{"id":1493,"date":"2011-08-16T12:53:11","date_gmt":"2011-08-16T12:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/?p=1493"},"modified":"2011-08-16T12:53:11","modified_gmt":"2011-08-16T12:53:11","slug":"tone-deaf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/tone-deaf\/","title":{"rendered":"Tone Deaf"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\n(Willow warm Guerierre Cheese Puffs. Photo Socotra.)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would have to blame Bush, you know?\u201d I looked with envy at the warm Guerrierre cheese puffs pastries on the Willow Bar. Old Jim, his brother-in-law Nick and his long-suffering bride Mary were seated up the mahogany from me, and making a dinner off the $5 neighborhood bar menu.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t go far wrong in doing that,\u201d growled Jim. \u201cThat idiot drove the country to ruin with his \u2018discretionary\u2019 wars and deregulation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I mean the buses,\u201d I said. \u201cThey are staggering.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d asked Mary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President\u2019s campaign trip on the buses,\u201d I said. He took Air Force One up to St. Paul and then got on a bus caravan to listen to the American People or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that is a good thing, don\u2019t you think? He has been stuck here in town with all that budget nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid he actually cancel his vacation on Martha\u2019s Vineyard?\u201d asked Nick. \u201cThere was some controversy about his going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I said. \u201cThere was an announcement that he was not going to call Congress back to session and that after three days on the buses he is still going to the Vineyard to rest up.\u201d
\nI took a sip of Happy Hour white, crisp and gratifying to the palate after a long day of proposal writing. \u201cIt leads one to think that Mr. Obama is a little tone-deaf.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA little?\u201d said Big Jim, walking by to survey the state of our drinks. He freshened my glass and topped up Mary\u2019s champagne. \u201cLike Michele\u2019s African trip. I heard that cost a million bucks. Shaaah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably close,\u201d I said. \u201cAir Force Two, a chase plane, entourage, Secret Service and all that. Easy a million, if not more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, at least the kids got a chance to go on a safari with their mom, Grandma and two of their cousins. What an opportunity for them to see the animals and promote health and wellness in Southern Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got to meet Nelson Mandella, too,\u201d I said. \u201cI figure it is a chance of a lifetime when someone else is picking up the tab. Like the bus trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBuses are a tradition in politics. Remember John McCain\u2019s bus?\u201d said my pal the Flight Quack, stepping up the bar.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Doc, how are ya?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot so good, but that is why I wanted to talk to you, Vic. But as to the buses, these are something really special. They are no ordinary vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n(2009 Armored Cadillac. Photo US Secret Service.)<\/p>\n

\u201cHow come they are not using The Beast, that armored Caddy they fly around with him? The Press could go by Greyhound.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot the way he likes to do it, and the Secret Service insisted. Bush bought The Beast, by the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is sort of an entitlement program for the Chief Executives. Makes it easier for the Service to protect him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but it is tone deaf. I mean, the country is falling apart and the President rolls up in a Mad Max machine doing a campaign trip on the taxpayers nickel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d asked the Doc, ordering a Shastafarian Imperial Porter, which arrived in that short pot-bellied glass that showed off the rich color.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n(The new Presidential armored bus in Saint Paul. Photo AP.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just got two of the most far-out buses ever made. They are bulletproof, chemical resistant, fully wired for secure comms, highly secure and high tech throughout. Solid black, ominous. No logos of hope or anything. The Presidential motorcade with chase cars, ambulance and all the rest of the circus is just going to roll up to small town America and listen to what people think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what I think,\u201d responded the Doc.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gets better,\u201d I said, and took a sip of wine. \u201cThe Secret Service won\u2019t comment on exactly what has been done beyond the armor and the black tinted windows and the run-flat tires. They certainly won\u2019t comment on the mileage, not that it is a factor in security for the most important man in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell so what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are Prevost buses, the leading brand in North America. They are built in freaking Quebec.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Doc frowned. \u201cIn this economy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlame it on Bush,\u201d said Old Jim. \u201cIt has worked so far. And wasn\u2019t your police car built in Windsor? I heard all the Crown Vic P-71s were imported.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue,\u201d I said. \u201cBut I paid for mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2011 Vic Socotra
\nwww.vicsocotra.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Willow warm Guerierre Cheese Puffs. Photo Socotra.) \u201cYou would have to blame Bush, you know?\u201d I looked with envy at the warm Guerrierre cheese puffs pastries on the Willow Bar. Old Jim, his brother-in-law Nick and his long-suffering bride Mary were seated up the mahogany from me, and making a dinner off the $5 neighborhood […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-socotra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1497,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions\/1497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}