Several months ago, Mr. Happy accused a reporter of liberal bias when the reporter asked a question about $4 per gallon gas prices in our future.  That was about the same time I began referring to POTUS as Mr. Happy, about the same time he was denying the reality of a recession.

The least expensive gas I saw on the ride to work this morning was $4.13, and the highest was $4.39.  Liberal bias has become quite expensive these days, and forecasts still don’t look good for the summer prices.

With the jobless rate rise announced last Friday, gas prices well above the liberal bias of $4 per gallon, and a market that dropped 300 points in trading on Friday and is down nearly 400 points in early trading this morning all tucked neatly in his briefcase,  Mr. Happy, or perhaps Mr. Irrelevant, is on his way to Europe for a farewell tour.

Iraq, Afghanistan, the US dollar, the McClellan book revelations about his White House goings-on – - one can only imagine the snickers and giggles from his European counterparts when he walks into a filled room.  Remember his offensive embrace of the German Chancellor on a past trip?  How about that video clip of him calling over the British Prime Minister when, with a mouth full of food, he yacked out “Yo, Blair . . . “?

Gas prices in Europe are nearly three times higher than they are here in the US, and farmers, truckers and fishermen are protesting.  As is the case in the US, higher fuel costs drive up other basics of life, also.  If there is a silver lining in this for the EU members, it is that vacations in the US look pretty inexpensive as a result of the declining dollar.

As of this morning, it was trading at €0.637, meaning €1 would by $1.568, and the British Sterling is worth nearly $2 today.  So, a little vacation time in the US is something of a bargain.  Imagine that – - someone in Ireland or the UK or France could afford to come here for a holiday this summer at a bargain, while we can’t afford to drive a few hundred miles to the coast for a week at the beach with our kids.

That’s the victory lap Mr. Happy is running this week in Europe.  The announcement of his trip took up little, if any, front page news this morning.  Here’s a suggestion to improve that, sir:  take a fall.  In Thursday’s first game of the NBA finals, Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics went to the floor hard and was carried into the locker room with an injured knee.  He returned to the game later to the roar of the crowd, hit a couple of three pointers, and lifted the Celtics to a game one victory.  Over the weekend, ESPN couldn’t stop talking about the incident, and went so far as to suggest it was faked, a ploy on his part to rouse the crowd and inspire his teammates to greater effort.  No matter, really, because it worked.

So, if I may, take a fall, Mr. Happy, get carried off the floor in obvious pain, and return triumphantly a little later in that final lap around the world’s field.  The crowds will cheer you, other world leaders could be inspired to greater efforts, and everyone wins.  An ankle sprain, a pulled hamstring, anything that will look worse than it really is, and not serious enough that you can’t get right back up, sir.  It worked for the Celtics – - it could work for us.  We need all the help we can get, even from you.  Just don’t talk with your mouth full of food this time.