I came, I saw, I annoyed Rahm Emanuel

My original plans were to fly out first thing Monday morning so I could be back in town on Monday early enough to put in a 10 hour day if I was working. On Sunday, I spent a portion of the day seeing if there was a way to delay my flight and spend some more time in DC with Dean on Monday. Because I booked through travelocity.com, I could not change my flight without stiff penalties. So, I went to work on figuring out how I was going to get from Silver Springs, MD to BWI airport. My flight left at 6::50 am so I knew it would suck to get up early enough to catch my flight. I called a number of shuttle services and most of them didn't have a driver or wanted almost as much for a ride as I would have paid to change my flight. At 10:00pm the shuttle I had booked informed me that they were canceling the shuttle for lack of a driver. It was not until 11:00pm Sunday night that I was able to secure a shuttle to the airport that would pick me up at the hotel at 0400 hours. That is pronounced, "O four hundred and the O stands for OMG it's early!" I showered, put on my clothes I was wearing for the flight, set the timer for 3:45am and crawled into bed.

So, it is now butt crack of dawn, I have had no sleep and no coffee and I am at BWI airport. I did not find a Starbucks but I bought a cup of coffee that was half-caff, thinking I would try to catch a nap on the plane. So, here I am sitting in the waiting area near my gate at BWI, looking and feeling like the all American girl, and in walks this guy who looks familiar. It took a few minutes for me to realize the little guy in the jeans, running shoes and parka, carrying a backpack, was in fact Rahm Emanuel. I sat there for a few minutes before I realized I could not help myself and had to at least say hello.

I approached him and told him I had to know if he was running or not. Remember, this was before he announced. I said I wanted to know if he was planning to run for Mayor of Chicago and he asked me if I was "dying" to know. I told him I was just curious and had considered throwing my hat in the ring as well. He told me I should run too as everyone else was running. I asked if he knew who else might be running and he mentioned Mosely-Braun, Meeks, Dart and I just chuckled. I told him that I felt it was my job to keep the candidates toes to the fire on the important issues. At this point, I could feel the crazy bell going off in my head, but there was no stopping me and I wasn't getting any more coherent.

I told him the first thing I would do as mayor was to take away all the cars/drivers for the top executives in the city government. The ONLY person who really needs a car and driver is the mayor himself. I resent the fact that people like the members of the Chicago Public School Board had drivers and cars. I consider this a matter of fraud, waste and abuse. Also, for the amount of money this city spends on flowers, they need to plant more edible stuff for the soup kitchens. He was chuckling and trying desperately to ignore the crazy lady when I gave him my parting shot. I told him that in the words of Ralph Nader, if he wanted my vote, he had to earn it as I would NOT just give it to him.

After a few more sips of coffee, I came to realize I had beat the man over the head with my crazy stick and I sounded like an idiot. Most who know me will say that I am passionate about my causes, but that I am also very intelligent and highly articulate. So, after they loaded him into the plane first (no, he did not fly first class), I told him that he should stay in DC and do what he did best, which was to be a pit-bull for the pres and continue to provide him with plausible deniability. I also told him that the job of mayor may not last past one term as the city was shaken by the news and might expect too much too soon.

Rahm thinks I am nuts, I think he has decided that he is the most deserving of the position, that he is entitled to take the job if he wants it and it is a foregone conclusion that he wins if he runs. I say F that shit and we need to nail down ALL the candidates not on the issues but on their ideas for solutions.

The City of Chicago is a great city. The city has run for, what seems like forever, on its "machine politics". "Machine politics" consists of the usual pay-for-play things that have been going on forever. I was raised on Chicago politics and know that it has nothing to do with what you know or what you can do, but who you know and what they can do for you. Mutual gratification at the expense of the city treasury. The first thing they ALL do when they get in office is to put their family, friends and supporters into well paying positions that they are likely not qualified to hold (think Stroger Jr.). The city is like a car and we have been driving it into the ground without stopping to change the oil. The city needs an oil change, NOT just a new driver.