For several years, I’ve been reading, wondering and talking about the mysteries of the mind that make some people love Trump and some people hate him. What makes some people ashamed of the ongoing chaos and racism while some people unabashedly cheer him on?
My personal Trump Derangement Syndrome ranges from the creepiness of his referring to blood coming from a female reporter’s body to stalking Hillary during the debates to wanting to quit NATO.
For starters.
I really never expected children in cages.
Then a few weeks ago Robert Mueller (who looks a bit like Lurch from the Addams Family), sent the product of two years of very hard and painstaking work to the Attorney General’s Office, where it could be razed and rebuilt before letting everyday slobs like you and I get our hands on it.
OK, I’m exaggerating, but one must keep up one’s spirits.
Speaking of spirits, one of the most cheerful Democratic women in Oak Park, Janet Haisman, posted how sad and demoralized she was when the Mueller report — allegedly no collusion, no indictments — was finished, but not released. If Janet Haisman was down, the rest of us were out cold.
In contrast, I’m practically giddy over the choices the Democrats are offering for the office of President. Well, guardedly giddy. Young, old, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, gay, straight, rich, poor, male, female, solid, and fanciful. Really, Marianne Williamson?
First, let me dispense with Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. Biden has served his country well, has a special connection to the working class, whatever that is — and knows more than a lot about foreign policy, which might not exist by the time the election comes around. Bernie’s platform of free public college, Medicare for all and a $15 minimum wage was unsettling four years ago, but is now standard progressive thinking. By the way, I hope the young’uns stick to the word “progressive” instead of “democratic socialism.” The very word “socialism” has many of my generation running for bomb shelters.
Are Joe and Bernie too old? I’m not sure. I think their problem might be their very high self-regard. It turns out that Bernie (for shame?) is a millionaire. If the other candidates are not yet millionaires, maybe they shouldn’t be in charge of our money.
Now along comes Beto O’Rourke whose appeal is that he’s appealing. He smiles and waves his arms continuously, a motion that keeps you from thinking that he, too, looks a bit like Lurch. He’s in love with his life and convinced that we should be, too. Less there than meets the eye.
Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, John Hickenlooper, Elizabeth Warren, and several seriously deluded others: Wayne Messam, Tim Ryan, Andrew Yang, John Delaney, and probably more to come.
My ticket at the moment has either Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris at the top. I have Pete Buttigieg for veep because he’s probably too young to be president.
Besides, we need to improve as a nation before we deserve him.
