Not Meeting Elaine Chao

The "C-Span nerd" in me feels compelled to share:

Yesterday afternoon, while waiting to board my flight from LaGuardia to Pittsburgh, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao was waiting in the same boarding area.

I think I was the only person there who noticed her. Certainly, no one else said anything or pointed her out.

I was surprised that a member of the President's cabinet can basically go unnoticed in an airport. Does it show our society's lack of knowledge about the people who run our government? Or, it is a good thing that in our democracy such figures are not considered celebrities?

Or, does it just mean no one cares about who runs the U.S. Department of Labor?

I spent a good 10 minutes debating whether or not to try to say hello to the secretary. I didn't want to be a dork -- but I was interested in meeting her. So, as the boarding of my flight began, I approached a female security officer for the secretary and asked if it would be OK to say hello.

She said no.

C'est la vie.