Who will we be?

 

            An exhausted America waits. Who are we to be? I've got a hunch. 

        It seems a galaxy away now, but there was a time when I could not wait for the next campaign season. I was young and thought politics was America's greatest spectator sport. We've all changed. 

     Sure, I've gotten older, but the game has gotten rotten. Money will do that. Electoral politics now belongs to the election industry including their bunk mates from  media. Big time media was a sophisticated call girl. Social media is an alleyway, dirty-leg influencer. It's that same little screen in the hand with its random, fractured, non-aggregated, stream of untethered, untested reality that defines information flow and one on one targeted messaging. It's madness, it makes no sense and that's how voters these days are being informed. It's the old folks who watch what's left of broadcast news and it seems intent on only predicting who's going to win. America was greater when there were lines of newspaper boxes on corners.

    It's not just that. The quality of politician today is to public service what a bad virus is to your long planned bucket list trip. 

   There are so few with a sense of honor, integrity or who seek to serve. Most, the vast majority, are on the make. The republican party has become a morality tale of what happens when you let a dominatrix smother your conscience and then make you a whipping boy or girl. They have become a beaten, locked step marching army of nasties being manipulated by a convicted fraudster. They are a mob of big time wrestling style evangelicals who are huffing man-tan and hair spray and who believe Col Flynn is the new Moses. 

    So who's got the game? Who are the real influencers? Who's going to make it count? 

    On this side, people who think. Those who reason. 

    Over there the fantasy land, where lies live and no one has to think. Just be angry, aggrieved, bigoted, or trying to settle a score for the rotten deal. 

    I've thought the key, in battle ground and swing states and from sea to shining sea are women. They have been the most offended, and are the people with the most to lose by what used to be Donald Trump and what is now his unholy carnival freak show. Republicans are dangerous it is true, not only because they are spineless, have grown fond of the whippings, have no integrity, they additionally have no respect for America and not enough sense to understand the role of a world stabilizer. They are a bat shit cult and especially out to make women's lives awful.

    On this side are Americans, who believe in the American way. Even with its faults there is nothing comparable. Rather than revenge, and turning troops on people, and making enemy lists, they want to make it work. 

    How it ever got to this point should keep you all awake at night, until you get blinded by the light.

    I think I'm losing grip on reality. It's like we are living in a dark Marvel studios film where the spoiled little lard grows up to become the king of the evil high rise and continues to build his power until he takes over the government and eventually unleashes armageddon. Oh the man-tan and hair spray holy huffers love that.

    All things pass, but before America dies, I'm counting on that innate wisdom of woman, that special blend of God, life, nurture, and love. 

    Women suffered to even gain a vote in the game. My late mother worked in state government and was active in politics in the 1930's. She knew their time was still coming, but she hung in there.  I'm a husband and father of two daughters and I've always been partial to women because I think they are smarter, more capable and have what the Fins call Sisu. It's a strong will, a perseverance, determination.  I'm thinking this power of women will be the factor, the force that defeats a real piece of chump evil. I think that edge of women, especially mature women, maybe the silver stake.

    Hope and pray I'm right. 

    1964 was the first Presidential campaign I reported. Now I live with ghosts; all those years, all those bus rides, plant gates, conventions, crowded cafes, mayors races, senate and house campaigns, Gubernatorial elections, debates, wheels up and wheels down, morning baggage calls, waiting in cue for satellite feed time, weeks with no sleep, eating on the run, waiting for a pool report, gathering around the press compound in basements, old ballrooms, empty warehouses, clearing security, late nite drinks and debriefs, waiting to see what the AP or the NY Times was leading with, hours of speculation, crunching numbers, deadlines that never ended, door to door interviews,  on air analysis sets, back room experts, victory parties, concessions, inaugurations, and it started over. Those spirits are stored away now with old photos, press passes and badges, and memories of some of the greats I was lucky enough to work around or grab a moment with. 

    We all loved the game. Not so much any more. But I could get excited about President Harris and watching what a woman in charge could do for America. It might even change the game altogether.

    See you down trail.

    

        

The Prosecutor and the Lunatic.....

 

           In a reality not far away about 60 Million US television viewers saw Kamala Harris and Donald Trump show their stuff.

        If it wasn't earnestly serious, it would be the stuff of comedy, the best of sketch comedy in this part of the milky way. 

    Given that performance, the extraordinary number of lies, the chain of thought that ran like like a wart hog roller skating on marbles, and the beating he took of the righteous, in your face "they call you a disgrace" variety, why any thinking, discerning person would trust him again is beyond even the most sympathetic analyst this side of forever. 

