Nakagawa Never Serious Contender
Baseball super-agent Scott Boras, known in sports media circles as ‘The Great Upstager’, lived up to his reputation today, but this time it was not his own doing. While former Boras client Alex Rodriguez was conducting the most anticipated press conference in years, answering questions about his anonymous, positive test result for a banned substance six seasons ago, White House sources revealed to the remaining available reporter that Boras has emerged as the frontrunner in the Obama Administration’s search for the next Commerce Secretary. The revelation dispelled earlier rumors that newly former Japanese Finance Minister Shōichi Nakagawa would receive the nomination as soon as he sobers up.
According to Paul Katz, an Obama team member familiar with the vetting process, Nakagawa did receive some consideration until the final stage of the vetting process, when a check of Wikipedia turned up the fact that, “in April 2004, it was revealed that he had not been paying into the national pension plan for 21 years.”
“While that, of course, was a disqualifying factor, we did feel a little vindicated about the Geithner thing,” Katz explained, adding that an additional problem was the fact that women’s rights groups may have sought to block the nomination after learning that the Gekkeikan guzzling politician and Japanese cabinet member was once quoted as saying, “Women have their proper place: they should be womanly…They have their own abilities and these should be fully exercised, for example in flower arranging, sewing, or cooking. It’s not a matter of good or bad, but we need to accept reality that men and women are genetically different”.
“Broads get pissed off at comments like that,” Katz observed.
Tony Vita, a member of the vetting committee who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that Nakagawa’s name was only floated publicly to resolve a wager between two staffers who, “bet on how long it would take (CNN host and radio personality) Lou Dobbs to publicly demand the construction of a wall along the border between the United States and Japan ‘in order to preserve American jobs and security’.” (Unofficially, it took 1 minute and 43 seconds.)
“Scott Boras is a great choice,” according to Professor Phyllis Thomas of the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce. “He has a reputation as a fierce negotiator, and he has a great motivation to succeed when you consider how large a percentage of the nation’s commerce he and his clients already control. Most importantly, I have it on good authority that the man has actually paid all of his taxes.”
For his part, Boras was playing it cool. “Of course it’s an honor to discover I’m even considered a candidate,’ the coy piranha told The Sporting News. “But a decision like this is not one to be made without careful deliberation. I want to take a couple of days to think about it and discuss it with my family. I’ll make my official announcement Sunday night during the Academy Awards.”
The Desperate Blogger 