King David

David Gregory, the host of NBC's Meet the Press, comes off as sort of a non-humble man.  I remember reading that Tim Russert, right before his unfortunate passing, had read Gregory the riot act because the two reporters were out to dinner in DC and Gregory scolded a waitress for getting his stupid dinner wrong.

And the word was that Gregory was humbled after Russert died and had gotten his ego under control.

Well, it appears that his ego broke off its chain last week.  He lives in Washington, DC.  It must be a very nice neighborhood, but parking is tight, as it tends to be in townhouse neighborhoods.

Let the Washington POST tell the story:


The “Meet the Press” host made a scene Tuesday when he lit into organizers of the D.C. Design House, located this year on Foxhall Road. The broadcaster was distressed that visitors to the show house had parked on a nearby street, some directly in front of his home, preventing easy access by his crew.

“There are a lot of people clogging up our streets,” Gregory told us late Tuesday.

It’s hard to miss the 6-foot-5 journalist under ordinary circumstances — harder yet when he’s waving his arms and complaining loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. This all went down on the front lawn of the show house, witnessed by several designers and guests at a media preview.

“You could hear all this with the doors closed,” said designer David Mitchell. “This was a very public and immature display. It’s a public street. You don’t get to live in a neighborhood and say who gets to park.”

Gregory said he wouldn’t describe the confrontation as “blowing up.” But, he acknowledged, “I did go over there to complain.” He said that he received no warning about the monthlong charity event (except for a large sign on the empty residence) and that he has contacted his local commissioner. “I’m not happy about it and I hope it gets resolved.”

The parking situation has been tough lately: The French ambassador, temporarily relocated to the neighborhood during embassy renovations, recently hosted a large party. But Gregory flatly denied warning the show-house folks that he “knows all the politicians in town,” as witnesses claim.
Show-house reps said they’ve done due diligence: posting signs, hiring guards, finding parking lots. 

Every time you see someone flipping out like this, you always look for the key word(s) that explain it all.  In this outburst, Gregory said, "There are a lot of people clogging up our streets" and do you know what?  They are everyone's streets.  You and I, had we nothing better to do, could drive to DC and park right in front of Casa Gregory.  Public streets belong to the public.

Again, the ego is running around the neighborhood, irritating people and making a nuisance of itself.  There are people like this all over, people who think that their needs supercede all others, and everyone else better just damned sight get out of their way when they want to park their car, dine at a restaurant, get on an elevator, or take 27 items through the express line.

I make it a practice to shun them, and their television shows.