March 8, 2020
There was supposed to be a period of calm before the storm of ‘Super Tuesday’ but that ‘calm’ was shattered for me when two of the most knowledgeable and reasonable candidates (my opinion) in the Democrat presidential nomination contest not only announced they were dropping out of the race but endorsed Joe Biden as their favorite. Personally, I thought Joe should quit and endorse Amy as his candidate of choice and I wanted Pete to stay in and continue to set new standards for eloquence and decency in the debates. I’m totally sick and tired of seeing people who claim to be thinking adults engage in shouting contests when they should be formally debating the value (and costs) of their positions on the serious issues facing this country. As I see it, Bernie and Elizabeth are the children in that contest and Amy and Pete were the adults. Joe has a serious case of CRS and should be in a retirement home for political ‘has been(s)’. Tom gave up early when he finally realized that a ‘one issue’ candidate wouldn’t cut the mustard in a presidential contest. I suppose the DNC was very happy to see their hand-picked puppet candidate move to the front of the race in South Carolina. And, unfortunately, a slightly younger but mentally and financially much stronger candidate who had belatedly entered the fray is also dropping out of the race and is also endorsing Uncle Joe. His name is Michael.
So now it’s going to be Bernie and, maybe, Elizabeth on the left vs Joe on the old-fashioned and worn-out ‘middle’ of the road (The only ‘right’ side of the Democrat Party are those crusty old democratic legislators still fighting the Civil War in the South). Sad! I wanted the Democrat slate in the 2020 presidential election to be Mike—for Pres. and Amy –for Vice. (Remember when Walt Kelly wrote that famous line, “I don’t care who’s for Pres, I want to know who’s for vice!) I’m probably only guy in the world who thought the perfect ticket to beat Trump-Pence would and should have been Bloomberg-Klobuchar. That probably explains why I have a horse named ‘Hubris’. I just sent my parting shot to Mike: “Winners never quit—and quitters never win!” Elizabeth will, most likely, be the next to withdraw from the race, leaving Bernie and Joe to slug it out until November. We’ll see if either, or both, of those two fragile septuagenarians will live that long.
Now, I’m starting to wonder: did the DNC pick another ‘dead horse’ (no pun on the previous line intended) to run in the 2020 presidential election just like they did in picking and backing Hillary in 2016? Actually I didn’t ‘just start’ to think about that. I thought they were crazy from the first minute they pulled Joe Biden out of bed, propped him up behind a speaker’s podium, and, putting a gun to the back of his head, had him announce his candidacy for the democratic presidential nomination contest. Joe hasn’t acted like he really wanted that ‘job’ until the voters in South Carolina gave him a shot of adrenaline in their primary and then the ‘Super Tuesday’ results upped that dose by a factor of about ten! Joe is a professional politician. Nothing inspires a professional pol more than a cheering crowd or the sound of talking heads on TV raving about his winning results in an election. I don’t blame him for allowing the DNC to shove him back into the ring. I blame the DNC for thinking they could run a lying crook named Hillary in 2016 and now a should-be-retired, forgetful, old pol named Joe against a Donald J. Trump in 2020. However, it is possible that ‘the Donald’ will self-destruct before November 3, 2020. And, there are (at least) one or two other possibilities in this politically fraught situation. One is that neither Bernie nor Joe will have a clear mandate going into the democratic convention in mid-July and the second is that the long-expected financial crisis continues to worsen and Donald resigns before the republican convention in late August. A ‘third’ could be— the corona virus turns into a pandemic and both parties are forced to come to their senses and select candidates capable of managing the United States through the double chaos of a medical and financial panic. (Another Note; Of course that’s the ‘possibility’ that was the basis for my choice of a Bloomberg-Klobuchar ticket—the best blend of management skills and common sense I could find in the current Dem candidate field.) In summary, if you think the surprises that happened just before and just after Super Tuesday were significant, just wait—a lot more may be coming before November 3, 2020. (Note: Elizabeth Warren advised her staff that she was dropping out of the race while I was writing this paragraph.)
So let’s suppose: the market continues its’ approximate 2.5% per day drop and the corona virus continues to spread to significant levels both within the next 30 days. By the end of this month we will be entering another Great Depression along with a world-wide Pandemic. Who do YOU want to be leading our country through that mess? Can you imagine having to choose between Trump, Biden, or Sanders? Maybe PBS will have to cancel its’ soft news and ‘Brooks and Shields’ and just re-run the ‘Three Stooges’ TV series? Seriously, I’ve given this issue of ‘failed leadership’ my best shot! Now, I’d like to hear from my friends (and relatives) on my blog list. Just hit the ‘reply-all’ box and type in your pick of a president and vice-president that you think would be best suited to lead us through the bleak future I’ve just supposed. Add ‘editorial comments’ if you wish, type in your name and hit the send button. Remember, this is how democracy should work. Everybody must vote. Let’s hear it for free speech—and responsibility!
While you are voting, Hubris and I are going for our Friday evening ride. So, with a few carrots in my pocket, and a shot (or two) of Uncle Jack’s finest down my throat, I saddle up and—until next week—it’s Hi Ho Hubris, Aawaay!
Lou
Copyright, March 8, 2020, Louis J. Christen