Before I start, if you are a fan of the show House, M.D., and if you haven't seen the episodeSimple Explanation from April 6th, then here there be spoilers. If you'd like to read my column (I really would appreciate it), you should go look up the episode on Hulu and watch it.
I'll wait.
... Hm. So, how 'bout those Reds? Really off to a weak start. Shouldn't be surprised, I suppose. They're too busy making albums where they play guitar and cover songs badly and -
Oh good, you're back.
So, as you've discovered by now, Kal Penn's character, Kutner, committed suicide. I'm torn between appreciating his death as a good way to shock an audience and keep them on their toes or being pissed about it because it seems like lazy writing. Right now, I'm leaning toward lazy writing.
But that's not the point.
The point is, they wrote Kal Penn out of the show so that he could take the position of Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison for President Obama.
The office was first created under President Ford in 1974, and according to its Web site, it aims to bethe front door to the White House through which everyone can participate and inform the work of the President.
Now, that's all well and good. In fact, I applaud the Obama administration for making sure that such an office is well-promoted to the general public. No one cares more about that office right now than the people who loved Kutner on House (granted, they care because they're straight pissed).
After the last eight years of the media talking about how the Bush administration hid the facts of 9/11 and the fact that it was secretly the Predator attacking the White House, it's refreshing to see an office like that in the news.
Idealistic? Perhaps. But I digress.
My issue here is that I think perhaps the choice of hire is misguided. According to the Associated Press, the stated goal in hiring Kal Penn is to connect Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders with President Obama.
I'm not sure where the Pacific Islander part is coming from, since Penn is the son of Hindu Gujurati, immigrants from India. Which is not an island.
As a lifeline between the community and Obama, however, Penn is not the first person I would choose. When I look at him, I don't think direct line to the President. I look at him and I think:
Kumar.
Taj from Van Wilder and of course Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj.
Awesome hair.
None of these particularly shout out to me ASK ME A QUESTION AND I WILL GIVE IT TO PRESIDENT OBAMA. HE MAY OR MAY NOT RESPOND
BUT YOU MAY HOPE.
Now you put Kate Beckinsale in that office, and I feel like I would ask her things and expect her to relay them to President Obama. She's approachable. She's British, but not too British. Plus, she looks great when she's fighting vampires in leather bodysuits.
All of these things make her eminently qualified to hold the office of Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. Not like some actor.
Gosh.
Nick Philpott is a sophomore studying playwriting and creative writing. Don't worry, he's forwarding this column to the Office of Public Liaison. Send him an e-mail at np714907@ohiou.edu.
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Opinion
Nick Philpott
