since we didn’t have to go far to the starting point, I got up at 6:30 instead of 5-something. Yay for the extra hour! Sis and I started out in the disgusting humidity of Sunday, but since the sky was overcast and it had recently rained (ground was wet), it wasn’t too too hot... yet. Just muggy – and buggy! We were definitely taking a slower pace on day two. I was proud that I even made it out to the course. If sis had said that she wanted to bail on day two, I would have been right there with her. But we didn’t. We walked. However, I knew it was gonna be “one of those days” when I heard an “excuse me, may I get by?” from behind, only to be passed by a woman in a wheelchair… . (But we passed her again later.)

We walked down Rock Creek Trail but took a more direct route back to NW DC. I don’t remember the exact route, but we spent some time on Western Ave and down Nebraska to Fort Reno. We saw Dad’s alma mater, Wilson High, home of the Tigers. Somewhere along the way, as the sun started to come out and the temperature go up, I made the decision that I was going to call it a day at mile 7. I knew I could finish the whole 13.1 miles if I pushed myself, but I decided I didn’t want to. My blisters were hurting, and I admit it, I didn’t want to walk during the hottest part of the day (and Sunday was a doozy!!!). So I called SM and asked him to meet me at the cheering station at mile 7.1. With that decision made, it was much easier getting through the rest of the little stroll through NW. Sis hadn’t decided what she wanted to do yet, but I knew that I wanted to preserve the rest of my day from sheer exhaustion and my feet from further injury. We came down Nebraska Ave. to Tenley Circle where we picked up Wisconsin Avenue. I kept looking for the damned mile markers because – I swear – mile 6 was at least two miles long! We kept looking and finally saw the cheering station – with SM and a troupe of Chinese lion dancer (way cool!) – on Wisconsin Ave. Our family drove up, and I said my “hellos” and my “good-byes” because I ended my walk there – for a total of 33.3 miles over 2 days.

I have to say that the marathon (I’ve now done a marathon!!!) was easier than I thought it would be -- but that doesn’t mean I’m in any hurry to sign up for it again next year. My feet suffered tremendously on day two, and I am still hobbling around because of some very serious blisters. It was fantastic to have so many folks cheering us along the route, and SM spent his entire day on Saturday (and Sunday too) as our moral and logistical support. I can’t thank him enough.

And, as many of you may know, I was inspired to do this walk by SM's parents. SM’s mother had breast cancer, and SM’s dad cared for her for many years as they fought the disease. Sadly, SM's mom died from it at 51, and I never met her. But they raised a tremendous son, and for that, I am grateful. This was my small tribute to them.

(BTW, it took nearly two months for my feet to fully heal. I'll spare you the details, but I'm sure you can imagine the mangled toes, etc.)

First!

Today was the first time that Metro's red line was back up to speed since the accident on June 22nd. Never mind that one of the cars started smoking in the tunnel on Tuesday (my friend was actually on the train that started smoking; she said that folks went hysterical). Nah, that doesn't mean that they haven't fixed everything.

The inaugural dresses

Here are some pix of the dresses. Yes, I pixelated my face. It seems silly, given the fact that I put up wedding photos and am identifiable in them... You can laugh at me if you want.

The gold dress was from the evening before inauguration, and the blue dress is the evening of inauguration (at an unofficial ball that we left by 10:30 because we were exhausted).


SM and I with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki (former Chief of Staff of the Army and retired 4-star general). He is one of the nicest, most dignified and gracious men I've ever met. Truly a gentleman.


Secretary-designate (of Commerce) Gary Locke (former Governor of Washington), Irene Hirano (a.k.a., Mrs. Daniel Inouye), Senator Inouye and me. Gov. Locke and Senator Inouye are also incredibly down-to-earth and friendly.


SM and I taking a picture of ourselves in a mirror, just goofing around.

Okay, this time I am actually back.

That other post? No, we didn't get a cat who was walking across the keyboard. In fact, I actually broke the keyboard. Anyone know how to re-attach keys? My "O" is now not. You don't realize how often you use that key until it no longer functions properly.

"O" well.

So, I never posted about inauguration. Here is something quick and cursory to describe part of our day.


Getting ready to head out. See how bundled folks are -- and we're inside!


View of the Capitol from SM's office.


