When I was briefly flirting with registering to vote as a Democrat (I didn't, by the way), I mentioned that of the 51 members of New York's City Council, only three were Republicans, and one of them had just been indicted for rape. Well, here's one of the others -- the minority leader, in fact -- reacting to a hapless Norwiegian Ali G wannable. It's worth watching -- as long as there aren't any children in the room.
UPDATE: My colleague Tom Elliott -- who, as you'll see, has some more personal experience with the good councilman -- puts a Churchillian spin on the outburst. I guess I should have thought of that in the first place, but I do appreciate the shout-out.
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An alternative interpretation:
Kudos to James Oddo. Though I agree with Mr. Elliott that the F-Bomb may have been dropped a little too quickly and frequently, I suspect Oddo's approval ratings will, if anything, rise. The folks on Staten Island are not so easily offended. And every New Yorker knows that the threatened "beating" was not meant. It's just how we talk.
As for Churchill, I would remind you that the classic "You are drunk/You are sober" incident was not repartee on Churchill's part. Most accounts claim the incident began with Churchill accusing the woman -- Bessie Braddock the social activist, no less -- of being ugly.
Oddo, on the other hand, skips right through the childishness of ad hominem attacks. He got the woman out of his office. I defer to your friend Mr. Elliott once more in that Oddo could have handled the incident with more aplomb, good humor and wit. But if I were a Republican on the New York City Council, I'm not sure I'd go whistling through my days, either.
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