FLASH - BINDENS GET SPECIAL MISSION

The twice sworn in President of the United States today made a surprise announcement.

Forget the possible early appointment of a Middle East envoy. That announcement (if reports are accurate) has been superceeded by President Obama's surprise announcement that Vice President and Mrs Biden have been named Special Envoys to Antarctica. The posts will be effective yesterday.

President Obama dismissed questions that this might not be a particularly coveted pair of positions. "Given the gravity of climate change and global warming, it is imperative that we have people of substance at the epicentre of nature's relentless impacts.'

President Obama seemed exasperated when a reporter asked whether Jill Biden's faux pas on Oprah (she said Joe had been offered a choice of Veep or Secretary of State positions and chosen the Veep job) had played a factor in their selection. The President's office had issued a clear statement shortly after Mrs Biden's revelation which said unequivocally that Biden had been offered one job only and that was the veep job. Pundits seemed to think Mrs Biden had simply revealed something she shouldn't have (implying that the Obama statement was disingenuous) but TT thinks they overlooked the most obvious. Given Joe's propensity for 'rhetorical flourish' and self aggrandizement (code for telling porkies), just maybe Joe gave Jill a porkie!!!

Some observers are saying privately that Biden's 'joke' about Chief Justice Roberts flubbing the inauguration oath (for a guy who smiles pretty easily, President Obama looked positively glacial when the veep unloaded) but President O said that had not been a significant factor.

'It is important to the security of the nation, that we know on a minute by minute basis what is happening to the polar bear population and where and how fast the glaciers are melting', said Obama. 'Joe and Jill are the perfect couple to undertake this important assignment'. he said. O did admit that it would make the weekly lunches he promised Joe a little difficult to organize.

The Bidens are reportedly already en route to Antarctica.

'O' dear!

'O' dear.

For a guy who 'gets it' so much of the time, how come when he overreaches (and this is a guy who does and will overreach), it really, really misfires. Think the 'faux' Presidential seal during the campain.

Now, just as the transition seems to be clicking along (well, apart from a proposed Treasury Secretary who 'forgot' to pay his taxes and prospective Commerce Secretary who only realized an investigation into his activities might be a problem AFTER the appointment was made public), we have the Dear Sasha and Malia letter.

Dear Sasha and Malia (the First Munchkins) is a letter written by O (or at least approved by him) to his daughters explaining why he is taking them 'on this journey'. Said letter was published in Parade magazine. Now we like trash as much as the next person, but Parade?? Does it get more superficial than that? At least the Enquirer does some real investigating (think John Edwards love child). And why is O publishing a 'personal' letter to his daughters - the daughters he supposedly wants to protect from invasive intrustions on their 'normal' lives.

Cynical? You bettcha!

JUST BEFORE WE TURN THAT PAGE.....

TT is ready to turn the page but, in the final countdown towards a date with history on Tuesday, we take a last (we think) look at why we will miss Dubbya. He was one of a kind (whew).

' Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.'

Because of the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance ' too many OB/GYNS aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country'.

'Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?'

On Tony Blair: 'I've heard he is described as Bush's poodle. He is bigger than that.' (a great dane? a lab?)

'One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures'

'It is time for the human race to enter the solar system.'

'It is important to explain to our nation that life is important. It is not only the life of babies but it is life of living children living, you know, in the dark dungeons of the internet.'

'I know that human beings and fish can c-exist peacefully'.


Amen.

WHY WON'T ELVIS LEAVE THE BUILDING???

What is it with this guy? He is Joe the Plumber on Steroids - he just won't go away!!!

I suppose that is what happens when TT takes her eagle eye off the ball.

We had hoped to have some quiet time to finish the champagne, wallow in some quiet nostalgia for all that Dubbya and Darth Cheney have given us over the last 8 years before we had to confront the barren comedic territory (for now) of the in-coming administration. Clearly the OTT Governor of Illinois was not about to let us enjoy the respite.

The legislature may have voted to impeach him and his popularity in the state may be in a toilet that even Joe the Plumber could not fix but far from stepping down - Blago holds a press conference basically saying the reasons for the impeachment vote are that he has been doing such a great job of looking after the regular folks. And who WERE those people he dragged out on stage with him? A singing group? Regular folks from Central casting?

And, what IS it with this guy and poetry? At a previous press conference he quoted Kipling. Now he quotes Tennyson. This from a guy who we know from taped telephone converences speaks not in iambic pentameter but in torrents of four letter expletives - a long way from poetry.

Mind you, he has created a three ring circus with his appointment of Mr Burris as the junior senator from ShamelessLand and, federal prosecutors have yet to actually indict him for anything so maybe he is crazy like a fox. He certainly seems to have painted Democratic Senate leaders into something of a distracting box.

And so, our New Year pre-Inauguration quiet period is shattered by the Elvis impersonator wannabe. There is no justice!!!! Can we expect an appearance by the Moose Woman from Wasilla or Joe the Plumber next??? There just isn't enough champagne........