SM and co-worker figuring out where we needed to go to get in...

Unfortunately, we were among the throngs who had tickets but didn't get in. We had blue tickets, and it turned out that the magnetometers screening the blue section didn't work (or the generators powering them didn't). About 50 people were able to get in. The rest, not so much. We were among the many who were outta luck. Here are some pix from the mass of hopefuls.







We really wanted to see the ceremony/speech, so at a certain point we decided to cut bait and went back to SM's office and watch it on TV. So, yeah, we basically ended up with the same view as everyone else around the world. We could go over to SM's office window to view the Capitol, and we did hear it outside. But we watched it on TV. It was still thrilling. I cried when he was sworn-in.







And here's W's helicopter leaving the Capitol. We had a good view of it from SM's office.




("Nyah nyah nyah nyah... nyah nyah nyah nyah... hey, hey good-bye!")

Anyway, we had gotten up at 4:00 in order to get downtown in time to clear security to get in. D'oh. So much for that. So, we were tired but didn't get to see the ceremony in person. Kinda not worth it, but we weren't too too disappointed. We did get to participate. We were there. It was cool.


SM snoozing in his office after the inauguration and before the evening's festivities.

I do have pictures from the two balls we attended (one the evening before and the other the evening of). No, we didn't go to any official balls nor did we see Tom Hanks or John Cusack. But it was a great and exhausting coupla days.

Inauguration

We got tickets!!! Woo-hoo!

I have to report to my new job (yay!) the next day at 8:30 AM (boo!). I'm going to be exhausted, but it will be worth it.

I'm cold and there are wolves after me.

I figured that was a more interesting post title than "Festivus in DC" (which sounds a bit like there has been an outbreak of some sexually transmitted disease...), but yes, indeed, this video is about Festivus, complete with Seinfeld clips.

Ball gown

I bought a gown yesterday for the inaugural balls next month. We have tickets to two. I'll probably wear this to the first one.


It doesn't fit me like this size 2 model, but it looks pretty good. I have boobs but no waist or hips, and this gives me more curves. I am going to get gold opera-length gloves to wear with it. We'll see how that looks. If it's too costume-y, then I'll go without. I will also have to wear 3-inch heels to make sure I'm taller than the dress is long. I'll be half a head over SM with those heels, if I survive getting down the stairs and outta my house wearing them.

I also have another gown that I bought on eBay for the inaugurals. That one is at least a size too big and about half a foot too long. It will need some serious alterations. I like the style a lot, so I'll probably try to get it altered in time. I mean, when else will I wear a ball gown? The last time I wore one was prom. More than 20 years ago.

Here's the second one. If I were about 5' 10", I would be tall enough to wear it. Alas, no. Not even in killer heels.

We are #3! We are #3! We are #3!

And damned proud of it 'cuz we didn't cheat.  Last night was pub quiz night at our local.  With a paltry team of four (some teams are 6+) and many beers, we pulled off a third place finish with the only slightly-inspired name of "My Sarah Palin name is Cracker".  We didn't win the team name contest because ours wasn't nearly offensive enough.  Seriously.  The more obnoxious and rude the name, the better the chance of winning.

Anyway, thank goodness J knew that I, Claudius was written by Robert Graves 'cuz I sure didn't.  Nor did anyone else.  J was our Michael Phelps anchorleg coming up with several clutch calls.  We did fairly well on the general knowledge questions, until the golf round.  Could they have chosen a worse sport for trivia?  Um, not for us.  We had to name the nationalities of various golfers.  After Shigeki Maruyama, J. Choi and Chi Chi Rodriguez, we were just plain guessing.  Fortunately, we guessed three more right, but that round took us down hard. And so did the "fill in the connecting word" round.

