A lame duck is what a playa becomes when people stop listening to his music. A lame duck is someone famous and still in power who doesn't matter any more to people who judge clout by the buzz of what's next rather than what's now. It's a valuable term to understand because it reveals a lot about human nature, about influence and the power of perception. In the precise political sense of the term, a lame duck is any office holder in power between the election and the inauguration of the next office holder.

John Street will be mayor of Philadelphia until the first Monday of next year, a full six weeks from today. A lot can happen, or not happen, in six weeks. A lot can happen, or not happen, in four years, which is becoming the general definition of a lame duck, meaning any elected official barred from serving another term from the moment of his or her re-election.

On the surface it's a bizzarre concept, to dismiss or stop paying attention to a chief executive because he or she is no longer a potential candidate. But all we need to do is look at George Bush to understand how quickly the agenda has moved on in the mind of the national news media. Bush is still president for another 13 months and we in the news media seem to treat the reality of the presidency as if he's already gone. We're too busy handicapping the race for the next president

Allow me to apologize for the dumbasses in my business who would rather predict the future -- any future -- than acknowledge the difficulties of explaining the present. Nothing trumps perception like reality. John Street did a lame favor for a gay friend by officiating as mayor at a same-sex wedding/committment ceremony, the specific nature of which Street opposed politically and successfully as mayor. And he wants us to believe that nothing has changed. That explanation can quack, but it can't fly.