First, time out, then, the resistance
It's already been a week. But I can't get out of my head the last stanza of Ernest Lawrence Thayer's magnificent "Casey at the Bat."

"Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,

But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out."

Now, I don't know about your neighborhood, but no sun is shining, no band is playing, no hearts are light, nobody's laughing, and there's no joy in mine. America struck out on Nov. 5. Game over. Total disaster begins.

It's everything we feared. Not just losing the Electoral College, but also the popular vote. Not just losing the White House, but also the House and Senate. Not just seeing Donald Trump back in the Oval Office, but seeing Tulsi Gabbard nominated as director of national intelligence, Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense and Matt Gaetz, until two days ago under investigation for rape, attorney general. And all by recess appointment?

It's everything we feared, except worse. And those of us who correctly see Donald Trump as the vile, foul, vindictive, racist, sexist convicted felon he is are left in a state of disgust, disbelief, despair - and uncertainty about what to do next.

In the long run, there's no doubt about what we have to do next: Get back on our feet and fight back. Build the Resistance. As President Biden reminded us last week, "Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable. We all get knocked down, but the measure of our character is how quickly we get back up. ... We need to stay engaged. We need to keep going." We need to gear up to take on Trump and MAGA in two years.

Yes, but! We also need, and deserve, some time out: time to mourn, collect our thoughts, and recharge our batteries. So my advice to all my friends who, like me, have spent the last two years doing everything we could to stop Trump Two, is simply: Drop out for a few weeks. Don't watch the news. Don't read the paper. Don't get sucked into the blame game of why we lost and who's to blame. Forget about politics. Read a good book. Go out to the movies. Take a long hike.

And, by the way, we might as well, because for now we can't do anything about it, anyway. So pull out the plug for a while - until you're ready to plug back in. Meanwhile, there are plenty of distractions out there to fill your time. Let me suggest a few.

Movies. Remember, pre-Covid, when we used to go to movies often? It was fun. Let's do it again. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of good movies out there, but here's a great one: "Conclave." It's the gripping story of the election of a new pope, where politics among cardinals locked in the Sistine Chapel dwarf any political gameplaying we've seen in Congress. Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci turn in Oscar- worthy performances.

Books. Unlike movies, there are tons of good books available. I highly recommend three of my recent favorites.

"An Unfinished Love Story," by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Not an escape from politics entirely, but a lively romp through the turbulent politics of the '60s, as documented in the papers of her late husband, Richard Goodwin. He was a major player in the JFK and LBJ presidencies and, after reading this book, you'll believe you were, too.

"Kingmaker," by Sonia Purnell. Its subtitle says it all: "Pamela Harriman's Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue." Harriman was a true courtesan in Louis XIV style. As Winston Churchill's daughter-in-law, she used her charms to convince American representatives of FDR to enter World War II on the side of Britain and France. After the war, by the force of her personality alone, she conquered London, Paris, New York, and Washington - where, now an American citizen, she became the Democratic Party's top fundraiser and was named US ambassador to Paris by President Bill Clinton.

"Be Ready When the Luck Happens," by Ina Garten. In this memoir, the "Barefoot Contessa" tells the incredible story of how she went from being a low-level White House aide to owning and running a bakery in the Hamptons and becoming America's best-loved chef. Absolutely delicious!

Whatever escape you choose, enjoy the holidays. Take some time out. Then come back, ready to fight like hell!

(C)2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
 

With so many twists and turns, this presidential campaign is unlike any other: the incumbent president dropping out and endorsing his vice president; two assassination attempts against the former president; the Democratic candidate endorsed by a former Republican vice president, three former Republican members of Congress, the former Republican governor of California and Trump's former White House chief of staff, who called his boss a "fascist."

But when the dust settles, the whole story of this crazy 100-day roller coaster was summed up in two competing rallies: Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, and Kamala Harris on the Washington Ellipse. The contrast could not have been sharper. Nothing better displayed what's at stake in this election. And nothing better defined the difference between the two candidates.

Trump called his night at MSG a pure "love fest." It was just the opposite: a mass "hate fest." It's hard to imagine what still-undecided votes they were trying to appeal to, but the Trump campaign lined up the 17 most ugly, nasty, obscene, hate-filled people in the country - and put them on stage to spew their venom as warm-up speakers for Donald Trump.

The opening comments from so-called comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, calling Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage," generated the most negative publicity. But, truth be told, he wasn't the worst. He was followed by radio host Sid Rosenberg, who first called Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff "a crappy Jew", Hillary Clinton a "sick bastard" and then said" the whole f---king party, a bunch of degenerates, low lives, and Jew-haters. Every one of them."

It went downhill after that. Basically calling Kamala Harris a whore, businessman Grant Cardone warned: "Her and her pimp handlers will destroy our country." Adopting the motto of the Ku Klux Klan, Trump immigration adviser Stephen Miller said "America is for Americans and Americans only." And former Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked the idea that Kamala Harris might make history as "the first Samoan-Malaysian, low IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president."

