Approximately seven years ago, Senator John
McCain made a fateful decision that Democrats would come to view as “the gift
that kept on giving.” On Friday, August
29, 2008, the GOP Nominee for President announced that he had selected 44
year-old Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. The Senator, a long serving member of the
United States Senate, had reportedly considered several candidates on his short
list, not including Mrs. Palin. It’s
fair to say, her selection was more than a little surprising.
In introducing her, Senator McCain said, “She’s not from these parts, and she’s not from
Washington, but when you get to know her, you’re going to be as impressed as I
am.”
In retrospect that was
high-octane wishful thinking. The
Senator’s prediction would never come to pass.
Of course, to her credit, she tried.
Within moments of McCain’s
announcement, Ms. Palin made an explicit appeal to the disappointed supporters
of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton by praising not only
Mrs. Clinton but also another woman who has been on a major presidential
ticket, Geraldine A. Ferraro, Walter F. Mondale’s Democratic running mate in
1984. Governor Palin said, “Hillary left
18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America, but it
turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that
glass ceiling once and for all.”
The bold proclamations of
this political odd couple were among the high points of the campaign. When it came to political seasoning, Katie
Couric revealed, just one month later, on September 29, 2008, that this empress
wore no clothes.
Ms. Couric conducted interviews
with both Vice Presidential candidates that were scheduled to air leading up to
the election. Her interview with
Governor Palin altered the trajectory of the remainder of the Campaign. It is a near certainty that for many
Americans, the exchange provided a gasp-worthy insight into the depth, or lack
thereof, of Mrs. Palin. It was a moment
no less sobering than the one in which Toto pulled back the curtain to reveal
that the supposed great and powerful Wizard was but a mere mortal, desperately
trying to create the illusion of legerdemain.
The crux of the question,
the shot heard around the world, as it were, was a basic one. What newspapers have you read to stay in
touch with world events? It unfolded, as
follows:
CBS Evening News, host Katie
Couric asked Sarah Palin which sources she relies on for the news consumption
that shaped her worldview. On three separate occasions, Couric tried to elicit
a response from Palin about which specific newspapers she reads. Seemingly
caught off guard, Palin could not name a single news source:
COURIC: And when it
comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and
magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this — to stay
informed and to understand the world?
PALIN: I’ve read most
of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media —
COURIC: But what ones
specifically? I’m curious.
PALIN: Um, all of
them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.
COURIC: Can you name
any of them?
PALIN: I have a vast
variety of sources where we get our news.
View the video:
Fast forward to present day, and there is an
inviting temptation to conflate Sarah Palin, the Quixotic 2008 Vice
Presidential candidate, and Donald Trump, the megalomaniacal 2016 GOP
Presidential Poll Leader. Mr. Trump, as
I briefly mentioned last week, continues to flout convention and flummox his
rivals. Moreover, he has captivated a
plurality of those voters who identify themselves as Republican.
It’s still reasonably early, but in the really
early going, many if not most of the so-called experts predicted that The
Donald would be a flash in the pan player that would ultimately not even be
considered “a thing.” Clearly, we are
past that point. From the outset he has
made waves. Some theorized he would
never submit to completing and releasing Campaign Finance statements necessary
to officially join the campaign. It
appears he relishes the moment…at least for the moment. He has made himself a proverbial media magnet
by making what seems like a continuing series of unusual, if not outrageous
statements and actions, including:
·
Making an initial Xenophobic statement
about Mexicans
·
Revealing Senator Graham’s
cell phone number
·
Asserting Senator McCain is
not a hero
·
Making controversial remarks
about Fox News analyst Megyn Kelly
·
Suggesting he would erect a
wall along the entire U.S. – Mexican border
·
Proposing to bomb Iraqi oil
fields
·
Providing constant reminders
that he is the richest guy ever to run for President
·
Turning his cell message into
a Campaign Ad after the Blog Site Gawker revealed his number
He has run an unorthodox campaign. Up to this point, he has proceeded in the
best Sinatra-like tradition; he has done it his way. If you have spent more than a minute of two
listening to, and being informed (I use the term loosely) by the Trump
Worldview, you have no doubt heard some, if not all of the tropes listed above.
All of this Trump magic has propelled him to a
significant lead in most major polls.
