Two Stories That Are The Same Story

First up: During what should have been a routine interview, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel bristles [bridles? freaks?] when asked where he expects to send his children to school:

My children are not in a public position. . . . I am. You’re asking me a value statement and not a policy. … No, no, you have to appreciate this. My children are not an instrument of me being mayor. My children are my children, and that may be news to you, and that may be new to you . . ., but you have to understand that I’m making this decision as a father.

I'll never understand why politicians don't answer this question by saying, "They'll be going to a private school. Because of my position, I have privacy and security concerns that I think are better able to be addressed, with less collateral disruption, in a private school."

Actually, I lied. I know why politicians like Mayor Emanuel don't say that -- because they know that they're going to send their kids to a private school because they can get a better education there than they would get in the crappy public school provided for your kids by . . . . Mayor Emanuel. Hypocrisy and shame are the tribute that vice pays virtue.

Here's the tape:

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Meanwhile, we learn that while the rest of us should be careful about our carbon footprint, Mrs. Obama will next week be jetting to Aspen for the day, to attend a political fundraiser.

These two items are the same story. In both instances, members of our governing class simply ignore their own directions to the rest of us.

In the meantime, I'll turn down my thermostat when Mrs. Obama quits spewing more carbon dioxide in one day than I'll likely be responsible for in a lifetime.