odd one out

Let's play a game, boys and girls. Which one of these doesn't belong with the others?

A) Dikembe Mutombo, who came from the country formerly known as Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) to America to study medicne, was discovered by Georgetown coach John Thompson, got very very rich playing basketball, and has pumped millions of his own dollars back into his impoverished mother country to help his fellow Congolese.

B) Sgt Tommy Reiman, US Army, "who repelled an enemy attack in Iraq with two legs full of shrapnel and bullet wounds in his arms and chest" and probably saved the lives of several of his fellow soldiers.

C) Wesley Autrey, a New York construction worker who at great personal risk saved the life of a student who had a seizure and fell on the tracks of the subway while a train approached.

D) Julie Aigner-Clark, who got rich by founding a company (Baby Einstein) that makes videos for babies, despite the fact that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 2 years of age NOT watch television.

The answer, of course, is D. When de facto President Bush introduced her during the inevitable and overplayed "heroes" segment of the State of the Union, my reaction was "what the hell is she doing there?" Guess the White House had to find a woman hero and nobody else was willing. Read more about this gaffe from Timothy Noah at Slate.