E.g.,
paper ____ bone (what word connects those two?)
seconds _____ cast
penny _____ stop

And then there was the bonus, double-point round where we kicked butt.  We got 9 of ten right, leading us to a tie-breaker for third place.  Kudos to SM for knowing the seven continents in order of size¹ 'cuz in this case, size definitely mattered.  And C knew that Charmin's advertising campaign was all about being soft enough for a bear's bottom (whereas all I remember is Mr. Whipple).  SM knew that Ryan Howard was the quickest player in the National League to reach 100 homeruns in... something.  I forgot the rest of the question because as soon as I knew it was about baseball, my brain skipped to the next one.  And our brilliance on this round led us to the tie-breaker to take third place.  The question was something like "What was the median price of a home in the US in May 2007?"  The winner was determined by who came closer without going over.  We guessed a paltry $125K, and the answer was something like $212K.  But the other team in the tie-breaker guessed too high (ya' know, like "The Price is Right"?  Sometimes $1 is the right bid!), so we won the $10 gift certificate and a Smithwick's baseball cap (which SM took and wore proudly -- despite being offered $20 for it -- because it signified the victory and it goes with his Smithwick's t-shirt).

So now we've got a $10 (woo-hoo!) certificate to blow on our next pub quiz night.  Hopefully we'll be able to get our acts together to get there again sometime before it expires next year.

¹_{Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia.}

Car free day in DC and Montgomery County?

Fat chance. I just don't see anyone ditching their cars for the day just 'cuz.

People who are inclined to consider the environmental impact of their commutes are already curbing their consumption. The rest won't, unless and until the pain of the pump exceeds the convenience factor.

But I could be wrong. We'll see.

I'll be doing my usual walk to the metro to walk to work commute.

An oops...

I’m not trying to embarrass anyone, so I’ve removed the sponsorship names… but check out this email announcement I got yesterday.
------------------

 

Presented by [XYZ] 

and [ABC] Club 

Friday September 26 6:30pm 

Case Closed:  

The Time Bombed Skyscraper 

A Detective Conan film

 

When a mad bomber is on the loose in the city, only whiz kid Detective Conan Edogawa can solve the case.  No place is safe from this maniacal fiend as he places his deadly packages all across the town.  Can Conan discover the madman’s identity before the next timer hits zero?  This film provides an introduction to the world of Conan and the many intricate storylines and characters that make up his world.  

 

Case Closed: The Time Bombed Skyscraper is the first film based on the popular Detective Conan comic book and animation series.  The comic book has been published since 1994, while the television series has run since 1996.  Twelve Detective Conan movies have been made, the latest one was released in April 2008. Case Closed: The Time Bombed Skyscraper, 1997 Japan rated PG  95 minutes 

----------------
I was horrified. My first thought is, “Holy shit, what were they thinking???”  So I immediately emailed the sponsors with an ever-so-tactful (for me at least) reminder:

To whom it may concern:

I believe it was in very poor taste to send this announcement out on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States seven years ago.   I was disturbed to receive this today and suggest you consider carefully the timing of such emails in the future.

-- She Says

Within 45 minutes, I received this email:

Dear Friends of [XYZ],

The September 26th screening of the Conan animated film has been cancelled.  We will be sure to notify you when a new film has been scheduled.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and look forward to seeing you at the next event.

Sincerely,
[XYZ]

Note the lack of any reference to the title? Just the producer. And no explanation about why it was cancelled… Interesting, I thought. Clearly, they were mortified at their gaffe and didn't want to point it out to anyone who might not have put two and two together and come up with a bad taste in their mouth (although, how could anyone miss it? Especially here in DC where the pain is still all over the city?) And immediately after getting the above email, I got this one:

Dear She Says,

On behalf of [XYZ], I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere apologies for our poor choice of timing in sending out the Conan movie flyers today.  Although there is no excuse for the offense we have caused, I assure you it was not meant to be offensive or hurtful.  We are grateful that you took the time to bring this mistake to our attention, and have cancelled the film’s screening in respect of this solemn occasion.

Thank you again, and please accept our deepest apologies.

Sincerely,
Director, [XYZ]

I have to admit that I was pleased at their immediate response. I didn’t think it was necessary to cancel the movie, but I am glad they took prompt action, even though there was no way to recall the movie announcement to prevent further offense.

I forwarded the original flyer to SM and asked him what he thought (giving him no hint of why I was asking). His response? “Um, did you want to see it or something?”

I then asked him to think about the movie theme (madman bombing skyscrapers) and the day (9/11)… and he said, “Oh.”

Remember how I wondered how anyone could miss the "d'oh" factor in that email? Yeah, well, I should have known better. That would be my dear husband. He’s pretty dense sometimes but very loveable.

