'Tis the Season for Political Parties

   Ah, yes. It's Christmas, and politics takes a breather for a few days.

  But only on the surface.

  Instead, politics shifts to the party scene this week, including Sen. Bill Stachowski's traditonal get-together in his storefront office on Clinton Street. That gathering includes lots of old friends like former Mayor Tony Masiello, and the finest assortment of kielbasa and lazy perogi on the face of the earth.

  But the big party -- the one that draws the big names of the politics community -- is developer Carl Paladino's shindig scheduled for Wednesday night in the lobby of Ellicott Square. King Carl always gathers a few hundred of his closest friends (that's why it's nice to own Ellicott Square) for a fine assortment of food and drink, where anybody who's anybody gets to meet everybody.

  Oh, not all are invited -- mainly because Paladino is an outspoken sort who has lots of opponents too. But the friends side outweighs the enemies side, so lots of friendly politics transpires underneath the big Christmas Tree in the atrium lobby.

  It's affairs like Paladino's and Stachowski's that make politics so interesting. It is, after all, a people business. It's not widget manufacturing, or a strict discipline that depends on the principles of business and science. It's all about people talking, exchanging information, maybe even gossiping. It's fun stuff, and allows all political stripes to forget the battles of the past year and come together to celebrate the holidays.

  And it's not a bad place for some nosy political scribe to hang out for a night either.
 
-- Robert J. McCarthy

Comments

[Diana]

Speaking of parties...

For those Obama supporters who may read this we are having an Iowa caucus watching party at Bullfeathers on Jan. 3rd from 7-10pm. Tickets are $20 and include appetizers. You can find more info at: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vlzj