Maybe it’s my imagination. But we seem to have gotten awfully regal in this country. That’s what came to mind when I heard about the kafuffle over our Secretary of Defense. Leon Panetta has been flying home to California most weekends. On Air Force jets. Costing taxpayers $32,000 per round trip.

The Defense Department says White House guys agreed to this when they hired him. “No we didn’t!” the White House guys cry. You can imagine that nobody wants to admit to the deal.

Panetta says he just wants to visit his ranch and wife and family. Right. Here is a suggestion, Leon. If you want the job in Washington, how about you move your family to that area? And if you don’t want to do that, then pay for your own travel.

If you tell us you sacrifice the big bucks to take the low-paying secretary’s job, we agree. You do. So sacrifice, already. If you don’t want to sacrifice, take the big job in business and make millions. And don’t try to make us feel sorry for you for your low pay in government. You will sign book deals worth millions when you retire. And groups will pay you $30,000 to deliver glib speeches. And you already get a lot of perks that kings would envy.