The rumor that a certain West Point Dean is encamped at the Hampton Inn in Farmville tonight is not the only reason we’re 10000000% certain that Patrick Finnegan will get the nod.
The contest has been his to lose ever since he appeared on campus and dominated the Open Forum. At that event, he came across as frank, prudent, and accessible to students.
He’s brainy, holding degrees from West Point, Harvard, and UVa. And he’s as fabulous as the day is long — he once flew to Southern California to offer unsolicited advice to the right-wing nut creator of 24. Finnegan was concerned that the show’s the depiction of torture during interrogation promoted “unethical and illegal behavior.” This earned a Finnegan a favorable mention in the New Yorker. Fabulous, indeed.
If there’s an institution that currently needs a leader with an eye for image and public perception, it’s Longwood University.
The Board of Visitors, the people who actually make the decision, seem to have cottoned to the General. Not only did they save him for last in the Open Forums, they also got his name right during the introduction, which is more than can be said for some candidates.
All told, people seem pretty excited about him:
Ye, he doth Pac Man the competition.
The formal announcement will be made tomorrow afternoon at the Blackwell Ballroom.
That is all.
***
…Okay, we can’t stop thinking about that scene in All the President’s Men when Ben Brandlee tells Woodward and Bernstein a story about how he had a scoop about LBJ looking for a new head of the FBI. President Johnson, just to spite Brantley, appointed Hoover head of the FBI for life.
We’re half expecting the BoV to announce that Cormier is appointed president for life, then to shout, “Call the Longwood Hole and tell them, ‘fuck you!’”
