March 22, 2020
It’s probably a good thing that I don’t have to make a living as a ‘political forecaster’. If anyone had asked me six months ago where I thought Joe Biden would be in the dem’s presidential primary nomination race by mid-March I would have told them that I expected Joe would drop out after the first two debates—just due to age and exhaustion. Instead, he has managed to gaffe his way through the debates and then came the Corona virus and by the day after ‘Super Tuesday’ the DNC was declaring Joe the winner, 6 of his competitors had withdrawn from the race and 5 of those had endorsed him. Only Bernie is still standing—although severely wounded—and Elizabeth is quietly licking her wounds while trying to decide how to come out of that pandemic-induced train wreck of a contest with (drum roll, please) ‘a plan’.
Personally, I don’t think Joe ‘won’ the contest—he just managed not to lose it! In a previous blog, I had asked my list members for their opinion as to which of the many democrat candidates that have entered this race they would pick as the ‘ticket team’ to lead us through the financial chaos that I have long predicted and now has become frighteningly real. (I had chosen Michael Bloomberg because of his financial knowledge and Amy Klobuchar because she demonstrated having the most ‘common sense’ in the debates.) Given the lack of response I received to that request, perhaps my Daughter Josie’s response, summed up by one, abbreviated line, “There is not one candidate that I can get excited about” explains that problem? BTW, Josie also hopes that a woman of substance will get a chance to lead us, sooner than later. As Joe Biden would say, “Now, here’s the thing—“. And, we all must remember that Joe has promised to pick a woman as his running mate IF he wins the race. So, now the one ‘thing’ that Uncle Joe has to do NOW is; Pick the woman who has the talent, courage, and brains to be the second next President of the United States of America as his running mate in the 2020 election. Then, he and she will defeat Donald Trump and she will get the chance to run for President in 2024 because Joe will want to retire gracefully. By then the Pandemic should have run its’ course, America will be starting to come out of its’ second Great Depression, and Josie will get her wish. I just hope I’ll be here to see all of the above happen! And if that ‘all of the above’ happens, I promise that I will not claim to be a ‘political forecaster’. It just that ‘Hope springs eternal’ in poets, novelists, and socially responsible, democratic, blog writers!
Now it’s Wednesday, March 18th and three more states’ Democrat party voters have declared that they want Uncle Joe to be their man to run against Donald Trump. Bernie must feel devastated by those results because now, Joe Biden seems truly unbeatable. But, Bernie isn’t a quitter (like Bloomberg) and he just may think that something crazy has a possibility of happening to Joe and, if he just hangs on, he may still have a chance at the nomination. Frankly, ‘hope’ is all that he’s got left! I want to write a tribute to Bernie. He is a guy who truly believes that America has the potential to be a better place for all of its’ citizens to live—rather than just a fancy playground for the elite one percenters. At least Joe Biden admits he has ‘heard’ Bernie’s message. Maybe we will get the chance to see if he really meant it—within four years from now. And Elizabeth, I’m sorry to write, still hasn’t found ‘a plan’ or any kind of a plan to get out of her dark closet. She is the only ‘wild card’ left in the effluent residue of this contest. Even Tulsi Gabbard has now endorsed Joe.
Last evening, while talking by phone to a fellow (self-isolated) bridge player named Robert, I had a truly inspirational idea as to how Donald Trump could turn the corona pandemic to his great advantage. Instead of sending a thousand dollars to every adult American (who probably would just spend it on lottery tickets) how about just sending them ten rolls of toilet paper? That’s what the ‘Make American Great Again’ shoppers really want! Of course every sheet of the paper would be embossed with the Trump hotel logo or—better yet—alternate the Trump logo with a cartoon drawing of Donald’s famous face with the MAGA baseball cap on his head rendered in simple and minimal black, red and yellow line art, sort of like last week’s cover of the New Yorker magazine but smaller and much simpler, with his mouth wide open just as it is in any of his great proclamations and as it was on the magazine cover—on every other sheet. That’s the kind of financial and emotional support our electorate really needs in these deeply troubled times! Would it insure his reelection? I can’t guarantee that—but people would get what they really want and need—as well as providing a bit of ‘comic relief’ for those folks who don’t think that Trump is an exactly “Perfect” President. After four years of Donald Trump, they need and deserve some help and relief too.
And now, as my blog writing week is coming close to its’ submission deadline, it’s time for a brief ‘summing up’. Joe Biden certainly is not the ‘Knight on the White Horse’ that progressive Democrats had hoped and prayed for to challenge Donald Trump in the 2020 election. And, he often seems to have more heart than head when it comes to political matters. However, regardless of his short comings, he may be just the right candidate to pull the many and diverse factions within the Democrat party together as well as bring the more moderate members of the Republican party along with him. He must also choose, develop and announce a tough and talented, race and gender balanced staff, NOW, to show the electorate that he wants to bring America together rather than pulling it apart (just the opposite of what Trump has done) and thereby—win the 2020 election. If he does that—and brings a few more Democrat Senators into our legislature along with him—the Donald J. Trump four year nightmare will be over!
Hubris is very much concerned about the Covid-19 virus spreading around the world and considers he and I lucky to be living in New Mexico were we have only about two dozen cases in the entire state—so far. However, we are restricting our rides to staying on our own property and tight workouts in his corral. So, sorry, no Hi Ho Hubris, Aawaay! this evening! Stay safe and adios!
Lou
Copyright, March 22, 2020, Louis J. Christen