    You can be the most partisan Republican, the farthest right positioned conservative, the angriest anti Democrat, a rich/or poor, old white man scared of the communist dust that gathers in your closet and still not justify voting for the deposed despot. As Republican grandees warned in 2016, he is unfit for public service and not to be trusted. This time around there are some 200 Republicans of the highest calibre, who worked for him who say the man is a danger to the world.

    He demonstrated that he is not of sound mind.

    I know there is no reaching the woman in the Trump and Jesus T-shirt saying that Joe Biden is dead, or the crowd that thinks Democrats eat babies, or that curious breed of evangelistic, they call themselves Christians, who believe that a convicted rapist, felon, swindler, is the kind of person to usher in an age when their "religion" will convert the US into the new heaven.

    I give the Donald a full thumbs up thanks for launching some of the best dog reaction videos in history and the absolute beauty of the women, Taylor Swift included, who have posted lovely and dramatic photos of themself with their beloved cat or cats. My favorites are the dogs barking or seeking a hiding spot as his Lord Narcissus blubbers on screen.

    Mom used to say if you can't say something nice about someone, say nothing.

I'll quote mom, I think she would say Donald is the best "blow hard" in the world. 

Mustering up the nicest thing I can say, I'll quote my Dad, he'd say Donald is a world class "bull shit artist."

    Millions of Americans are beginning to realize he is and has always been a fraud.

        I moderated many debates and as we entered the age when candidates answered your question with a response to their own unspoken and coached question, I'd press back, even noting when they refused to answer the question posed. ABC did a nice job of putting the question on the screen as both VP Harris and Miracle Don rarely responded to what was asked. Such evasion and obfuscation is sadly accepted as part of the performative game. 

        The moderators did a noble job of fact checking and challenging as the debate went on. With Trump, who only lies when his mouth is open, it is a near impossible task. He like many of his posse have trouble with truth, even reality.

        It's not over. Harris was competent, in command, successfully whooped Donald with prosecutorial and debate skills and showed that she can and will govern for all and promised not be a divider. Is that enough? Stay tuned.

        See you down the trail.

"Democracy's Day" in America

 

Reuters photo

Andrew Harnik Pool/AP

        America came home.

      It is as President Biden said, "democracy's day in America."

      It is the story and the images I joyfully share with my 5 year old grand daughter and 3 year old grand son, who's birthdays straddle this historic day, this day of restoration. 

        

Pool photo

        The cold January 20, 1977 when Jimmy Carter was sworn in was my first inauguration. I covered the transitions of power until I retired. I've reported many Presidential addresses. Perhaps it is the emotion of this time, but I think Biden's was brilliant, appropriate and perfect. 

        Down to earth, honest, embracing the stream of history, a moment to summon the best of us all, and a plea for unity. 

        "My whole soul is in this: Bringing America together. 

        Uniting our people.

        And uniting our nation.

        I ask every American to join me in this cause. Uniting

        to fight the common foes we face"

        Anger, resentment, hatred.

        Extremism, lawlessness, violence.

        Disease, joblessness, hopelessness."

        Not since FDR has a President faced such oppressive challenges. Not since Lincoln has the nation been so divided. In the face of this reality, we should be encouraged that a unifier, a man of faith and integrity has taken office.

       Jim Lo Scalzu Pool/AP

     Biden knows Washington as well as any President. He is a son of the Senate and has worked across the aisle since he arrived as the youngest Senator in history. His life story also gives him the mettle to guide this nation back to honesty, dignity, purpose, aspiration and hope.

     He has assembled a team of veterans and competence. The government is again in qualified and fit hands.

     As a father of daughters, I am pleased to see the ceilings broken by my former Senator, now Vice President Harris who etched several historic firsts on this inauguration day. 

     

       

Pool photo

    Lady Gaga's rendition of the National Anthem is one of the finest and most stirring. It had an extra emotional interpretation in the light of January 6.

Susan Walsh Pool/AP

    

The nation has turned to a new direction. Intelligence and quality are on duty. There is a reason to hope, again.

Pool photo

    The astounding Amanda Gorman, the youngest poet laureate spoke with a wisdom of the ages.

    "We lift our gaze not to what stands between us but what stands before us...

    "...If we merge mercy with might and might with right, then 

    love becomes our legacy and change our children's 

    birthright...

    "...When day comes, we step out of the shade of flame and 

    unafraid the new dawn balloons as we free it

    for there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it

    If only we are brave enough to be it."

