Their Holinesses

Wearing white and what could be best described as a pair of bright red Italian clogs, the Patriarch of the West, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (nee Joseph Alois Ratzinger) arrived at Edwards Air Force Base Tuesday where he was greeted by and shook hands with the Bushes, and had his ring kissed by a bunch of black clad cardinals. He'll be here for six days and has a full schedule. He's here at the same time as the saffron clad Fourteenth Dalai Lama and other world religious leaders wrap up a five-day visit to the University of Washington in Seattle. There was an interesting protest against the Dalai Lama. More than the 200 anticipated protesters showed up singing in Mandarin. Most of them were Chinese. Go figure. All of this is happening at the same time the presidential candidates are busy making Americans blue by compiling and illustrating their own The Bitter Battle Book over faith (and guns, and shots of whiskey). And while this week promises to be colorful, expect the more opportunistic colors of black and white than nuanced shades of gray.