I would like to argue as follows: I am not a complete idiot.
I feel compelled to make this case because a business-school classmate recently sent me this link, from the conservative group Judicial Watch, with a friendly mocking snicker.
The snicker, in fairness, was appropriate. given Judicial Watch’s summary of an email I had written to the incoming Secretary of State years before (apparently one of the 55,000 pages now being pored over):
Tobias recommended serving a billion dollars a year of “complementary hot chocolate, iced tea, and lemonade” to international tourists standing in line at U.S. airports. According to Tobias, the refreshments would generate “substantial international goodwill.” The State Department records indicate Abedin printed out and forwarded the emails.
When I read this, I panicked — had I really misspelled “complimentary”?
Agh!
But also, how colossally dumb!
Bush had handed the new administration a world teetering on the brink of depression and I was recommending . . . hot chocolate???
I clicked the hyperlink — a billion dollars — and there, exposed to the light of 2016, was my private little suggestion. (Click it again to read without strain.)
I still think it was a good idea.
So there!
(And no, I had not misspelled “complimentary.” That was Judicial Watch’s contribution.)
(And yes, now I’m thinking: iced tea and blue grass bands for TSA lines longer than 20 minutes?)