    The republic has stepped out of the day of division, the night of evil, the carnage of deceit and delusion. Hard days and tough work are ahead, but we have a steady hand, a ready soul, and a man who believes in America to guide us. 

    We can once again be the beacon, the America of aspiration, "If only we are brave enough to be it."

     See you down the trail.

        

    

In the weeds....

we need a little more light

     After four nights of "debates" some thoughts emerge.

• By next summer when the Trump campaign and the Democrat candidate's organization meet to discuss a debate format they should agree to avoid inviting any networks to the planning discussions.

      The Fox "Town Halls," the MSNBC Nights of Ten and the CNN Debate are not working nor are they helpful. The Fox sessions have been the most revealing. The CNN outing was  particularly goofy.

      The CNN questioners came off as more interested in provoking confrontation and argument rather than exploring issues and leadership qualities. The questions were contrived and off the point. They may think setting up "battles" and provoking challenges will hold audience, but they do little of value. And sadly most of the candidates took the bait. We are a culture showing signs of intellectual decline. 

       

• Most of the questions were framed about issues that exceed Presidential mandate or control. 
• Health care for example is the province of the legislative branch. A President may help shape his or her party's position, but the House and the Senate write the law and the President approves or not. LBJ exercised some influence over Medicare but he was a powerful legislative force, the likes of which no longer exist. Obamacare was the work of the House and Senate. Getting into minutia is meaningless, but it gives the candidates a chance to argue with each other.
• Ditto immigration policy. A President's view is not unimportant, but any meaningful immigration reform will come from Capitol Hill. Does the candidate have an idea about how to fix the problem? Hear it and move on, the specifics, the details will be something other than what any of the candidates say.
• US voters like to probe and poke Presidential candidates, but often a President's major action is in reaction, to legislation more more likely to events at home and abroad. It's good to know the measure of a candidate's mettle, but there's been more peripheral and contrived controversy in what we've seen so far. It's resembled a cattle call.

the democrat road show

    The Democrats have shown they have a wide range of candidate philosophy, from moderate right to progressive.

     Who speaks to and for voting constituencies that will control the election outcome? The long political season will help to shake it out.  

       

    Joe Biden is the target now. With his decades of service his long record is being picked apart by Harris, Gillibrand  Booker, De Blasio, and others. He has what they don't, poll numbers. As the Front runner he's a target, but that's lame politics and dangerous. 
     What debaters say now could make it a challenge to take back and/or support the eventual candidate. Taking each other apart is off target, off message, damaging, and not helpful. It is a silly sport.
       All of the Demos want improvement in the health care system and want to stop Trump's destruction of what is left of the Affordable Care Act. They argue about how to do it. A legislative process will deliver the specifics, but viewers are being given a chance to see the wide range of Democratic thinking and that maybe helpful, to a point. 
      Elizabeth Warren keeps telling us she has a plan. They all should and it would be more helpful to hear those plans than the kind of wonky food fight we've seen so far. More intelligent and less confrontationally contrived questions would help.
     

a long way up

    I heard a long time Washington insider, a veteran of Capitol Hill, campaigns and the media say if there was truly a leader of the Democrat Party, she or he would get all of the candidates in the same room and remind them the person to defeat is Donald Trump and the message should be to the public, not to play act in some silly charade game like the TV debates have been.

     Two long shots have sounded wise and for the most part stayed out of the tit for tat food fight.  Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Buttigieg have appeared to be thoughtful and less combative, though Gabbard hit Harris hard on Health Care.

Interestingly, they are both military veterans and have been tested by more than political bull shit. 

    

     If I were advising a candidate I'd tell them their core audience should be working women with children and the overlay would be 18 to 45 year old working people. The outer core of voter would be women 45 plus. 

     Those groups are both urban and rural.  I may be entirely wrong. I've been covering politics since 1964 and my hunches have been both spot on and dead wrong. My gut tells me women voters are the jackpot in 2020. And, according to the Sevareid rule, I reserve the right to change my mind. 

     See you down the trail. 

In Redaction

Mueller the cat is fine until he goes to the Barr

     Mueller the cat discovers you can't be too careful about who you believe. You trust the wrong person with the truth and it's like they steal your head.

life by headlines

   # It is no surprise, but William Barr's reputation is getting kicked like the soccer ball at the playground. Time to ponder him later. 

    # The other headline is what got left out of the early "review." In journalism we call it "burying the lead." 

     Which lead, you ask? What strikes me at the moment is the summary implication of the Mueller Report.

      By way of explanation it seems that Kamala Harris, for example, could say one day-

      "China, if you have any information on the Trump regime, maybe e-mails, tell us about it." 

