I don't need the government to give me meaning. I just want it to keep the knobs and dials of the economy well tuned. And I want it to allocate resources to useful programs like research and helping people who can't navigate life as productive citizens.
We don’t need more rudderless talk….Biden is not worth a second thought. Close the Damn Border! We are doomed if they (Congress) don’t do anything about it.
This point expressed by Kaus is exactly what so many of the leftist big time economists are completely missing. Their wonderment at why Mike the Mechanic isn't heartened by the GDP or the rising stock market is because they don't realize that Mike doesn't play on that field. For the rest of us the economy is not great and the national debt is the Sword of Damocles waiting to fall on our head - or worse the heads of our children. And, as Kaus details, our overall future is terribly and terrifyingly unclear and we are bereft any real leadership from either side of the aisle to inspire us to think about more than survival. No wonder we circle close in our family and tribal groups and only play defense.
Finally something that makes sense in a positive way about the political and cultural moment. There is nothing for us to live for. We are a species that needs big things to look forward to, big things to live for. That’s what has kept the world moving forward over the last half century. It was the global American Dream.
But that dream is on the downslide. That is one of the things causing such cynicism. And it is a negative feedback loop. Americans turn inward where there is no dream, so the whole world turns inward, towards more isolationist self-serving ideas. And no one cares about, or is working towards, bigger, altruistic ideals. But that spirit needs renewed strength, or something to replace it. That’s the kind of thing I talk about at the end of my novel. But I have never seen it so well expressed as I see it here.
I wish I shared your faith in leadership as the answer to our search for meaning. Unfortunately not all leaders turn out to be Abraham Lincoln. In fact some of them turn out to be Adolph Hitler. And when we’re talking about a search for meaning, that leaves a lot of lost souls to the mercies of cults, which can range in consequence from mass suicide to mass murder, depending on the nature of the leader.
Some even view Trumpism as a kind of cult. And I suppose there is some truth to that, except that he is offering something a little more mainstream than most others. And that does have a lot to do with the search for meaning. The only problem is that the meaning found in Trump’s candidacy is about destroying the political system, if not the country as a whole, certainly as we know it. And I guess it says something about the state of a country when so many of its citizens turn to someone like him for meaning.
Sorry, Bartholomew, are you telling us you are one of those who believes & fears “Trump’s candidacy is about destroying the political system, if not the country as a whole, certainly as we know it …”
Now, sir, please tell us how you really feel about Biden’s country, his leadership, and the Democrat minions who are in power now. And how you see America moving forward when Biden (who surely will be) is reelected?!
Where to start? First of all none of this is about supporting Biden. Like most people on my side of the Biden/Trump divide, it’s mostly a matter of opposing Trump. And second, I get where Trump’s support is coming from. In fact back in early 2016, before the primary voting even started, I was telling everyone who would listen that Trump would win the nomination and then beat Clinton in the general. And it wasn’t just the numbers or his political abilities. It was also the underlying forces that told me that.
And that is why I get why people support him. I get why men, especially working-class men, are so pissed at the political elites, and those in academia and the media who support them. As I wrote in a recent piece, “In the game of identity politics, working-class white men are the only voters without an identity – at least none that has positive value.” The only identity white working-class men “enjoy,” is that they are “known” to be the reason for all the hatred and oppression in the world. Which is all they hear from morning to night in mainstream media, and from Hollywood and academia.
So I get why they think of Trump is their avenging hero. He hates those people too. Except that for him it’s for very different, more personal reasons. For him, it’s about the fact that all those rich and powerful New Yorkers in real estate and the media and elsewhere have been ignoring and ridiculing him for so long. So I get why he’s out to get them and everyone like them, and why his supporters love him for that. Because they have plenty of reason to hate them too.
But that doesn’t mean he’s doing it for them. Quite the contrary. Everything Trump does, he does for Trump and Trump alone. And his closest supporters and most loyal lieutenants, have learned that the hard way. And while Biden may be destructive in a rust and decay kind of way, Trump is destructive in a napalm kind of way, destroying everything in his path.
