Thursday, January 18, 2007

Recent commentary: Kagen and manners

What do you think about the controversy surrounding Rep. Steve Kagen?

(published 22-Jan-2007, Appleton Post-Crescent)

Well, my mom voted for Mr. Kagen, so I won't be too hard on him; but I'm certain she would admit that he was rude. It's as if his wife had given him "Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior" and he read with eager anticipation the chapter on proper etiquette while waiting to shake the hand of the President of the United States in the receiving line. Imagine his disappointment at discovering that he was supposed to say, "Good evening, Mr. President, good evening, Mrs. Bush". Obviously, he had an attack of the dreaded disease that strikes adults who can't stand the thought that their mothers were right about manners: retro-adolescence. This disease is marked by shivery thrills whenever one insults a lady directly to her face. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that, after dinner, Kagen got his wife to stuff some of the dessert into her purse.

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