A Political Town

Sunday we had as our guest in our home the chair of the city council, Chairwoman Linda Cropp. She's running for mayor and, doing some retail campaigning, was going door to door on our street. We had an advance guy knock first, then another advance guy, and then finally she arrived. I had picked up some the clutter hurriedly before she arrived, but she declined our offer of a seat or a cup of coffee. She just wanted to give her spiel and ask for our vote.

I'm glad that she asked. That was one of the basic tenets that I had read in Chris Matthews's book so many years ago. You have to ask for the vote.

I told her that I was pleased with her somewhat harder stance on the stadium, since I was unsure as to how much I supported it. Dawn told her that she was concerned about crime, about the various murders on our street the last year.

And then today, walking this morning to work, on the 100 block of C Street Northeast, there at the Hart and Dirksen Senate Office Buildings, we passed by Senator Rick Santorum. I said, "Good Morning, Senator." He replied with the same, "Good morning." But he was in the midst of pulling out his cell phone and making a call so he didn't seem in the mood to chat. And we think he's pretty much a nut anyway. So we all just kept walking.

Dawn didn't recognize him, actually, but of course knew who he was when I told her. And then I mentioned to her that he'd been described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "one of the finest minds of the 13th century." Dawn, who has a master's degree in medieval studies, retorted that this insults the 13th century.

Later research reveals that the "finest minds" description is not official Inquirer policy but rather comes courtesy of a columnist therein, one Tom Ferrick Jr.