So I get that there are plenty of problems with politics. But I don’t think that’s worth destroying the entire system, or for that matter the entire American-inspired and American-created global world order. And that is what Trump will do, if it serves his personal, narcissistic interests. He will burn and blow up everything that gets in his way, including the American Constitution. And that should concern everyone, no matter how they feel about politics today.
If I may, I was NOT a Trump supporter, but I would NEVER have voted for Hillary, and many others felt the same. We voted AGAINST her. Trump won.
Surprisingly, before COVID, Trump’s Presidency did NOT end up being the “scorched earth, end of the world disaster” the Left was preaching and hoping for! Even with Hillary and the Democrats desperately trying to vilify him (with their MSM Propagandists help!), America thrived!
Of course, Trump haters will deny it, or they will credit Obama for passing on to Trump a healthy economy. Those with Trump Derangement Syndrome will NEVER give Trump any credit for anything positive.
Yet, under Trump we had NO new wars! Perhaps because he is a bloviating narcissist and comes across as “unhinged” to some, he made it perfectly clear to the World Leaders that he put America’s Best Interest before all else! Did you notice how quiet they were? After all, he wrote a bestseller The Art of the Deal, and interacted with our enemies as if he was doing business with them. Imagine that! And, it totally caused meltdowns with the Democrats & RHINOS!
Not being a DC swamp dweller, and beholden to no one, Trump couldn’t be controlled or intimidated or influenced!
Speaking of war, Trump had a plan in place to withdraw from Afghanistan WITHOUT leaving dead American service members, or innocent civilians, and CERTAINLY NOT Billions of dollars worth of new military equipment to the Taliban! Biden screwed that up.
Trump did more toward possibly securing
Peace in the Middle East, had he won a 2nd term, and been able to carryout the Abraham Accord, than Presidents before, or since! Plus, no one could question his loyalty to Israel. Biden screwed that one up, too.
But, what was probably more important to “middle America“ was our economy! Retirement accounts were at all time high earnings, because the stock market was doing great! Grocery store shelves were stocked full, prices were low & affordable, gasoline prices were low, building cost were affordable and materials were available, job numbers were up, especially among black people, with a promise of MORE jobs, and since Trump was not anti fossil fuels in America, growth & prosperity for drilling & refineries were successful!
If I say Biden screwed ALL that up, his defenders will blame COVID, or Putin, and of course, blame Trump!
What about the border?? Under President Trump our borders were more secure than in the previous 40 + years! WHY? He didn’t insist on needing a Billion more dollars to hire a Million MORE NEW AGENTS & JUDGES. Trump didn’t insist his hands were tied unless Congress passed NEW LAWS! He pushed for a WALL, and Biden said, “Trump’s a RACIST for building a Wall”!
So why was Trump successful in a more secure border? And, WHY has Biden screwed it up so badly??
The bigger question is WHY did Biden campaign on, then carry out those campaign promises his first 100 days in OFFICE, literally undoing everything Trump had in place to secure our border?
And Biden bragged on himself for doing it!
Will Trump have a chance to be reelected in November? I doubt it. After all, Joe Biden is “the most popular president in the history of America” AND as the “Great Uniter Adult in the WH” his minions told everyone, “Biden beat Trump and his MAGA, neo-Nazi, White Supremacist, gun toting & Bible thumping
ignorant Deplorable's with 81 million votes”
IF it’s left up to the Biden alphabet enforcer (DOJ, DOD, FBI), + the WOKE Progressive Democrats and RINOs, I don’t think Trump will make it to the November election. That’s good news if voting for Biden is working for you
There’s a lot here, and each issue probably needs a whole post to respond properly. And much of this kind of stuff is a matter of opinion, whether Trump did a better job than Biden did or Clinton would have done. And I’m sure we’d each have facts to back up our positions.
But if I was to pick one issue, I would pick one you didn’t mention, China – and one aspect of his dealings with China in particular. I’m talking about his canceling of the Trans Pacific Partnership.
The whole purpose of the TPP, as Obama negotiated it, was to isolate China from the rest of the world economically, by excluding them from the trade deal. And China was really pissed about that. Plus the countries in the region were so keen on isolating China, they gave in on a lot of issues making it a great deal for the US.
