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Hollywood on the Potomac
by Janet Donovan
Celebrities and politicians "spring from the same DNA" - Jack Valenti
On the Wrong Side
It's driving me nuts. Everyday, at least ten
strangers tell me to "Have a nice day." Everywhere
you go it's "Have a nice day.", "Have a nice day.",
"Have a nice day". Guess it's better than having a
rotten one, but wish that everyone would just stop
telling me to "Have a nice day". It annoys me so
much that I decided to look up its origins. It began
in the 70's and according to the dictionary of
phraseology, its meaning is actually a salutation
ostensibly to offer good wishes but in fact it's a
banal and insincere form of words given to anyone
and everyone. Evidence of the meaninglessness of the
sentiment is the fact that it is even used last
thing at night when the opportunity to have a nice
day has all but disappeared.
I don't know what the point is here. This doesn't have
anything to do with Hollywood and Politics, just
that it drives me nuts and since there is no $250 an
hour shrink in my life to help me get over it, just
wanted to get it off my chest. WHATever.
Last time I used that phrase was in context with
Stanislav Levchenko's book promotion for "On the
Wrong Side, My Life in the KGB". You know how that
goes. The CIA begs you to defect, gives you a
gracious welcome, coughs up a little money and then
sends you on your way to "Have a nice day". When I
used that phrase on the back of Stan's book party
invitation, the sarcasm wasn't wasted on The
Heritage Foundation who promptly withdrew their
support for a fete in Levchenko's honor at the
Marrakesh Restaurant. Everyone else showed up and
the party earned a mention on the front page of The
Wall Street Journal for the innovative publicist who
had 'fake' secret service agents in the background.
Yeah, right.
Actually, come to think of it now that my short term
memory loss has subsided, there is a connect here in
the form of Tom Clancy who hosted a celebration at
the Serbian Crown for Stan Levchenko when he became
an American citizen. That event fell around
the same time that "Hunt for Red October" catapulted
this one time insurance salesman onto the world
stage of celebrity and elevated him to a position of
prominence in the Republican party. That may change.
Battle Ready
His latest book "Battle Ready", co-authored by
General Anthony Zinni, finds this long time
conservative and hero among the military in a
politically delicate position. Neither Zinni nor
Clancy has committed to voting for George Bush, but
neither can see themselves filling in the chad for
Kerry. Zinni is an outspoken critic of the war in
Iraq arguing that getting rid of Saddam was not
worth the price of 800 dead troops, 4,500 wounded,
$200 billion and counting and a US image that is
being shattered worldwide. As for Clancy, he wavers
in good faith remarking that "Good men make
mistakes." Needless to say, there are a lot of men
and women not having a nice day because good men
make mistakes. How will this play out in the coming
elections? With 20 former US Ambassadors of both
parties about to sign a statement on Wednesday
called" Diplomats & Military Commanders for Change"
it is clear that Iraq will play a vital role in the
elections. And it is even clearer why Kerry
continues to pursue McCain with Gen. Zinni not far
behind.
Well, someone will have a nice day in November, but
who? Traveling to get to the polls for farmers and
rural workers is no longer a problem (which is why
November was chosen for elections) and Tuesday (the
extra day needed to travel) is no longer a problem.
The problem now is what to do when you get there.
Therein lies the rub.
Well, gotta go now 'cause "You've got mail." "You've got
mail." "You've got mail".
That's All Folks.
Yup. That's All Folks!
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