Friday, January 23, 2009

The Pelosi Files

It's pretty simple. Politics is all about appearances.

Even millions of people outside of Washington have figured this out; but encountering the concept in whirlwind of vanity is an entirely different story. I realized this while standing in the middle of a beautiful room in the Cannon building of the House of Representitives. About a hundred (or two) of Nancy Pelosi's constituents surrounded me. (Some people didn't get the memo about "image" in Washinton, as they showed up wearing sweatpants.)

She spoke about the election and how it signaled "how far America has come,"made some jokes and stayed after for about an hour, shaking hands and taking pictures with people. As I talked to people, I learned that they had merely contacted her about being in town for the inauguration, or wanting to be, and she sent them tickets. And an invitation to the event I was currently at called, "A Reception for Californians."

"You're our bosses," she told the people.

Waiters hovered around the people, wisking away old plates of food. On multiple tables, steak, salad and other delectables were available family style. There was even a dessert table, with tiny cupcakes, finger cakes and (my favorite) a delicious chocolate moouse that you needed a tiny spoon to eat. I put raspberries on top and was in heaven.

I found out about the event nearly three hours before, made some calls to her press secretary, and before I know it -- I was in. I interviewed people, met a nice journalist who offered her cell phone number and stuffed my face.

Although appearances can be everything, sometimes it's nice just to believe that someone's actually, really nice.

(pictures coming soon)

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