Saturday, March 19, 2016

Optimism flash

Trump is scary for sure.* But after all the shit is shoveled in this shameful election season, the U.S. will probably have elected its first woman president, after twice electing its first black president. And both are arguably about the best choices a country could make. fit to govern the world's most powerful country.

"Arguably"...I have always had doubts and qualms about Clinton -- her judgment, her ties to powerful interests, her political communication skills. But she probably has as good a grasp of policy -- issue by issue, detail by detail -- as any elected official in the country. She could be a disappointment -- or even, if she gets pulled into a stupid war, a disaster. But she could be great, too. Obama, early in his presidency, defined his task as turning the battleship of state a few degrees on multiple fronts. He's done that, and Clinton would (or should) ensure that we stay the corrected course.

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* I would have thought that Trump was too obviously fraudulent, infantile and incompetent to be scary in himself. What's scary is that a substantial chunk of the electorate finds him credible -- or, if those who respond to infantile rage are always with us, that our media and political system give such a buffoon oxygen.

1 comment:

  1. "The most meme-able moment of Michelle Obama's keynote event at yesterday's South by Southwest conference and festival came when she responded to a question from her friend Queen Latifah by crooning a few bars of the Motown weeper "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday." The novelty of a first lady singing (and doing so well enough that Latifah suggested she make a single soon) was charming, if not entirely fresh; after all, Obama has rapped with Jay Pharoah, danced to Beyonce and lip-synced with Ayesha and Steph Curry." (We can add Lin-Manuel Miranda to the list.)

    For all the ugliness out there, we are living in an incredible time. As Trump and too many others have gleefully breached every standard of decency, our African-American POTUS and FLOTUS have exemplified decency, humaneness, humor and grace in a way few other occupants of the White House have. (Lincoln, Washington, ??) This old white guy can only imagine how inspirational this is to black folks, young folks, immigrants and would-be immigrants, and everyone who believes in bending the moral arc of the universe toward justice. White supremacy is not in its last throes yet, nor is the patriarchy, but if Trump gets the nom and Hillary wins, they will be closer to their deathbeds than ever. As Andrew Sullivan used to say, "Know hope."

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