You don’t have to have everybody on board

Unappetizing headline of the day: “Romania Confronts Huge Meat Pile.” Of course I had to click on it anyway, but really, it wasn’t worth it.

Or possibly the unappetizing headline of the day is this one: “China’s Hairiest Man Seeks Olympic Torch Duty.” There’s a picture. He really is quite hairy.

Cosimo Mele, an Italian MP from the Christian Democrat party whose wife is pregnant with their fourth child, says he deserves credit for calling for an ambulance when one of the hookers in his hotel room overdosed. “Of course I respect Christian values,” he said, “but what has that to do with going with a prostitute? It’s a personal matter.” He is, however, leaving the ChristDems (although not the Italian parliament).

At his confirmation hearings, the alliterative Michael Mullen, chairman-designate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said yesterday that the US will be in Iraq for “years not months.” Oh good. He also had some stern words for Iraqi politicians, who probably won’t hear them, however, being too busy doing whatever it is Iraqi politicians do when they’re on vacation. Mullen said they “need to view politics and democracy as more than just majority rule, winner-take-all, or a zero-sum game.” On Larry King, possibly at that very moment, Dick Cheney was saying, “Remember, success for a politician is 50 percent plus one, you don’t have to have everybody on board.”

I could relate “you don’t have to have everybody on board” back to Mr. Mele and his two prostitutes, but that would be too easy.