Over 2008 we've been increasingly flummoxed to see Mayor Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel resign themselves to personality, rather than awe-inspiring politician or actress of note, respectively. And press releases like the following, which we received this afternoon in the SFist inbox, don't help.

SAN FRANCISCO'S MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM FLIES JET AIRWAYS

Jet Airways

San Francisco - November 10, 2008: San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom and wife Jennifer are greeted by Zainul Aljunied, Jet Airways' Vice President-Western USA, before boarding a Jet Airways flight to Shanghai.

Mayor Newsom was flying Jet Airways' new Boeing 777-300 ER on his non-stop, transpacific journey.

About Jet Airways
Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 85 aircraft, which includes 10 Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, 11 Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 52 classic and next generation Boeing 737-400/700/800/900 aircraft and 12 modern ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft. With an average fleet age of 4.38 years, the airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleet in the world. Flights to 64 destinations span the length and breadth of India and beyond, including New York (both JFK and Newark), San Francisco, Toronto, Brussels, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

To know more, please visit www.jetairways.com.

Stuff like this can't be good for anyone.

And while we're on the subject, that "Love, Actually" spread of the Newsom-Siebel wedding was 1325545624 kinds of befuddling. Mind you, that's not an insult to the estimable Catherine Bigelow or -- who did a fine job covering what looked like a lavish and envious set of nuptials -- but to whomever is in charge of the Newsomian PR machine. "Inaccessible" doesn't begin to describe this kind of publicity.

7x7 Magazine