Craig Crawford Gets Hurt Again

In all likelihood, Craig Crawford knew that describing to Imus and the gang how he hurt his neck would generate both suspicion and laughter. But he did it anyway.

"I was signing so many books with Helen Thomas in Florida that I got whiplash from sitting there for hours at a table and looking up to greet people and talk to them, and then looking down to sign the books," said Crawford, the accident-prone author, with Thomas, of "Listen Up, Mr. President."

He continued, "That movement of the head, that repetitive motion of my head going up and down like that, I honestly got whiplash!"

While it was difficult for Imus to ignore such a palpable double entendre, he managed to behave himself, and was happy to hear that some I-Fans at a book signing in Orlando had recognized Crawford's mom and dad.

"They had them signing books!" Crawford reported.

Less popular than Ma and Pa Crawford these days are members of Congress, some of whom met at the White House for a so-called health care summit last week where pretty much nothing was accomplished.

"These politicians cannot give up their talking points," said Crawford, whose Trail Mix blog appears at CQPolitics.com. "They show up at these things, and you knew it was going to happen: they just talk past each other."

Having cameras in the room was more hindrance than help, in Crawford's opinion. "They're not going to get anything done that way," he said. "If that was real, they'd do it in private. I hate to say that, because as a journalist I like to see things in public."

The President's demeanor during the summit intrigued Crawford. "Politically, he has kind of a split personality," he said of Obama. "He's a Progressive or a Liberal on the domestic stuff, you can tell that's his instinct. But then he's got this pragmatic side where he plays to the Independents."

What's worse, he has driven Liberals and Independents away. "I always knew he couldn't keep them both," said Crawford. "But I didn't think he'd lose both!"

In the end, whatever health care bill is passed won't be nearly as far-reaching as Obama had hoped for, and Crawford believes it will only further alienate his base.

Crawford, however, was hoping not to alienate the I-Man this morning when he said he was using over-the-counter drugs and not "the hard stuff" to combat his whiplash pain. 

"You need to get it, and if you don't use it, send it to me," said Imus. "And I'll dispose of it in a responsible manner."

-Julie Kanfer