Notice how all of my posts the last couple of days are either about Dick Harpootlian or Jon Huntsman? What’s up with that?
Anyway, right when I got back from the Huntsman thing, Dick sends out this video. He’s big on videos. Well, he missed the mark on this one.
It makes two dubious points — the rather painfully populist one about how YOU, the taxpayer, paid for Nikki’s trip to Paris, and his point that the gov should come back and tend to South Carolina business, or as he put it, “the people of South Carolina would rather her worry more about the unemployment rate and the education sector in our state.”
Here are my thoughts on those, in reverse order:
- You really think that if she were here, she’d be doing anything for our schools? Anything at all?
- She is far more likely to stumble on something of economic use to our state, something to create jobs in SC, over there than she is here. I can far better see her charming some air industry exec who doesn’t know her very well (she makes a great first impression) than I can see her pursuing policies back here that boost our prosperity. After all, the one thing Mark Sanford accomplished in that sphere in 8 years was landing Boeing, and he did that, at least in part, by going to the air show.
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I’m okay with that, as long as they keep Steve Benjamin as well. I’m sure that was taxpayer money well spent.
I’m so disappointed in the video–I imagined her riding her bicyclette down the Champs-Elysses with a baguette and a bunch of flowers in the basket, or maybe something out of Breathless. Spinning around and tossing her beret in the air…
Dick is off base on this. I agree entirely, Brad. At least she might do something useful over there.
Or if not, she’s at least out of our hair for a few days.
She might be alarming potential investors too. But I doubt it. That’s the circle she aspires to.
And Burl, she really does make a good first impression. Second impression, too, for that matter. And when it comes to a governor’s role in a situation like this, what more do you really need? It’s kind of ceremonial, like being the queen. Over here, she has constitutional duties (not as many as in most states, but some). Over there, her presence just signals the seriousness of our interest in those potential investors. “Oh, and have you met our governor…?” And then they say like “enchanté,” or some kind of Paris talk like that.
Bobby Hitt’s the one who would close the deal. And Bobby’s plenty savvy enough to handle that.
Sorry, I just can’t stop myself from quoting Scott Evil, even when it’s way out of context: ‘Well my friend Sweet Jay took me to that video arcade in town, right, and they don’t speak English there, so Jay got into a fight and he’s all, “Hey quit hasslin’ me cuz’ I don’t speak French” or whatever! And then the guy said something in Paris talk, and I’m like, “Just back off!” And they’re all, “Get out!” And we’re like, “Make me!” It was cool.’
Do I have to pay for the return trip?
Ah, yes. The Queen in Paris. Maybe the French are ready for a new Marie Antoinette. That would be great. Nikki is clearly ready to assume that role, and we wouldn’t have to deal with her any more. I like it. The more I think about it, the better I like it.
I don’t have any problem with her going to the air show – South Carolina could have been a topic of interest this year. Unfortunately for all, Boeing sucked wind this year as far as announced sales went. So was a bust, I’m sure. What I still don’t understand were the cities’ sending their mayors. That’s just so provincial.
Despite what anybody has to say (and many were on the mark), isn’t this her job?
Now who footed the bill for Steve Benjamin?
Wow, I misread the first time – “…policies…that boost our properity.” – and thought it said “..that boost her properity.” Now, THAT made perfect sense.
Hey, Steve Benjamin is a great ambassador for Columbia, and since Darla Moore is funding an aeronautics center here at USC (take that, Nikki!), seems like a great opportunity…
Boeing is looking better since at the show, the new Airbus took out a piece of a building and lost a piece of its wing and had to borrow a jet from Korean Air…..
I am curious to know if she is able to recall if she flew 1st class, business or coach.
It’s okay if she flies in the fancy seats so long as she doesn’t relegate her staff to the cargo hold, like some frugal governors have. I don’t have a problem with my representatives flying overseas in better seats–I want them rested and raring to go!
Kathryn, really. I like Steve, too, but he has no business being in Paris – on city business or as a USC Rep. That’s just whitewashing. If Darla thought her center would benefit from representation at the airshow she would have been there – traveling on her own plane. Maybe she could have given Nikki a lift…
I don’t care either. I would like her to be honest about it. During the Sanford fiasco, she was all “Hmmm, I didn’t notice where I sat on that 20 hour flight to China” Anyone who has flown on a long flight knows exactly what “coach” means, especially for taller people like the Gov. For me, that was a key insight into her character.
One could also hope that Ms. Haley might be taking a little time to look around her, go to the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay, catch a concert at Cite de la Musique in the northeast corner of the city, just wander into any one of dozens of churches for a more casual chamber music concert, etc., etc., and come to ponder the possibility that there could be values to a society other than purely mercenary ones, that some things have a value beyond what you can put a price tag on. Then she might rethink her expected veto of the SC Arts Commission funding. But I’m not holding my breath. You don’t get to be Nikki Haley by having an open mind. She’s more like the tourist that goes to Paris and only wants to go to Disneyland Paris and eat at McDonald’s.
Kathy, you hit the nail right on the head, except Nikki’s our very own Marie Antoinette. Lucky us.
@Phillip– She *might* hit some boutiques…otherwise, she’ll be like my husband’s colleague who would grab some Diet Coke on his way to his European hotel, to hole up and watch MTV because it was in English. You can lead a horse to water….
Heck, I’d be satisfied if she rode the Metro–see the good things we can do when we all kick into the fisc!
Niki Haley might drink Diet Coke while in Europe but she’ll be about as popular as New Coke. Not sure why the Europeans would even give her the time of day given her brand of tea party politics that runs counter to the new European order.