JOYFULLY FOAMING AT THE MOUTH

'ROSA PARKS sat so that Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so that Obama could run. Obama is run ning so that we can fly." This is all over the Internet. It's inspiring, I guess, but if Dorothy Parker were still here, she might well say, cynically, "Tonstant weader fwowed up!" Still, when I stepped to the podium Wednesday night at the Landmarks Conservancy gala in Cipriani 42nd Street, my first words - "Is everybody happy?" - were met with an explosion of screams and applause from the black-tie audience. I followed by congratulating all the "socialists" and "communists" in the room! Big laughs. It's easy to get laughs right now, either with the old Ted Lewis chestnut, "Is everybody happy?" or with mild wisecracks. I have seldom experienced such an atmosphere of levity and joy. People are literally... [read full story]