But Trump didn’t seem to understand any of this. Since it involved foreign trade, he assumed it was good for China, which could not have been further from the truth. In fact when he killed the deal on the first day or so of his presidency, the Chinese were said to have been popping Champaign bottles in Beijing.
And that is just one example of the danger someone like Trump poses the country and the world. He shoots from the hip on everything. And his depth of understanding is as shallow as a sidewalk rain puddle. Plus, he only thinks about his own personal interests. And he figured it was good politics to oppose the TPP, because it was easy to sell to his supporters, being about trade and therefore supposedly about opposing China.
And I get that him being seen as unhinged does have its advantages on the global stage. But him ACTING unhinged has its dangers, and big ones at that.
If I may, I was NOT a Trump supporter, but I would NEVER have voted for Hillary, and many others felt the same. We voted AGAINST her. Trump won.
Surprisingly, before COVID, Trump’s Presidency did NOT end up being the “scorched earth, end of the world disaster” the Left was preaching and hoping for! Even with Hillary and the Democrats desperately trying to vilify him (with their MSM Propagandists help!), America thrived!
Of course, Trump haters will deny it, or they will credit Obama for passing on to Trump a healthy economy. Those with Trump Derangement Syndrome will NEVER give Trump any credit for anything positive.
Yet, under Trump we had NO new wars! Perhaps because he is a bloviating narcissist and comes across as “unhinged” to some, he made it perfectly clear to the World Leaders that he put America’s Best Interest before all else! Did you notice how quiet they were? After all, he wrote a bestseller The Art of the Deal, and interacted with our enemies as if he was doing business with them. Imagine that! And, it totally caused meltdowns with the Democrats & RHINOS!
Not being a DC swamp dweller, and beholden to no one, Trump couldn’t be controlled or intimidated or influenced!
Speaking of war, Trump had a plan in place to withdraw from Afghanistan WITHOUT leaving dead American service members, or innocent civilians, and CERTAINLY NOT Billions of dollars worth of new military equipment to the Taliban! Biden screwed that up.
Trump did more toward possibly securing
Peace in the Middle East, had he won a 2nd term, and been able to carryout the Abraham Accord, than Presidents before, or since! Plus, no one could question his loyalty to Israel. Biden screwed that one up, too.
But, what was probably more important to “middle America“ was our economy! Retirement accounts were at all time high earnings, because the stock market was doing great! Grocery store shelves were stocked full, prices were low & affordable, gasoline prices were low, building cost were affordable and materials were available, job numbers were up, especially among black people, with a promise of MORE jobs, and since Trump was not anti fossil fuels in America, growth & prosperity for drilling & refineries were successful!
If I say Biden screwed ALL that up, his defenders will blame COVID, or Putin, and of course, blame Trump!
What about the border?? Under President Trump our borders were more secure than in the previous 40 + years! WHY? He didn’t insist on needing a Billion more dollars to hire a Million MORE NEW AGENTS & JUDGES. Trump didn’t insist his hands were tied unless Congress passed NEW LAWS! He pushed for a WALL, and Biden said, “Trump’s a RACIST for building a Wall”!
So why was Trump successful in a more secure border? And, WHY has Biden screwed it up so badly??
The bigger question is WHY did Biden campaign on, then carry out those campaign promises his first 100 days in OFFICE, literally undoing everything Trump had in place to secure our border?
And Biden bragged on himself for doing it!
Will Trump have a chance to be reelected in November? I doubt it. After all, Joe Biden is “the most popular president in the history of America” AND as the “Great Uniter Adult in the WH” his minions told everyone, “Biden beat Trump and his MAGA, neo-Nazi, White Supremacist, gun toting & Bible thumping
ignorant Deplorable's with 81 million votes”
IF it’s left up to the Biden alphabet enforcer (DOJ, DOD, FBI), + the WOKE Progressive Democrats and RINOs, I don’t think Trump will make it to the November election. That’s good news if voting for Biden is working for you
Really interesting as to the candidate's vision. As Yogi Berra might have said, the future ain't what it used to be, and neither is prosperity.
Bill Clinton was Mr. "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow". Obama promised change we could believe in, which could hardly be vaguer but at least acknowledged change was inevitable and could be beneficial.