His average lead is roughly 24% to 12% to the second highest polling
candidate, which varies from poll to poll, with Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, or Ben
Carson coming in second place. This lead
is firmly entrenched when subject matter is considered, for example, the
economy, Isis, and immigration. He also
rules the gender roost, at the moment, polling 57% favorable with men, and 60%
favorable with women (both among likely Republican voters).
So this past Sunday, I had, for all practical
purposes, a déjà vu moment. Mr. Trump
was a guest on NBC’s “Meet
the Press.” When host Chuck Todd
questioned Mr. Trump on his military positions, Trump said he watches
television shows for military advice.
Todd asked,
“Let’s go foreign affairs. You want to knock the hell out of ISIS, how?”
Trump said,
“I want to take away their wealth. And as you know, for years, I’ve been
saying, don’t go into Iraq. They went into Iraq, they destabilized the Middle
East. It was a big mistake. Okay, now we’re there, and you have ISIS. And I
said this was going to happen. I said Iran will take over Iraq, which is
happening, as sure as you’re sitting there, and ISIS is taking over a lot of
oil in certain areas of Iraq. And I said, you take away their wealth. You go
and knock the hell out of the oil, take back the oil. We take over the oil,
which we should have done in the first place.”
Todd
continued, “What you’re talking about is ground troops, maybe 25,000.”
Trump
answered, “That’s okay. We’re going to circle it. We’re going to circle it.
We’re going to have so much money. And what I would do with the money that we
make, which would be tremendous. I would take care of the soldiers that were
killed, the families of the soldiers that were killed, the soldiers, the
wounded warriors that are — I see — I love them. And they’re walking all over
the streets of New York, all over the streets of every city, without arms,
without legs, and worse than that. And I would take care of them.” (I presume they have an abundance of pretty
good prosthetics…doing all that walking “with no legs). I digress.
Todd
pressed, “So, America should take over these oil fields. [They] shouldn’t be
given to the Iraqis?”
Trump added,
“Well, we can give them something, but we should definitely take back money for
our soldiers. We’ve had soldiers that were decimated, so badly hurt, the
wounded warriors, and killed, of course. But we’ve had soldiers that were so
badly hurt and killed. I want their families to get something. Because we got
nothing out of that war. We spent $2 trillion, Chuck. We had thousands of people
killed, wounded warriors all over the place. They got nothing, and they can’t
even say we had a victory.”
Todd asked,
“Who do you talk to for military advice right now?”
Trump
answered, “Well, I watch the shows. I mean, I
really see a lot of great — you know, when you watch your show, and all of the
other shows, and you have the generals, and you have certain people –.”
Okay, it was
right about there I though, this guy is channeling Sarah Palin…circa 2008.
Todd
continued, “But is there somebody, is there a go-to for you? Every presidential
candidate has a go-to.”
He was
really trying to help him regroup, as Ms. Couric did for Mrs. Palin, over, and
over again. This is borderline scary.
Trump
answered, “Probably there are two or three. I like Bolton. I think he’s a tough
cookie, knows what he’s talking about. Jacobs is a good guy –.”
Todd asked,
“You mean Ambassador Bolton? You mean Colonel Jack Jacobs?”
Trump
confirmed saying, “Colonel Jack Jacobs is a good guy, and I see him on
occasion.”
Really? Last week, I wrote about the contemporary
Republican bent toward anti-intellectualism; even anti-higher education. That was aimed at several of Mr. Trump’s GOP
cohorts, but most notably, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who left Marquette
University without obtaining a degree.
Let’s be clear, Scott Walker is no Donald Trump. Mr. Trump holds a B.S. Degree from the
University of Pennsylvania, a prestigious Ivy League school.
However, his
admitted penchant for extracting military advice from TV is more than mildly
disconcerting. While he did not list
stations by name, the network of choice for most self-respecting Conservatives
is Fox News. I hate to think of where
extrapolating might lead, using that factoid.
So I won’t. I suspect most of
those experts I referenced earlier still expect Mr. Trump’s Campaign to fade as
we get into more debates and the Primary Season.
When I think
of the prospect that Governor Palin made it to the Final Four, so to speak, and
that Mr. Trump is leading his Party at the moment, I realize what a tenuous
hold we have on the land of the free and home of the brave. Now is certainly the time for all good men
and women to come to the aid of their country…and vote (Make sure you have a
valid ID). After all, we have already
witnessed “The Donald: Introducing TVMilitary Doctrine!”
I’m done; holla back!
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