snap out of it

I'm not quite sure what Sridhar Pappu wants us to take away from the article in this morning's Post about the political sway that Gary and Meg Hirshberg have in New Hampshire. If the Hirshbergs made the money to build their lovely Concord home selling oil and not Stonyfield Yogurt, maybe it would be clearer. My liberal instincts would kick in: wealthy business people have an unfair and undemocratic impact on our political process.

Oh, but wait, those instincts DID kick in . . .

The article is downright nauseating, perhaps precisely because the Hirshbergs seem to be blind to the fact that candidates are whoring themselves to them because they're loaded and not because of their incisive political minds.

The Hirshbergs have been privileged from birth -- Gary shares a tale of being bounced on the knee of Nelson Rockefeller as a baby (remember that when Pappu mentions the adoring glance that the couple gives each other when they think about how they once lived on only $26,000 a year). Like many people in that position, they seem clueless that they are just NOT as fascinating as they seem to think they are. People like them because they want to be associated with wealth and access too. In other words, Meg and Gary, people are kissing your a**. You are not as fabulous as they tell you. Snap out of it.

Apparently the Hirshbergs are on a mission to defeat Hillary Clinton. Why? Because Meg thinks that people don't like Hillary. "I'm not justifying their dislike. I think a lot of it is unfair, but I can't make it go away and neither can she."

(Meg, darling, isn't fight against things that are unfair, yet seemingly unsurmountable, what it means to be a progressive?)

No, the Hirshbergs love Obama (they considered John Edwards for a while, but that seemed to be primarily because they "adored" Elizabeth). Meg was apparently won over when Obama told her that he shared her love for The West Wing and "that he wanted to be just like President Bartlett on that show."

(Excuse me, I need to wipe the vomit from my chin.)

Gary apparently once considered running for Senate, but realized that wasn't really such a great idea:

"In some respects not running for Senate was probably better politically. I am obviously politically active without having to go to Washington. Here I am able to meet with politicians and directly address the issues I care about."

Okay, maybe Gary isn't as clueless as he seems. Why buy a seat in the Senate when you can pay candidates to come and perform at your wife's birthday party?

If only they made their money from oil . . .