"To be perfectly honest, there are three pairs of underwear on my couch. All clean, lacy, and in very pretty colors!"

Okay... whose?

I know several people who live elsewhere but have a work apartment in DC. Theirs are generally nicer than that one, are only there 6-months to 3 years, and they aren't millionaires. People who wear suits all day and are in front of a camera often, have actual closets. Doesn't quite add up to me.

Since Congressional representatives in both houses have to maintain two living quarters and not all of them come from the millionaire classes, I think this was a sensible idea. The story, however, is a bit outdated as George Miller has retired, and he sold the house in 2014.

Miller was my representative when I lived in the Bay Area. He was also Nancy Pelosi's mentor. Needless to say, I didn't vote for him. I only saw him during election season, glad-handing commuters at the BART station.

When this story first broke, I tossed out the idea of a Congressional dormitory in a discussion. However, it was pointed out that many Congressional reps choose to live in the DC area and keep a small apartment in their districts / states for residence purposes, so a dorm would probably not work.

My Congressman in Jacksonville did that. His token apartment was on my nightly bicycle route and it was very rarely occupied. Noticing that my alleged representative barely spent any time among the people he was supposed to represent gave birth to a nascent cynicism about politicians; which didn't take long to reach full adult size.

I have never voted for Senator Durbin because of his politics. That said, I have met him several times, have a friend who used to work for him, and my wife also has a friend who used to work for him, and he is a very personally decent man, loves his family deeply, and is very good to (and loved by) his employees. Congressional salaries my sound like a high salaries, but given that they have to maintain two residences and often support large families, they do not go as far as most think. I'm not surprised nor put off by such dwellings when away, by themselves, from their families and primary homes. To have more is to literally waste their money.

My only offense to this story is CNN. Had these been Republicans -- which should make no difference in a story like this -- CNN would no doubt have ridiculed them.

Doubt if any of them really spend any time there. Probably sleep at their mistresses's or interns' places.