My resort behavior usually goes something like this: I’m splendidly relaxed the first two days, then day three boredom leads me to discover I have a new favorite breakfast tequila, and by 2 p.m. But neither Claire nor I can resort for more than a couple days. We’d considered honeymooning at a resort on a white-sand beach within an Uber ride of the equator, a place where sloth may still be a deadly sin but it’s included in the package. We just returned from our honeymoon and are quite poor now, which inclines me to write to earn some money. I got married to Claire, whom you’ll be reading about from now until my death, which I’ve promised her will be delayed. A very bad look.My apologies for the tumbleweeds that loped across my blog the past two weeks. (And trust me, he has future national political aspirations.)īut for someone who had been leading the charge on what effective government response to this pandemic looked like, Newsom’s knuckle-headed decision to defy his own best practices is a bad look. And California is one of the most Democratic states in the country, so it’s unlikely that this error in judgment will seriously jeopardize Newsom’s chances at a second term in 2022 or his future national political aspirations. Now, to his credit, Newsom’s apology was fulsome – and without the sort of “sorry if anyone was offended” caveats that politicians love to lean on. He had just foolishly handed his opponents ammunition on a silver platter.” “Newsom understood right away how bad that dinner looked. I mean, they do say the food at the French Laundry is to die for. He did not, in his own tired phrase, meet the moment. “The governor, who has been among the state’s most vocal advocates of playing by the pandemic rules that he himself has created, blew it. Bad, very bad and really, really bad.Īs the Los Angeles Times’ Robin Abcarian wrote: But this episode has so many things wrong with it: Skirting his own rules to dine at a restaurant that costs more for dinner than many Californians make in a week to fete a lobbyist. Newsom was the first governor in the country to issue a stay-at-home order (on March 19) and was generally quite proactive in his response to the evolving virus. Unfortunately for Newsom, this episode of do-what-I-say-not-what-I-do is likely to negatively color his overall handling of the virus, which to this point had won plaudits from many – including me! THE POINT - NOW ON YOUTUBE! In each episode of his weekly YouTube show, Chris Cillizza will delve a little deeper into the surreal world of politics. I need to preach and practice, not just preach.” The spirit of what I’m preaching all the time was contradicted.

“I should have stood up and … drove back to my house.

“I made a bad mistake,” Newsom said by way of apology on Monday. (There is also some debate as to whether they were fully outside, as the woman who took the photos at the restaurant told Fox 11 that the group was loud and sliding doors were closed to keep the room quieter.) Photos obtained by Fox 11 in Los Angeles show Newsom sitting closely packed with other guests – and none wearing a mask. They were two of a dozen people at the event, which was held at an outdoor table in the courtyard of the restaurant. The details are these: On November 6, Newsom and his wife, Jennifer, attended a 50th birthday party for political consultant and lobbyist Jason Kinney, at the uber-exclusive French Laundry restaurant in the heart of the state’s Napa Valley. On that same day, he apologized for, at best, skirting his own rules when it comes to mitigating the spread of the coronavirus. Gavin Newsom announced that amid rising Covid-19 cases in his state that he would be “pulling the emergency brake” on reopening plans.

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