Trump's competing vision is to Make America Great Again, which certainly has a Back to the Future ring to it. I suppose Biden's message is that democracy is on the ballot and in the balance, all our rights are in peril, and climate change will doom us if Trump is put in charge. Kind of dark.
That said, Biden occasionally mentions his Cancer Moonshot, so he has a little bit of a health care vision going. The moonshot made the Times recently (and last December) in their story that Team Biden was going to back off from a new rule banning menthol in cigarettes. That would probably reduce smoking and cancer but would also annoy Black men.
As to a big push for increased longevity, I'd say yes, but... Biden might get on thin ice talking about aging and the ailments it brings. And I'll add that people want to live better, not necessarily longer. Some people may be thinking that living to 120 without meaningful work and social outlets may not sound like much of a win.
Thanks. All good points. I think it has to be positive--saving democracy just gets us back to square one. Obama and Clinton had it easy because the future didn't look so dramatically different then. We want to stop thinking about tomorrow!
The Biden cancer shot talk is just more of his whoppers. I would rather him talk about the kids feeling the hairs on his leg. When JFK talked about sending men to the men, everyone believed in him. No one believes Biden, just half the people hate Trump more than Biden is all.
One of the things the newsweeklies were good at in their heyday was cover stories that blended social, cultural, and economic analysis. I think you’re right the “old structure” doesn’t exist, but I think people are frustrated with Biden because the Covid years gave them a chance to pause, reflect, and vow to make big changes (move! Get a new job! Get married/divorced!) and Biden’s economic plan (high inflation+interest rates) makes those changes harder than ever. I think the “big” Biden/Meacham vision is “fight for Democracy at home and abroad” — but it’s one that seems hopelessly out of touch and irrelevant to everyone other than the Blob.
Interesting point about Biden, but you're right. Everyone with half a brain can see we are approaching a crisis point due to: 1) total and well deserved loss of trust in institutions, 2) open border invasion 3) debt reaching a very real cliff 4) uncontrolled bio-science technology in everything from sex change to bioweapon release and 5) a strong Orwellian vibe. The hereafter is not looking so great.
For the Obama-Trump-Biden voter, what's the message that would win them over?
Has to avoid immigration (weak point) and not just be anti-Trump. Maybe it's....
I see 4 threats. I see American resilience and ingenuity. Who will win?
The 4 threats. China/Russia/Iran. Climate. Next Covid. AI - which could be blessing or curse. China I still hold out hope for but we have to prepare for aggression.
Normally I'd pick USA to win over all of those. We're resilient. We always find a way. So I wouldn't fear those 4 threats.
Except....
Our kids are on screens all the time. Too many are anxious and not strong or patriotic. Too many don't grasp the First Amendment and complain about everything. Too many don't even date!
Yikes. The USA has been weakened by ourselves. By technology. Technology is often good - progress on my Cancer Moonshot to report - but the aggregate is hollowing us out.
My next Administration is all about that. Making our kids strong. Not Xi's way - not his new Patriotic Education Law. Not draping flags across the schools. Bottom up. Schools, churches, sports, libraries. Doing. Anything to get kids off screens and into Life. More into the military, more into public service, more learning a trade, more reading actual books, all getting civic education. Call me old school but that worked for us and it will work for us again.
This is not a new observation. Antonio Gramsci in 1929 wrote that "The old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters." There is a political context here that I do not understand, but it seems so fundamental and so anxiety-making that one may imagine a refuge so far distant as to be in the past or the future. The monster here is Lyin' Donny, of course.
Prosperity? Gas prices are down? I want some of what you’re smoking dude….
I don't need the government to give me meaning. I just want it to keep the knobs and dials of the economy well tuned. And I want it to allocate resources to useful programs like research and helping people who can't navigate life as productive citizens.
We don’t need more rudderless talk….Biden is not worth a second thought. Close the Damn Border! We are doomed if they (Congress) don’t do anything about it.
Terrific piece.
Thank you!
