My idol rolled his eyes at me...

Most people have a favorite person they've always wanted to meet. My short list includes David Byrne, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Bill Clinton and, right at the top, David Cross. \nI always thought I'd shared something special with all these guys over the years after all the times they've made me laugh and think, but Cross has always hit me on a different level. \nA bunch of you probably don't even know who he is, but I've always found a connection with the characters he plays on TV, and his comedy CDs have just spoken to me the last few years in a way that not much else has.\nI'd been warned David Cross could be kind of a dick, but I figured I could make him smile. I spent the last few years trying to get anyone who came over to my apartment to watch DVDs of "Mr. Show" and "Arrested Development" and have listened to his comedy albums so much I could recite them in my sleep. \nWhen I found out he was going to be at the press conference, I was giddy with excitement and hoped that I could contain my near obsessive love of his comedy when I met him.\nI started by thanking him for "making me laugh more during college than anything else." He thanked me, but right away I could sse he was in a hurry as his eyes roamed the room.\nHe was gracious, but not particularly nice. I asked him if OnDemand video and YouTube would make it easier for him to follow passion projects. He said, "It's great, but as with everything, there's a lot of shit but there's a lot of good stuff on there, too." \nThen I moved on to politics, thinking that he'd be excited to talk about it since his comedy is often focused on his hatred of the Bush administration. When asked to assess the 2008 presidential candidates, he said, "I think it's too early to tell, but the Republican's are fucked. The democrats are just barely not fucked … I like Edwards personally."\nI asked him which issues were most important to him and he said, "It's not even the issues so much. It's just a feeling of honesty and integrity and, uh, I don't get that with Hilary. I don't know Obama enough."\nThen I went for what I thought would be a question he'd enjoy. I asked him which character that he's portrayed over the years he would like to play the rest of his life. Between Tobias Funke from "Arrested Development," and "Mr. Show" characters Ronnie Dobbs (a coke-head who always ends up on "Cops," ) The Queen of England or the lead singer of Wicked Sceptor (a gay '80s hair band). \nThat's when he rolled his eyes. \nI guess I understand that he was in a rush and didn't feel like playing a game with me, but he decided to indulge me and said, "Ronnie Dobbs as The Queen of England." He took a quick picture and he ended up smiling more than I did. Something about the whole experience just rubbed me the wrong way , and I still can't quite put my finger on it. I got my picture and two minutes with him, but I'd always thought if I ever got to hang out with him, he'd be more laid back and I'd be able to make him laugh. \nI wanted to have a beer with him and have him ask me who I was seeing at the festival. I wanted to make fun of the weird hippies with him and do impressions of them dancing. \nTo be fair, I guess it was just the wrong time and place to try to force my love of his comedy into a friendship, and it was certainly better than nothing, but all in all I feel a little hollow and have had to rethink my "who would I meet" question. \nI guess I'll have to try to meet Bob Dylan at the concert in Indy next month. I think he'll enjoy my impression of him.