FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND) – January 13, 2009 – President-Elect Barack Obama, in a stunning pre-inaugural moment of copycatishness, ate dinner with people he disagreed with, apparently also seeking a civil conversation like the Village Square has now for over a year.
Possibly feeling too insecure and unsure to pick their own day, the Obama dinner at conservative columnist George Will’s home took place concurrent to the Village Square’s Tuesday evening Dinner a the Square.
“We felt that if we went out on our own, say on a Wednesday, without the sizeable wake created by The Village Square, there was simply too much risk that incivility would break out and we’d lose control,” according to an unnamed Obama aid who spoke with us on the condition of anonymity.
While the results of Obama’s conversation were strictly off the record, one unnamed aide whispered “it probably wasn’t as productive as ‘Faith in the Public Square’ but we’re pleased nonetheless. As we mature in our diplomatic experience, we will hope to achieve the heights that The Village Square has already reached.
No word on the menu at the presidential soiree, but security around the specific ingredients used at the Tallahassee gathering was likely sufficient in preventing similar plagiarism on that front.
“I refreshed my memory of the recipes on the menu about a month ago, then I tore the recipe pages out of my menu book and age them,” said Fran Doxsee, the chef of St. John’s Episcopal Church Lively Cafe fame who catered the event. Doxsee is being hailed as a hero.
When asked for comment, The Village Square Executive Director Liz Joyner acknowledged her error in not copyrighting civility.
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