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July 21, 2008

Sen. Pat Leahy: Dark Knight and Dead Head

With The Dark Knight giving Obama a run for the buzz-money these days, let's pause to consider the role of Senator Pat Leahy, who has carved out a role for himself in the Batman entertainment monolith. His role in Dark Knight is just the latest for the Vermont Democrat:

Leahy had a nonspeaking cameo in the 1997 film "Batman and Robin," did a voice-over for the part of a governor in a Batman cartoon, and wrote the prefaces for a "Batman" anthology and a Batman comic book about the danger of land mines. Once he was spotted doing wheelies on his grandson's toy Batmobile down the long marble hall outside his Senate office.

But wait, there's more! Leahy is also a tiedyed-in-the-wool fan of the Grateful Dead. I know because when Jerry Garcia died, Leahy beelined to the studios of the MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour to talk about his enthusiasm for the group. I heard him. The Dkospedia (yes, there is such a thing) sums up the Leahy's adventures in Oaxamaxao Land:

Senator Leahy is a fan of the Grateful Dead. He has not only attended concerts, but has taped them, and has a collection of Dead tapes in his Senate Offices. The late Jerry Garcia visited him at his Senate offices, and the Senator gave a tie designed by the late band leader Jerry Garcia to Sen. Orrin Hatch (who responded by giving Leahy a Rush Limbaugh tie). Surviving band members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart have participated in fundraisers for Leahy and his Political Action Committee, the Green Mountain Victory Fund. Leahy also appeared offered a videotaped tribute to the Dead when they received a lifetime achievement award at the 2002 Jammys. His Senate web site notes this response to a question from 7th Grade Students from Vermont's Thetford Academy who asked Leahy which Dead song was his favorite, he replied: "...my favorite is Black Muddy River but we always play Trucking on election night at my headquarters."

Now, if he wants to really get "hip" with today's new breed of young Democrats, I'd like to see Sen. Leahy start groovin' to the tunes of Amy WIinehouse or L'il Kim. Or maybe I'll just keep thinking of him as Senator Casey Jones.

Van | 07/21/08 at 06:36 AM | Categories: Domestic Politics

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