This point expressed by Kaus is exactly what so many of the leftist big time economists are completely missing. Their wonderment at why Mike the Mechanic isn't heartened by the GDP or the rising stock market is because they don't realize that Mike doesn't play on that field. For the rest of us the economy is not great and the national debt is the Sword of Damocles waiting to fall on our head - or worse the heads of our children. And, as Kaus details, our overall future is terribly and terrifyingly unclear and we are bereft any real leadership from either side of the aisle to inspire us to think about more than survival. No wonder we circle close in our family and tribal groups and only play defense.
What about Mike AND The Mechanics, are they heartened by GDP?
Not really... ...I think they are on record as needing a miracle!
Finally something that makes sense in a positive way about the political and cultural moment. There is nothing for us to live for. We are a species that needs big things to look forward to, big things to live for. That’s what has kept the world moving forward over the last half century. It was the global American Dream.
But that dream is on the downslide. That is one of the things causing such cynicism. And it is a negative feedback loop. Americans turn inward where there is no dream, so the whole world turns inward, towards more isolationist self-serving ideas. And no one cares about, or is working towards, bigger, altruistic ideals. But that spirit needs renewed strength, or something to replace it. That’s the kind of thing I talk about at the end of my novel. But I have never seen it so well expressed as I see it here.
What a terrific, inspiring piece.
A long winded way of saying lack of leadership. But I agree whole heartedly, brother.
I wish I shared your faith in leadership as the answer to our search for meaning. Unfortunately not all leaders turn out to be Abraham Lincoln. In fact some of them turn out to be Adolph Hitler. And when we’re talking about a search for meaning, that leaves a lot of lost souls to the mercies of cults, which can range in consequence from mass suicide to mass murder, depending on the nature of the leader.
Some even view Trumpism as a kind of cult. And I suppose there is some truth to that, except that he is offering something a little more mainstream than most others. And that does have a lot to do with the search for meaning. The only problem is that the meaning found in Trump’s candidacy is about destroying the political system, if not the country as a whole, certainly as we know it. And I guess it says something about the state of a country when so many of its citizens turn to someone like him for meaning.
Sorry, Bartholomew, are you telling us you are one of those who believes & fears “Trump’s candidacy is about destroying the political system, if not the country as a whole, certainly as we know it …”
Now, sir, please tell us how you really feel about Biden’s country, his leadership, and the Democrat minions who are in power now. And how you see America moving forward when Biden (who surely will be) is reelected?!
Serious question.
Where to start? First of all none of this is about supporting Biden. Like most people on my side of the Biden/Trump divide, it’s mostly a matter of opposing Trump. And second, I get where Trump’s support is coming from. In fact back in early 2016, before the primary voting even started, I was telling everyone who would listen that Trump would win the nomination and then beat Clinton in the general. And it wasn’t just the numbers or his political abilities. It was also the underlying forces that told me that.
And that is why I get why people support him. I get why men, especially working-class men, are so pissed at the political elites, and those in academia and the media who support them. As I wrote in a recent piece, “In the game of identity politics, working-class white men are the only voters without an identity – at least none that has positive value.” The only identity white working-class men “enjoy,” is that they are “known” to be the reason for all the hatred and oppression in the world. Which is all they hear from morning to night in mainstream media, and from Hollywood and academia.
So I get why they think of Trump is their avenging hero. He hates those people too. Except that for him it’s for very different, more personal reasons. For him, it’s about the fact that all those rich and powerful New Yorkers in real estate and the media and elsewhere have been ignoring and ridiculing him for so long. So I get why he’s out to get them and everyone like them, and why his supporters love him for that. Because they have plenty of reason to hate them too.
But that doesn’t mean he’s doing it for them. Quite the contrary. Everything Trump does, he does for Trump and Trump alone. And his closest supporters and most loyal lieutenants, have learned that the hard way. And while Biden may be destructive in a rust and decay kind of way, Trump is destructive in a napalm kind of way, destroying everything in his path.
So I get that there are plenty of problems with politics. But I don’t think that’s worth destroying the entire system, or for that matter the entire American-inspired and American-created global world order. And that is what Trump will do, if it serves his personal, narcissistic interests. He will burn and blow up everything that gets in his way, including the American Constitution. And that should concern everyone, no matter how they feel about politics today.
