Wednesday, September 09, 2009

"FAMOUS" PEOPLE FROM LEFT AND RIGHT

I put "famous" in quotes because there definitely is a difference between Michael Jackson famous and famous among policy wonks. Nevertheless, I have stumbled across some famous people this week. Yesterday several students and I were sitting in the lobby of Robertson Hall working on some math problems when a nice man asked us where the vending machines were. We pointed him towards the basement. As he left, one of the students remarked that the man was Josh Bolton. I know, you're probably not gasping for air and fainting at the idea of seeing Josh Bolton. In fact, I bet you don't even know who he is. Josh Bolton is not related to Michael Bolton the musician. He was the chief of staff to President George W. Bush. What is chief of staff, you might say. For those of you who are Mormon, this is like the executive secretary for the President. You know how much responsibility and influence comes with that job. For those of you who aren't Mormon, think of the Chief of Staff as the President's right hand man. He's involved in every decision made in the White House. Later that day I was wandering around the halls and found out that his office is actually a few doors down from mine. Apparently he is a Princeton alum and is going to be teaching a few classes this year.


Josh Bolton

While I was wandering the halls, I came across the office of another famous person. Paul Krugman, the economist who recently won the Nobel Prize and writes regularly for the New York Times, has an office at Princeton. I imagine that he is rarely here and that he used to teach but now is too busy writing columns that I am convinced he does not (nor does any other liberal economist) actually believe. In my opinion, his columns are bogus and he knows it, but bogus seems to be the flavor of choice in the NYTimes. Anyway, perhaps he'll make an appearance here and I can meet the man in person.


The Beast's Lair

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