Shortly after the rally, the Trump campaign insisted Trump himself did not agree that Puerto Rico was "garbage." But to this date, neither Trump himself nor his hapless running mate J.D. Vance has condemned or apologized for any of the racist, hateful remarks made by any speaker. Mainly because they only echo the ugly, racist, misogynist rhetoric we hear from Trump every time he opens his mouth.

If Madison Square Garden was all gloom and doom, the Ellipse was all hope and joy. Kamala Harris was the only speaker. She walked out with a huge, winning smile. She exuded confidence and optimism. She looked like a winner. She gave an excellent speech in an iconic setting, with the White House looming over her shoulder. And, much to Trump's dismay, she attracted a crowd of 75,000 people - by far the largest rally of the 2024 campaign, all of whom stayed to the very end.

Harris had two goals: to paint Donald Trump as the existential threat he is, and to portray herself as the best person with the best ideas to lead this country forward. Mission accomplished!

She began by reminding everyone of the last big speech on the Ellipse, on January 6, when Donald Trump urged his followers to storm the Capitol, did nothing to stop the violence, and now wants to pardon those criminals convicted for taking part in it. "This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and out for unchecked power," she warned the crowd.

Trump's spent the last decade "trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other," she continued. "That's who he is. But, America, I am here tonight to say to you: That is not who we are!"

Then Harris masterfully laid out the choice facing voters. In less than 90 days, she pointed out, one of us will be in the Oval Office. "Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list. When elected, I will walk in with a to-do list, full of priorities of what I will get done for the American people." She then laid out her specific goals on everything from housing to immigration to the price of groceries.

Contrast the two rallies. This election boils down to a clear choice between lies or truth, darkness or light, fear or hope, gloom or joy, past or future, unfit or fit. The survival of our democracy depends on our making the right choice.

(C)2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Most people today have never even heard of him, but I remember Pogo. During the '50s and '60s, cartoonist Walt Kelly's weekly account of the little opossum Pogo was the most popular comic strip in America, syndicated in more than 450 newspapers.

If Pogo's remembered at all, it's for one episode created by Kelly in 1970 to mark the first Earth Day. Out for a walk in the woods to enjoy the environment, Pogo finds it almost impossible to walk because of the trash left behind by uncaring hikers. At which point, Pogo famously laments: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

It's a phrase aptly applied to litter in the 1950's. And one that the media might well apply to itself today, given what's wrong with politics and why this 2024 election is so close: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

One must always be careful to paint with a broad brush. Yes, there are some reporters who are still determined to tell the truth about him. But the main reason Donald Trump is such a political force today is the failure of the mainstream media to do its job. Instead of portraying Trump as the danger he is, they give him a pass.

Let's face it. No matter how much he complains about "fake news," Donald Trump would be nowhere today without the media. He was created by the media. He's the media's Frankenstein. He was a second-class developer from Queens until, because of his playboy lifestyle, New York gossip columnists made him a celebrity. NBC's Jeff Zucker then gave him a national platform as host of "The Apprentice," a plum post Trump held for 11 years.

We forget. That's the only reason Trump was able to win the Republican primary in 2016. Not because of any actual credentials, accomplishments, or policy positions. But only because he was a television celebrity. And, as such, cable networks carried his campaign rallies wall-to-wall, while all other candidates were lucky to get their name mentioned in the nightly news.

The media put Donald Trump in the White House. And now they're trying to help him get back in. How? Not by endorsing Trump, but in more insidious ways. By taking him seriously. By making light of or dismissing his strange and increasingly dangerous comments. And by treating him as a normal candidate.

Wrong! Donald Trump is not a normal candidate and this is not a normal presidential campaign. This is not Al Gore v. George Bush. This is not Barack Obama v. Mitt Romney. This is not a choice between two candidates, one Democrat and one Republican, who differ on policy issues but who would both operate within the bounds of our democracy framed by the Constitution.

This is entirely different, and has nothing to do with political party. It's a choice between one candidate who would uphold the Constitution and another who would ignore it. A choice between one candidate who would defend our democracy and another who would destroy it. A choice between Kamala Harris, who talks substance, and Donald Trump who talks utter nonsense. Indeed, the closer we get to Election Day, the more completely bonkers Trump gets.

In the last week alone, Trump accused Harris of wanting to ban cows and all new buildings with windows. He called her "mentally impaired," "mentally disabled," and "retarded." He promised to round up and deport 15 to 20 million people who, he says, are here illegally. He demanded that ABC and CBS lose their broadcast license. He threatened to sic the National Guard or U. S. military on those he calls "enemies from within," like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Representative Adam Schiff. And he spent the first 12 minutes of a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, praising golf legend Arnold Palmer, including the size of his penis.

And how's the media responding? Either by ignoring Trump's increasingly dangerous comments or by "sane-washing" them: minimizing his whacky rhetoric to make it sound less scary.

No, no, no. With less than two weeks to go, the media must start telling the truth about Donald Trump. Stop pretending it's politics as usual. Say it out loud: These are not the statements of a normal candidate. These are the ramblings of a man who's completely unhinged and unfit for public office. As Barack Obama told a crowd in Madison, Wisconsin, this week, "You'd be worried if grandpa were acting like this." Don't let grandpa get close to the nuclear codes.

(C)2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.