Flags at half-mast, eyes downcast

Hard to believe that seven years have passed.  I hope we are healing.  But I'm not sure.

Keep your fingers crossed for me...

I saw a forecast that the weather on Friday is going to be clear, highs of 86 or so and lower humidity. In other words, perfect for the wedding. In other words, probably ain't gonna happen... but that's okay. So long as it doesn't rain. Sunday is also supposed to be nice, but if you've only got one hand to spare for the crossing of the fingers, please wish for good weather on Friday (and you don't have to have them crossed as long).

Things are rolling along. I managed to do everything on my list for yesterday. Yay. SM and I enjoyed dinner, although he is starting to get sick. I imperiously told him that that was NOT allowed. I mean, WTF? Who gets sick in August? So he stayed home from work today to rest. I think he's really exhausted, and that's why he's sick. Just plain run-down. So no errands or chores for him. Just rest. And lots of drugs and vitamins, etc. And snuggles from Gidget, who will be happy to have him home with her.

He also liked his presents. I thought he'd like the shirt the best. It's black silk with two white stripes down the sides, short-sleeved. It's very retro hip -- but conservative enough that he can wear it to the office.

But I was wrong.

He liked the messenger bag the best. In fact, he gushed over it. Cool

He doesn't usually gush over presents, so I was surprised. But yay. Glad he liked them.

And I managed to refrain from giving him the wedding present yesterday too. Now I just need to remember to give it to him on Friday!

How pathetic am I?

I'm playing "stay-at-home-wife" today. Just playing it. I am doing laundry, tidying the house for a guest this weekend, running errands (pick up/drop off dry cleaning, groceries, etc.), went for a tan (trying to get rid of my heinous farmer's tanlines for the wedding) and hopefully, writing job applications.

For my grocery-shopping errand, I went to our usual place, a local Korean market. The produce there is soooooo much better than the generic chains. The selection is better; everything is fresher, and the prices are generally lower. We lurves our H-Mart. I bought tons of produce. Then I moved on to the deli counter to check out the seafood, thinking I'd buy some fish for dinner tonight.

And there I realized it.

I got this totally uncomfortable feeling as the self-awareness dawned over me.

I am a girl of the 'burbs.

Yes, it's true. As much as I may claim to be ethnic, it's a farce. Any vestiges of being ethnic were whitewashed by growing up firmly ensconced in the 'burbs.

Because, when I went to the fish counter, I realized I was much more comfortable searching among the unnatural, packaged stacks of styrofoam trays with slabs of filets and fish steaks under plastic than looking at the whole fish on ice, which were still in their original, scale packaging.

Gosh, I've grown up in such a sanitized, removed-from-the-reality-of-how-food-gets-to-our-table world that fresh fish was less appealing than chunks on styrofoam trays. And ya' know, I wouldn't even know how to prepare a whole fish, to tell the truth.

::sigh::

Once I realized my shame, I promptly went to the counter and bought some unpackaged filets. A compromise between the styrofoam and the fins and tail version.

We're having tilapia tonight.

Happy Thought...

This is where I'm going for dinner tonight.

Yay and yum!

The Pudge Report and other stuff

I have nothing to report as to the pudge part. I "forgot" to get on the scale this morning. Not actually intentionally, but I may have been blocking it from my memory subconsciously. Yes, it's been that kind of a week.

In other news... SM and I had to get up and out early today to get stabbed for -- get this -- a syphilis test for a "marriage" license in DC (in quotes, 'cuz you know why...).

How freakin' arcane is that? I don't know if any other jurisdiction requires a syphilis test. And, what do they do if it comes back positive? Disallow the license? Tsk, tsk and shake a finger at you?

Whatever. Just another bureaucratic hurdle courtesy of our nation's capital.

We were told that it's easier if we go to a clinic that does the test and provides the results on the DC DHS required forms. So we went to this storefront clinic on Georgia Ave. Walking from the metro to the "clinic" (and I use that term loosely), we definitely stuck out. Partially because it was 6:30 in the morning, and the street was empty so everyone stuck out. Partially because, yes, we aren't the demographic of the neighborhood. But mostly because SM was wearing a suit, and this isn't a suit-type neighborhood.