If I may, I was NOT a Trump supporter, but I would NEVER have voted for Hillary, and many others felt the same. We voted AGAINST her. Trump won.
Surprisingly, before COVID, Trump’s Presidency did NOT end up being the “scorched earth, end of the world disaster” the Left was preaching and hoping for! Even with Hillary and the Democrats desperately trying to vilify him (with their MSM Propagandists help!), America thrived!
Of course, Trump haters will deny it, or they will credit Obama for passing on to Trump a healthy economy. Those with Trump Derangement Syndrome will NEVER give Trump any credit for anything positive.
Yet, under Trump we had NO new wars! Perhaps because he is a bloviating narcissist and comes across as “unhinged” to some, he made it perfectly clear to the World Leaders that he put America’s Best Interest before all else! Did you notice how quiet they were? After all, he wrote a bestseller The Art of the Deal, and interacted with our enemies as if he was doing business with them. Imagine that! And, it totally caused meltdowns with the Democrats & RHINOS!
Not being a DC swamp dweller, and beholden to no one, Trump couldn’t be controlled or intimidated or influenced!
Speaking of war, Trump had a plan in place to withdraw from Afghanistan WITHOUT leaving dead American service members, or innocent civilians, and CERTAINLY NOT Billions of dollars worth of new military equipment to the Taliban! Biden screwed that up.
Trump did more toward possibly securing
Peace in the Middle East, had he won a 2nd term, and been able to carryout the Abraham Accord, than Presidents before, or since! Plus, no one could question his loyalty to Israel. Biden screwed that one up, too.
But, what was probably more important to “middle America“ was our economy! Retirement accounts were at all time high earnings, because the stock market was doing great! Grocery store shelves were stocked full, prices were low & affordable, gasoline prices were low, building cost were affordable and materials were available, job numbers were up, especially among black people, with a promise of MORE jobs, and since Trump was not anti fossil fuels in America, growth & prosperity for drilling & refineries were successful!
If I say Biden screwed ALL that up, his defenders will blame COVID, or Putin, and of course, blame Trump!
What about the border?? Under President Trump our borders were more secure than in the previous 40 + years! WHY? He didn’t insist on needing a Billion more dollars to hire a Million MORE NEW AGENTS & JUDGES. Trump didn’t insist his hands were tied unless Congress passed NEW LAWS! He pushed for a WALL, and Biden said, “Trump’s a RACIST for building a Wall”!
So why was Trump successful in a more secure border? And, WHY has Biden screwed it up so badly??
The bigger question is WHY did Biden campaign on, then carry out those campaign promises his first 100 days in OFFICE, literally undoing everything Trump had in place to secure our border?
And Biden bragged on himself for doing it!
Will Trump have a chance to be reelected in November? I doubt it. After all, Joe Biden is “the most popular president in the history of America” AND as the “Great Uniter Adult in the WH” his minions told everyone, “Biden beat Trump and his MAGA, neo-Nazi, White Supremacist, gun toting & Bible thumping
ignorant Deplorable's with 81 million votes”
IF it’s left up to the Biden alphabet enforcer (DOJ, DOD, FBI), + the WOKE Progressive Democrats and RINOs, I don’t think Trump will make it to the November election. That’s good news if voting for Biden is working for you
There’s a lot here, and each issue probably needs a whole post to respond properly. And much of this kind of stuff is a matter of opinion, whether Trump did a better job than Biden did or Clinton would have done. And I’m sure we’d each have facts to back up our positions.
But if I was to pick one issue, I would pick one you didn’t mention, China – and one aspect of his dealings with China in particular. I’m talking about his canceling of the Trans Pacific Partnership.
The whole purpose of the TPP, as Obama negotiated it, was to isolate China from the rest of the world economically, by excluding them from the trade deal. And China was really pissed about that. Plus the countries in the region were so keen on isolating China, they gave in on a lot of issues making it a great deal for the US.
But Trump didn’t seem to understand any of this. Since it involved foreign trade, he assumed it was good for China, which could not have been further from the truth. In fact when he killed the deal on the first day or so of his presidency, the Chinese were said to have been popping Champaign bottles in Beijing.
