May 24, 2013 1 min read

One of the common raps on Washington, D.C., is it’s a town full of people marinating in solipsism, with platoons of elected officials, bureaucrats, lobbyists, journalists and aides wandering about in a cosseted universe, blissfully unacquainted with the struggles of everyday Americans.

Proponents of this view were given ammunition aplenty in a remark that former Hillary Clinton aide Patti Solis Doyle recently made to The Washington Post. Solis Doyle pointed out that, nowadays, she speaks at about a dozen events a year, and she earns about $5,000 to $10,000 per speech. That’s still between $60,000 to $120,000 per year, which most of us would consider more than adequate recompense. However, Solis Doyle joked that if only Clinton had fared better, “I’d be making $50,000 for speeches instead of $10,000 for speeches.”

Sigh. I’m sure we’re all tempted to weep bitter tears at this development.