The Week

■ The good news is that Imelda Marcos is running for president. The bad news is that she’s running in the Philippines.

■ While he was Transportation Secretary, Sam Skinner made no secret of his coveting John Sununu’s job as Chief of Staff (“If the President asked me, why, of course I’d be delighted.”). Well, after less than two months in the post it’s beginning to look as if Skinner has confirmed the old saw about not wishing too hard for something or you might get it; Chief of Staff for a President slipping fast in the ratings is no picnic. In fairness, Skinner started out well, meeting with a range of groups across the conservative spectrum to hear their grievances, but it hasn’t seemed to dawn on the old boy that this will help only if the President is seen to act on these grievances. According to one participant, Sam Skinner is “a very nice and well meaning man who hasn’t the faintest notion why the Republicans have won the last three elections.” The problem is that there’s no one in the White House who can tell him.

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■ The good news is that Imelda Marcos is running for president. The bad news is that she’s running in the Philippines.

■ While he was Transportation Secretary, Sam Skinner made no secret of his coveting John Sununu’s job as Chief of Staff (“If the President asked me, why, of course I’d be delighted.”). Well, after less than two months in the post it’s beginning to look as if Skinner has confirmed the old saw about not wishing too hard for something or you might get it; Chief of Staff for a President slipping fast in the ratings is no picnic. In fairness, Skinner started out well, meeting with a range of groups across the conservative spectrum to hear their grievances, but it hasn’t seemed to dawn on the old boy that this will help only if the President is seen to act on these grievances. According to one participant, Sam Skinner is “a very nice and well meaning man who hasn’t the faintest notion why the Republicans have won the last three elections.” The problem is that there’s no one in the White House who can tell him.