       She could encourage China to get active in social media and try to get her elected. Maybe she could meet with Chinese agents in Trump Tower to talk about their helping her campaign. 

     Or Kirstin Gillibrand could do likewise with Saudi Arabia, Sanders with North Korea, Warren with Norway.

     It is not illegal to meet with foreign governments who interfere in our election and who work to get you elected, and it is not illegal to deny the meetings or lie about what went on. It is not illegal to re-Tweet or post on social media, outright fabricated stories designed to sew divide in your nation.

     Oh and it's not illegal to secretly connive to build a hotel in any one of those locations, and to lie about that. So there!

     Can you picture the field of debate candidates all wearing blazer flag patches, or pins of their "interfering sponsor."       

     Can't you hear the announcer- 

     "Candidate Pete Buttigieg, sponsored by Oxford University, Betto O'Rourke running this year with interference from Mexico, Corey Booker who is meeting with agents from Canada, Joe Biden who is working on a resort deal in Sydney..."

such is the trump precedent

     The obvious question, if they did nothing wrong, why did they lie about so much? 

      There is so much more life in the Mueller report and on even more serious avenues. 

     The most immediate casualty is William Barr.

     The journeyman Republican lawyer joins a crowd of those made toxic by Trump. He was no brilliant scholar but he paid his dues as a conservative apparatchik. He was not a major player, but his reputation did not have stink on it, until he publicly auditioned to join the gang and then displayed what it  is to be a trump pimp.

wait till mueller talks

      The report is a treasure of findings and insight. Listen to the analysts as you will, but take time to read as much of the report for yourself. Read coverage from a range of views and try to ignore the obvious television yack yacks. 

      This began when Russia interfered in our election and did what they could to get Trump elected. How all of us, and some of us in particular responded to such an obvious intellectual, emotional and informational invasion draws the measure of our character. 

       Several investigations continue. The legislative branch will now exercise it's authority and role. What is toxic and flesh eating in the American body politic becomes more obvious. 

        We just may learn the faces of treason and the motivation of personal greed, and find a new bottom in integrity, capability and national fidelity. 

       

        but for now, a drive in wine country 

 Halter Ranch Winery

 it's a great year for lupine, even in the vineyards

  Oh, and Cheers! As one observer noted: as much as he tried to obstruct and rant and rave, Trump was unable to break the judicial system, because some around him refused to do what he asked or demanded. But, he tried....and now 

the ball moves to the Congressional Court. 

   See you down the trail.

Which Turn on the U.S. Political Road?

an old and less traveled road

between Templeton and Cambria

recovery or precipice

     Wise analysts remind us we should never say never in politics. What is true today can change in a flash, or a tweet.

      During decades of reporting, I considered politics the greatest American spectator sport. It is not so great anymore, but we are all governed by the tawdry game. The great parties are in tatters, unsure of their future. Citizens demand a better system. The nation is divided, depressed, angry and must make hard choices. 

      Politics has become a profession, attended to by an industry of consultants and specialists; opposition researchers, analysts, pollsters, communication directors, fund raisers, etc. and it all comes down to money. Consequently the government we have given ourselves has been commercialized. Follow the money. It is all about money. H.L. Mencken was right "In other words, government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advanced auction of stolen goods."  The complete quote will follow below in this post.

      Regardless, we must live with and endure the consequence of the government and those we elect to govern and those who feed, fuel and whisper in their ears.

into the woods we go

     Despite the invocation of the seasonal cliche' this election is the most important ever, the November mid-terms will have significant impact on where we head. It is the starter's gun for the 2020 Presidential election and the life altering fall out that follows. The mid-terms also have a more immediate importance to this presidency, the investigations, and the discord in America.

the big circus

     What does it mean to be a Republican? What does it mean to be a Democrat? I've posted previously on the irrelevance of such, though those who self identify, and those of us who live under their rule will pay attention as both parties try to find either their soul and/or a standard bearer. Who will be their Presidential candidate?

     Before we look at the possible choices and scenarios-

the democrats right turn

and its consequence

    Here are some unknowables, but worthy of pondering. What if Al Gore or Gary Hart had won the Democrat nomination in 1988 instead of Michael Dukakis? More importantly, what if Jerry Brown or Paul Tsongas would have won the 1992 nomination instead of Bill Clinton? 

    Gore and Hart had Washington experience and were wiser in the wonky ways of budgets, defense programs, technology and yes social entitlements. But, the big chip is the 92 nomination of Slick Willie over more liberal candidates of Brown and Tsongas.