And that is just one example of the danger someone like Trump poses the country and the world. He shoots from the hip on everything. And his depth of understanding is as shallow as a sidewalk rain puddle. Plus, he only thinks about his own personal interests. And he figured it was good politics to oppose the TPP, because it was easy to sell to his supporters, being about trade and therefore supposedly about opposing China.
And I get that him being seen as unhinged does have its advantages on the global stage. But him ACTING unhinged has its dangers, and big ones at that.
If I may, I was NOT a Trump supporter, but I would NEVER have voted for Hillary, and many others felt the same. We voted AGAINST her. Trump won.
Surprisingly, before COVID, Trump’s Presidency did NOT end up being the “scorched earth, end of the world disaster” the Left was preaching and hoping for! Even with Hillary and the Democrats desperately trying to vilify him (with their MSM Propagandists help!), America thrived!
Of course, Trump haters will deny it, or they will credit Obama for passing on to Trump a healthy economy. Those with Trump Derangement Syndrome will NEVER give Trump any credit for anything positive.
Yet, under Trump we had NO new wars! Perhaps because he is a bloviating narcissist and comes across as “unhinged” to some, he made it perfectly clear to the World Leaders that he put America’s Best Interest before all else! Did you notice how quiet they were? After all, he wrote a bestseller The Art of the Deal, and interacted with our enemies as if he was doing business with them. Imagine that! And, it totally caused meltdowns with the Democrats & RHINOS!
Not being a DC swamp dweller, and beholden to no one, Trump couldn’t be controlled or intimidated or influenced!
Speaking of war, Trump had a plan in place to withdraw from Afghanistan WITHOUT leaving dead American service members, or innocent civilians, and CERTAINLY NOT Billions of dollars worth of new military equipment to the Taliban! Biden screwed that up.
Trump did more toward possibly securing
Peace in the Middle East, had he won a 2nd term, and been able to carryout the Abraham Accord, than Presidents before, or since! Plus, no one could question his loyalty to Israel. Biden screwed that one up, too.
But, what was probably more important to “middle America“ was our economy! Retirement accounts were at all time high earnings, because the stock market was doing great! Grocery store shelves were stocked full, prices were low & affordable, gasoline prices were low, building cost were affordable and materials were available, job numbers were up, especially among black people, with a promise of MORE jobs, and since Trump was not anti fossil fuels in America, growth & prosperity for drilling & refineries were successful!
If I say Biden screwed ALL that up, his defenders will blame COVID, or Putin, and of course, blame Trump!
What about the border?? Under President Trump our borders were more secure than in the previous 40 + years! WHY? He didn’t insist on needing a Billion more dollars to hire a Million MORE NEW AGENTS & JUDGES. Trump didn’t insist his hands were tied unless Congress passed NEW LAWS! He pushed for a WALL, and Biden said, “Trump’s a RACIST for building a Wall”!
So why was Trump successful in a more secure border? And, WHY has Biden screwed it up so badly??
The bigger question is WHY did Biden campaign on, then carry out those campaign promises his first 100 days in OFFICE, literally undoing everything Trump had in place to secure our border?
And Biden bragged on himself for doing it!
Will Trump have a chance to be reelected in November? I doubt it. After all, Joe Biden is “the most popular president in the history of America” AND as the “Great Uniter Adult in the WH” his minions told everyone, “Biden beat Trump and his MAGA, neo-Nazi, White Supremacist, gun toting & Bible thumping
ignorant Deplorable's with 81 million votes”
IF it’s left up to the Biden alphabet enforcer (DOJ, DOD, FBI), + the WOKE Progressive Democrats and RINOs, I don’t think Trump will make it to the November election. That’s good news if voting for Biden is working for you
Really interesting as to the candidate's vision. As Yogi Berra might have said, the future ain't what it used to be, and neither is prosperity.
Bill Clinton was Mr. "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow". Obama promised change we could believe in, which could hardly be vaguer but at least acknowledged change was inevitable and could be beneficial.
