Friday Insights-October 4, 2024
One debate, one hurricane, one court filing, and 180 missiles.
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Seasoned political pundits understand political loyalty better than I do. That is my top personal insight of the week. On Tuesday night, after watching the Vance-Walz debate, I wrote that the brash Ohio Senator had “won.” I based my conclusion on Vance’s civility (a surprise) and poise. Both traits were sharp contrasts with Walz, who I expected to be “unflappable” because of his time as a high school teacher. I was wrong on both counts.
After I penned my editorial, reprinted here on Substack, reader reactions started coming in. A surprising number of people, including several regular readers, politely told me I got it wrong. Vance told numerous lies (true), the worst of which was that Donald Trump had saved Obamacare. Vance also, as I expected, refused to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election. Trump also informed viewers that Trump left the White House peacefully, glossing over January 6 and noting that Trump left Washington on January 20, 2021 without having to be dragged out by his hair, i.e., did not attempt to have the military surround the White House and block the Bidens from entering.
My lesson was that party loyalists and other readers that believe Trump’s defeat to be imperative, are not ready to accept that Harris’ running mate was unimpressive in the debate. Despite stumbling over an anticipated question about an inaccurate claim that he was in Tiananmen Square in 1987 when a student protest was crushed, he fumbled trying to craft an answer.
Walz defenders set aside what I considered to be inescapable facts, just as Trump supporters accept his claim that he did nothing wrong, that E. Jean Carroll is an opportunistic liar who Trump never met, and that Trump is not descending into complete incoherence on the campaign trail.
The reality of politics is that voters will see what they want to see and ignore what they don’t.
Iran’s 180 missiles.
In the overall scheme of things, the VP debate is much ado about nothing. You cannot say the same about Iran launching a massive missile attack on Israel this week—and Israel, with American help, seems to have shot down every missile. The war in the Middle East is expanding. The next president will inherit the conflict and the difficult decision of what further American aid should be provided to Israel. There will also be questions of rebuilding both Gaza and Lebanon. We know what Trump would do, but how will a decision by a President Harris to send billions in rebuilding funds to the Middle East play out?
In reviewing America’s response to Iran, congratulations are due to President Biden. He immediately came to the support of Israel and used American military assets to shoot down missiles. He did the right thing. Maybe Biden-detractors should reflect on the week’s event and quit parroting Trump claims that the presidency is vacant. It isn’t.
Jack Smith’s bombshell court filing.
Have you read the 165-page memorandum filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith in the Trump insurrection case? The memo addresses issues raised by the Supreme Court decision in Trump vs. United States in its landmark presidential immunity case. Smith skillfully lays out facts proving that Trump’s behavior in challenging the 2020 election results were not “official acts” making Trump immune to prosecution. If Smith is right, Trump will be convicted in the case, should it ever come to trial.
Donald Trump, as expected, angrily lashed out at Smith and the “Department of Injustice,” arguing that the filing is another example of “election interference.”
If Trump wins in November, count on him to pardon himself and dozens of others, including “January 6 patriots,” on January 20, 2025.
God bless Jack Smith and his perseverance.
Hurricane Helene.
My wife and I have many friends in Southwest Florida. Most have homes in the Naples area, below where the deadly storm made landfall. In sharp contrast, huge areas further north were devastated as were several other states. Over 200 people are dead. Western North Carolina was hit with mudslides, flooding and worse. Having visited that part of NC only two years ago, I was amazed. You would assume that land that far from the coast would not suffer major damage from a storm originating in the Gulf of Mexico.
I attribute the storm to Climate Change. Why aren’t we hearing more people, including political candidates (other than Trump) say that?
I understand why Kamala Harris is not talking about climate change--she wants to win the election. I am disappointed that American politics are so screwed up that talking about an existential threat to our future alienates so many voters.
That is it for this week. Let’s hope next week is a bit quieter. Thank you for reading.