THE PRESIDENTIAL
DEBATE PRODUCES WINNERS AND LOSERS
I met my friend Foley at the Starbucks near Bloomington High
School South. It was a warm day so I
ordered a vanilla bean frappachino. Foley
stayed with a mocha latte.
“Did you watch the debate last night?” I asked.
“All of it. Both the
failed four and the main event,” replied Foley
“Were there any clear winners, Foley?”
“Trump by far.”
“Why so”, I asked. “He
seemed poorly informed on issues.”
“The others ganged up on him so he got to reply more than any
of the others. Jindal sounded like a jilted lover. Fiorina was like a harpie. Bush was too busy defending his brother. Walker was too busy busting unions and
bragging about it. Only Trump talked
about making America great again.”
“I thought he was thin on specifics for foreign policy.”
“That’s because policy wonks are useless for foreign affairs,
Elof”
“So who should make those policies?”
“Deal makers. Trump
has a play book, Art of the Deal.
That and the Bible are the only books you need to make America Great Again.”
“Why the Bible?”
“Simple”, Elof, “to
let heathens know that the Book is on our side.”
“I thought Fiorina was more informed than Trump, didn’t you,
Foley?
“I was too busy trying to listen to her between her whistles
to know what she was saying”.
“What about Huckabee?”
“Saying the Bible is important, like Trump does, is like saluting
the flag, it’s an OK thing. But quoting
from the Bible makes you a minister. You
don’t do that as President, you do that as a pastor in church. “
“What about Cruz?”
“He’s like that Hungarian in My Fair Lady. He oils
himself across the floor.”
Carly emerged as a national candidate... the anti-Trump. In a sense, The Donald chose her by singling her out. You have to wonder about his intentions, remembering he is nothing if not a master manipulator and marketing genius. Your friend Foley is correct. Only braniacs care about substance. Most people want to be entertained and while Carly may have trumped Trump, it was still The Donald's show. He talks like a fourth grader... in other words, right at the level of the GOP base. He seems like a buffoon to me, but like a master magician, all of a sudden there's a rabbit in his hand and I have no idea how it got there. The only thing I would add is about poor Dr. Carson. I loath and detested that man as colleague who has abandoned and perverted everything he ought to hold dear, wh has betrayed his training and the obligations of intellect. I was wrong. He might have separated conjoined twins once upon a time, but the man on stage last night didn't have the brain power to separate eggs.
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