Trump's competing vision is to Make America Great Again, which certainly has a Back to the Future ring to it. I suppose Biden's message is that democracy is on the ballot and in the balance, all our rights are in peril, and climate change will doom us if Trump is put in charge. Kind of dark.
That said, Biden occasionally mentions his Cancer Moonshot, so he has a little bit of a health care vision going. The moonshot made the Times recently (and last December) in their story that Team Biden was going to back off from a new rule banning menthol in cigarettes. That would probably reduce smoking and cancer but would also annoy Black men.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/26/health/menthol-cigarettes-ban-biden-fda.html
As to a big push for increased longevity, I'd say yes, but... Biden might get on thin ice talking about aging and the ailments it brings. And I'll add that people want to live better, not necessarily longer. Some people may be thinking that living to 120 without meaningful work and social outlets may not sound like much of a win.
Thanks. All good points. I think it has to be positive--saving democracy just gets us back to square one. Obama and Clinton had it easy because the future didn't look so dramatically different then. We want to stop thinking about tomorrow!
The Biden cancer shot talk is just more of his whoppers. I would rather him talk about the kids feeling the hairs on his leg. When JFK talked about sending men to the men, everyone believed in him. No one believes Biden, just half the people hate Trump more than Biden is all.
Great points, Tom!
Kind of like on this website … which I miss🥹https://justoneminute.typepad.com/
One of the things the newsweeklies were good at in their heyday was cover stories that blended social, cultural, and economic analysis. I think you’re right the “old structure” doesn’t exist, but I think people are frustrated with Biden because the Covid years gave them a chance to pause, reflect, and vow to make big changes (move! Get a new job! Get married/divorced!) and Biden’s economic plan (high inflation+interest rates) makes those changes harder than ever. I think the “big” Biden/Meacham vision is “fight for Democracy at home and abroad” — but it’s one that seems hopelessly out of touch and irrelevant to everyone other than the Blob.
Interesting point about Biden, but you're right. Everyone with half a brain can see we are approaching a crisis point due to: 1) total and well deserved loss of trust in institutions, 2) open border invasion 3) debt reaching a very real cliff 4) uncontrolled bio-science technology in everything from sex change to bioweapon release and 5) a strong Orwellian vibe. The hereafter is not looking so great.
Cops don’t punish. Courts do. But they don’t, so point taken.
"show Americans they should really be happy with a sour and directionless prosperity"
Sounds like Queen H. Clinton all over again. Didn't work for her either.
Good essay.
For the Obama-Trump-Biden voter, what's the message that would win them over?
Has to avoid immigration (weak point) and not just be anti-Trump. Maybe it's....
I see 4 threats. I see American resilience and ingenuity. Who will win?
The 4 threats. China/Russia/Iran. Climate. Next Covid. AI - which could be blessing or curse. China I still hold out hope for but we have to prepare for aggression.
Normally I'd pick USA to win over all of those. We're resilient. We always find a way. So I wouldn't fear those 4 threats.
Except....
Our kids are on screens all the time. Too many are anxious and not strong or patriotic. Too many don't grasp the First Amendment and complain about everything. Too many don't even date!
Yikes. The USA has been weakened by ourselves. By technology. Technology is often good - progress on my Cancer Moonshot to report - but the aggregate is hollowing us out.
My next Administration is all about that. Making our kids strong. Not Xi's way - not his new Patriotic Education Law. Not draping flags across the schools. Bottom up. Schools, churches, sports, libraries. Doing. Anything to get kids off screens and into Life. More into the military, more into public service, more learning a trade, more reading actual books, all getting civic education. Call me old school but that worked for us and it will work for us again.
Since the future basically consists of completely selling our nation out, probably don't want to say that too loudly.
This is not a new observation. Antonio Gramsci in 1929 wrote that "The old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters." There is a political context here that I do not understand, but it seems so fundamental and so anxiety-making that one may imagine a refuge so far distant as to be in the past or the future. The monster here is Lyin' Donny, of course.
One of your best Mickey. Insight and wisdom, no bile.
Off brand! But thanks.
I really dislike that your discussions with Coulter are 100% paywalled, she won’t even give us a taste.
I can’t bring myself to subscribe to her just for a single podcast appearance, as much as I miss hearing from you.