     Clinton and his DLC, Democratic Leadership Council, were all about moving the Democrats toward the right and steering away from the leftward lean of the 60's, 70's and 80's. 

    John Kerry might have been able to move the party back to the left. The death of Ted Kennedy also created a lack of a leftward steering wind in the party. But Clinton's tenure and later Hillary's influence pushed the Democrat party right and into the laps of big money, big business and resulted in NAFTA, repeal of Glass-Steagall, and tried to rewrite Democrat ethos. 

    It also allowed Republicans to abandon their once centrist views and to pander to the right wing, one issue zealots and their kook fringe. As we know they fed that cousin they kept under the basement stairs until it got strong enough to eat and dismember the traditional Republican party. Remember the slew of old line Republicans who retired or who got caught up being "primaried" by the Tea Party/Liberty Caucus?

     People who consider Barack Obama a liberal are caught in this kind of psychological optical illusion. It was created by the Democrats move to the right and the Republican move to the extreme right, populated by self-centered philosophy, that in turns makes Obama look liberal by comparison. That or people simply don't know what they are talking about, and are disconnected from history and knowledge. Bernie Sanders may be liberal, Barack Obama was not. Clinton was a major enabler of big money influence in and on government. Clinton took the Democrat party to bed with forces liberal Democrats and old Democrats warred with.

     Since Clinton the U.S. "center" has moved right and we even have populations that cheer and celebrate bully authoritarianism. 

the hard scrabble trail ahead

     Both parties now face a challenge and who they select, and how they do it will have influence on the nation as well as the parties, long beyond the 2020 Presidential race.

the democrats

      The Democrats are at odds, more so than usual. Modern Democrats have frequently resembled a knife fight or rumble but now they have deeper issues. It is my take they must also resolve generational leadership issues as well as determine what they believe. Is lashing together coalitions to take precedence over advocating social agendas, defense policies and etc? 

       Soon we will begin to see the Democrat talent show as we watch a leader emerge. Who will the Democrats turn to? At this writing the list of potential contenders is long.

--Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu

--Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown

--New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

--Conn. Senator Chris Murphy

--Former NY Mayor Bloomberg

--Former Atty. General Eric Holder

--Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe

--Former Mass. Governor Deval Patrick

--New York Senator Kirsten Gillenbrand

--New Jersey Senator Cory Booker

--California Senator Kamala Harris

--Mass. Senator Elizabeth Warren

--Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders

--Former Vice President Joe Biden

And there are others who have been getting attention.

--Montana Governor Steve Bullock

--Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro

--Col Governor John Hickenlooper

--LA Mayor Eric Garcetti

--Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley

--Washington Governor Jay Inslee

--Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz

   The debates, forums, town halls and speeches will provide a context for the nation to watch a tone, policy and approach begin to emerge. That will help to shape and form what this new iteration of the party may become. 

   I suspect one of the toughest matters for Democrats is how to absorb, accommodate or perhaps dismiss the kind of insurgency we see in candidates who identify with Democratic Socialism, non traditional or radical approaches.

   I anticipate more of that in the years ahead. By nature of this force, Democrats may steer again toward liberal thinking. 

the republicans

     The Republican party is in tatters. The speaker of the House resigns from government because he cannot discipline the party and especially the disruptive liberty caucus. The Senate is playing footsie with the occupant of the White House as crazy and malicious as he is. They are in the sway of a Shakespearian tragedy. They have sacrificed their decades of value on foreign policy to lay down with a Russian stooge.

      Think how the world would be so much different and the enmity in the US so much less if John Kasich, or Marco Rubio or even Ted Cruz had won the nomination. Speculate even if one of them had defeated their reviled Lady Hillary.

A much different reality emerges.

       The nation watches to see if the vestige of traditional Republican values will find a standard bearer to rise up and fight what even his staff refers to as the vile and mad idiot.

       Republicans could begin the road to redemption if someone challenges Trump. Possibilities?

--Ohio Governor and former Congressman Kasich

--Arizona Senator Jeff Flake

--Texas Senator Ted Cruz 

--Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse

    Our culture has a tendency to mythologize. People often look a little better when time works as a lapidary. Politics has always been rough, but we seem stuck in a phase where a sense of vision is lacking, where principle is discarded for expediency and where money rules. Perhaps these internal fights in the two major parties will lead to something better.

We can hope.

     "The state-or, to make matters more concrete, the government-consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to seek out groups who pant and pine for something they can't get, and to promise to give it to them. Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time it is made good by looting 'A' to satisfy 'B'. In other words, government is a broker in pillage and every election is a sort of advanced auction on stolen goods." H.L. Mencken

   See you down the trail.