Politicos Still Frequenting Starbucks

What do politicians and political types do besides hold fundraisers and plot the latest childish prank against their enemies? They go to Starbucks! So if you want to see somebody “famous,” in the sense of “seated next to Roland Martin in the fourth hour of CNN primary coverage last year,” you should definitely hot-foot it to your local chain coffee store. After the jump: sightings of luminaries such as Michael Steele and James Carville at the Starbucks; heartthrobs Mitch McConnell and Stephen Colbert schlepping around transportation centers; and twopeat Wonk’d featuree Patrick Leahy at a half marathon.

Have you seen some schlumpy person around town and thought “Where do I know that person, did I see them at the doctor’s office or something?” and then later in the day you realize they’re always in the background in those photos of President Obama and his entourage? Send us reports & juicy details to tips@wonkette.com.

• On Friday I was flying to Louisville, KY. The flight was out of BWI- so I had typical DC to faraway airport schlepping; a morning of MARC bullshit etc… I get to the gate for my Southwest flight when I notice that Mitch McConnell is waiting @ the gate. Anyway, I don’t know if you can do anything with this, but I thought it was funny that Mitch McConnell had to schlep to BWI in the morning to catch a flight on Southwest. I was hoping he printed his boarding pass late and would be in the ‘B’ or ‘C’ section, but he was A16. I tried to sit next to him, but some scantily clad hooker type sat next to him (and he was reading NYT).
• Saw crazy (excuse me, *embattled*) RNC Chairman Michael Steele getting out of a huge black SUV and heading in to the Starbucks on 3rd and Penn this morning around 9am. The homeless guy who always stands outside yelled “Good morning, brotha!” Steele was very conversational, saying “Hey, man, good to see you this morning” blah blah blah. I didn’t stick around to see if Steele gave the guy any actual, ya know, money or anything, or whether he was just boring him to death with his yammering. Maybe just recruiting him as part of the GOP’s new big tent strategy?
• Running the National Half Marathon this weekend I passed the Russell Senate office building, and there was Patrick Leahy standing in the street, waving, yelling “good job runners!”, and holding a camera. He was about 2 feet from me, so I could see and hear that he was very enthusiastic about his cheering. He must have known someone doing the Marathon or Half because I cannot see him out there with his camera at 7:20 Saturday morning in 32-degree weather just to be supportive of a local race.
• I saw Stephen Colbert going into Union Station yesterday afternoon. He was rolling one suitcase, and he appeared to have a concubine, or possibly his wife, who was carrying the rest of his luggage. Our eyes briefly met and I silently willed him to tell me a joke. He ignored me.
• I recently moved to New Orleans, and like many grad students, I sling lattes at a local Starbucks. One day, a gentleman came in who I recognized as being “somebody” but seeing as Skeletor is a cartoon character and probably wouldn’t like our Elegant, complex Guatemala Casi Cielo® perfect for fine-dining coffee anyway (he seems like a Nescafe kinda guy), I had no other thoughts on who the guy was. My partners later informed my ignorant self that it was none other than famed political consultant and CNN pundit James Carville. Now I follow current events (or at least read Wonkette daily) just so I have topic starters in case I see him again.