Buttering up Antonio

Well, you probably caught it yesterday when Defamer Mark Lisanti recapped the Mayor's Saturday night at the movies:

He [the attendant] politely walks over and asks them to move. They do so, and as we get closer to our seats we realize it is Mayor Villaraigosa and his (I’m assuming) wife. We take our seats next to him and a woman in the row in front of us realizes who the Mayor is and drops her popcorn. The mayor then asks the attendant to please refill her popcorn. As he does this they begin a discussion of the movies they have seen and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN come up which the Mayor says he LOVED. The lights go down and the movie begins. Thirty minutes in to it I hear a snort. I look over and the Mayor is dead asleep!

All pretty straightforward and not very interesting. Until...enter Claudia Vaughn:

First off, Mayor Villaraigosa was in the company of his wife, Corina. Any one who follows the local scene, even just a little, would have recognized her. Let's not mention the fact that she actually introduced herself to me.

Second, the mayor did not tell me he "LOVED" "Brokeback Mountain" as was reported. I responded to his query about which film I felt was worthy of best picture. I said I really liked "Brokeback Mountain." I then asked him what he thought of the film "Crash." He told me he really liked it and then explained why. Lastly, I cannot say for certain if the mayor feel asleep during the film. I don't recall hearing any thing that sounded like snorting or snoring. I was with a friend who is quite sensitive to these things....

Just a little different. Not too much really. A staunch apology on behalf of the Mayor, I must say, over not much. Differing a little with Mark's account, not so very much at all.

But does it make a difference if this Claudia Vaughn who's trying to set the record straight here is the same Claudia Vaughn who may be the data manager of the LATimes polling operation?

Imagine a Times polling manager, dropping her popcorn at the sight of the Mayor:

"Yer Honor! I-I'm so embarrased."

"Hey, no problemo. May I ask your name?

"Claudia."

"Claudia, Antonio. This is Corina. What do you do, Claudia?"

"I'm a pollster for the LATimes..."

"OH, a Times pollster! Let me get you some more popcorn...[snap snap]...permiso..."

I haven't confirmed that this is the same Claudia Vaughn. But if so, as Mickey Kaus would say---too interesting!!

Well, we always find it a bit ironic when Kaus says that. But at minimum, it certainly explains why someone might bother to try to set the record straight, covering her own patootie in this otherwise dull anecdote, lest the Mayor think someone from the Times is telling tales out of school about him.

Claudia, you should have emailed MayorSam. We clear these kind of things up with lots of consideration for all parties.