We got to the clinic, and it was a clapboard-front shop that looked like it was plucked from some developing nation. I have to admit that I was, well, not nervous, but concerned. But not concerned in a truly rational way, just an irrational concern that the place was sterile. Let's just say that the clinic isn't the type of medical facility I'm used to. And I'm not trying to be elitist or anything. Maybe I am being elitist, but I am admitting that I wasn't terribly comfortable.

Okay, there's no way the place was sterile. I just needed the needle to be.

And I'm comfortable that it was.

Even if the guy who stuck me didn't wear gloves. But, other than that, the technician was fine. Did a great job and was very friendly. And we got the results within a few minutes.

And the clinic was a damned sight cheaper than the $100 the fancy travel clinic in the "lobbyist" part of town was going to charge us for the same exact procedure.

Now I've got to go over to the courthouse to apply for the actual license. Let's hope that bit of DC bureaucracy isn't too hairy.

Fun, fun!

Just us gals.

I'm hanging out with the Gidge. Today and yesterday. Poor SM had to go to work. Some weeks are so busy that the only time he has to do the mundane stuff is during the weekend. Oh well.

Our big girly plans? Errands. Post office, dry cleaners, return a few things. Sexy, sexy stuff!

I'm a very bad girl... yes, I am.

Apparently, M&M is now in the business of making ice cream. I know this because folks were handing out promotional freebies near the place where I get my lunch during the lunch hour today. Two college kids in their M&M garb and a huge crowd around them as they gave away "ice cream treats" from a truck on the street.

I got two.

And I ate one of them. Before my lunch.

It was good. Especially for being free.

I put the other one in the freezer for later, if it's still there (I hid it, but...).

Email exchange with SM about the Veep-stakes this morning...

On 6/23/08, SM wrote:
Subject: short list

I found the article I remembered that said there were 20 names on the list. Those the reporter had gleaned included:

Senators: Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Webb
Former Senators: Edwards, Mitchell, Nunn, Daschle
Governors: Bredesen, Sebelius, Kaine, Napolitano, Richardson
Generals: Jones, Clark

I don't know how real this is, but it's creeping close to 20.

-----
From: She says
To: SM

Subject: Re: short list

More like 8, the way I see it. Some have already taken themselves outta this. He's not going to choose a woman, and Richardson can't keep it in his pants (not to mention the general belief that a black and a Latino would be "too much" change...)

Kaine or Webb seem to be front-runners, although Webb has baggage. Mitchell and Nunn are too old, don't you think?

Senators: Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Webb
Former Senators: Edwards, Mitchell, Nunn, Daschle
Governors: Bredesen, Sebelius, Kaine, Napolitano, Richardson
Generals: Jones, Clark

-----
On 6/23/08, SM wrote:

I think old is definitely a cancel-out. Dodd got a sketchy mortgage and is prob out. Webb should be out but has too many positives to eliminate straight out. And I think Obama really likes Sebelius, so I'm inclined to keep her in the mix.

That leaves Webb, Daschle, Bredesen, Kaine, Clark, Sebelius.

I still think Clark is the best of this group…

-----
From: She says 

To: SM

Subject: Re: short list

Yeah, but Sebelius gave a pathetic response speech, and everyone knows it. The dems aren't going to be so excited about her lackluster performance, especially if it seems like the only reason he chose her was because she's a woman.

Daschle is impressive, but he couldn't even win his own state. I think you're right that Clark is a good one. So is Webb, but I wonder if he'd be too bombastic for Obama? Kaine may be too low-key. Plus, isn't he pro-life?

-----
On 6/23/08, SM wrote:

Kaine is pseudo prolife. He says he believes in obeying the law, even though he doesn't personally believe in abortion. (same reason he accepts the death penalty)

You're right on Sebelius and the lackluster performance…

The other negative on Webb is that Obama won't want someone who could drown him out. That's webb. I think low-key is a feature they want.

That leads us to Daschle, Clark, Bredesen (gov-tn).

-----
From: She says
To: SM

Subject: Re: short list

I agree, especially on Webb. And while I like Daschle a lot, I go back to the "he can't even win his own state" argument.

Clark and Bredesen.



-----
That’s our thinking on the Veep-stakes… for now. We'll see.

Monday morning haiku

Summer has arrived...
tourist groups, humidity
descend on DC.