I read about American politics only occasionally, as it relates to the United Kingdom. The reason is that there's simply too much noise to understand what is really going on over there. Listening the the court travail of Donald Trump is boring with a series of "gotcha" that have no real impact but to create news headlines that are quickly forgotten.
The last time I paid attention to US politics for my amusement rather than work was the 2008 US presidential election, where a woman called Sarah Palin ran for Vice President. She was the Governor of Alaska, a state rich in mineral resources, where the state government heavily taxed the extraction business so that she could claim not to tax Alaskans. She was inordinately proud of this achievement. Somehow creating a moral high ground for her party (the Republicans). It's not like Alaska invented the concept...
What then spiked my interest was a video parody of Ms. Palin on a comedy show called Saturday Night Live, where the comedians were making fun of Ms. Palin's abilities for off-the-cuff remarks. The problem was that the writers of the comedy show had not written the sketch. They quoted verbatim, they didn't change a single word or intonation. It had the impact of a nuclear bomb on her election prospects. It was maybe not the first time this ever happened but it was certainly the most dramatic use of the medium. The voters were left dumbfounded. It got worse because the American public really started paying attention to her speeches...that speech was not a fluke!
So in preparation for our visit to the United States and out of morbid curiosity, I have been listening to the two main contenders for the job of President of the United States. I've listened to Joe Biden's speeches and all I will say"Not bad for an 81-year-old guy" But that's the problem, America is considering electing an 81-year-old guy to one of the world's most demanding jobs. This shouldn't happen.
The other contender, Donald Trump, the ex-president whose legal travail seems endless, has given speeches almost every day since 2015 when he began his improbable run for the Presidency. The problem now is that he is rambling and incoherent. In the last two speeches, he talked first about magnets (and how they don't work underwater...I know, what!) and then proclaimed that he was chosen by God to be the next President. His heroes are Kim Jung Un and Vladimir Puttin. He craves the adulation they receive and sees enemies everywhere. This is possibly the more serious problem with Trump he's said on numerous occasions that when elected he would be a dictator.
Trump is old too at 78 but as President, he did a few good things. He got a new NAFTA accord passed quickly and efficiently, and he moved the US embassy to Jerusalem. It quickly became apparent that Trump is beyond lazy, uninterested and uninformed, preferring soundbites to real analysis. He liked the title and the deference but could not be bothered with the work. Proof of Trump's laziness in his first hour as President, Biden cancelled all 39 executive orders signed by Trump.
However, Biden's policies generally mirror those of Trump. On immigration and foreign policy, there is little difference between the two. He's not as much a nativist as Trump, but they are closer than either cares to admit. On the domestic front neither cares for fiscal restraints. They both want to give it all away; Trump to his rich friends and Biden in directed social programs.
As I sit here I wish our American cousins luck, their choice is two old guys: Biden is a "pro-union" guy in a party that has largely lost the unions. Trump is a crazy buffoon. Biden still believes in a form of democracy while Trump is a wannabe dictator who already creating lists of his enemies. This is not hearsay, Trump said the exact words in several campaign rallies: To rid the civil service of democrats and prosecute the media who don't support him.
What a ride!
Note: This morning I wrote a long spiel on our King and the "Andrew disaster" I erased it all. I couldn't go through with it. Instead, I decided to make fun of America's political system
Note2: Sorry if I give the impression of liking Trump, what I meant is that in his four years as president, he has two achievements: Moving an embassy, and NAFTA -- that's it. He also all but shut down the legal immigration avenue to the US. In my book destroying is not an accomplishment. It's easy
Comments