Meet Cordia Harrington

It’s so cute to see the local news media gobbling up the White House press release on quaint little “minority business owner” Cordia Harrington. As if we’ve never seen this kind of political theater before.

Ms. Harrington is the “bun lady” who will host President Bush at her small little business tomorrow. The teeny tiny weeny little business that employs minorities and is minority owned. That’s so cute. All together now: "Awwwwwww.”

I don’t know how many small businesses have a CEO on the Federal Reserve Board. I wonder how Cordia Harrington landed that gig? I would assume one needs some big connections for that. And can someone tell me who Heritage Financial Partners LP is? Ms. Harrington is CEO of this company, too.

This won’t be Ms. Harrington’s first step into the spotlight. Indeed, the media-savvy Harrington is also represented by Premiere Speakers, a speakers bureau specializing in wingnut talking heads like Neil Cavuto, Neal Boortz, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Fox’s Steve Doocy, “Contract With America” co-author Dick Armey, Zell Miller, etc. etc. Very interesting.

I got a good laugh at “Cordia’s Corner,” a column she writes in the Bun Co. newsletter. In the May 2007 edition she reprinted that phony Jay Leno spam e-mail in which he calls Americans unhappy with the Bush Administration “spoiled brats.” Hey, maybe she’s never heard of Snopes.com.

There’s nothing wrong with all of this, of course. Cordia Harrington is probably a very nice lady. I’m glad she’s successful and has a good life here in Tennessee and employs a lot of good people. But for God’s sake, please don’t pretend President Bush is visiting your bakery because its “certified woman-owned status — and the fact that 80 percent of its employees are racial minorities — won over the president.” No one buys that bullshit.

Except, maybe, our local news media.