On the political left are plenty of armchair activists as quick as Foghorn Leghorn to tell those actually doing how things ought to be done. Nancy Pelosi, “The Democrats” or whoever are doing it all wrong. Now a smart, ah say, a smart progressive would….
It’s like a non-driver watching someone operate a clutch from the passenger seat. The principle sounds simple. It looks simple. But try doing it the first time. God help you the first time the light turns green and you’re on an uphill incline with the driver behind you riding your bumper.
Donald Trump is one of those kibitzers from the right side of the political spectrum. Malignant narcissist that he is, he knew he could be the best American president in history. Ever. Zero experience in government? Not an obstacle. Knowing nothing was no obstacle. (He knows more about everything than anybody.) Being president would be a lark. He and his grifter family could make out like the bandits they are.
It’s certain the Beast doesn’t have a clutch and as president Trump would never have to drive it. What he does face is navigating a deadly global pandemic that has already killed 60,000-plus Americans and ground to a halt what Trump still claims credit for as “the greatest economy in the history of the world.” He’s found out being president is much harder than it looks. Or he would find out if he attempted to actually do the job.
Ezra Klein on Wednesday summarized the Donald Trump presidency in 54 words:
Donald Trump does not want to be in charge of any of this. He wants to play president on TV. He doesn’t want responsibility for governance in a time of crisis, and in every way he can, he’s refusing to do that job, and lashing out at those who ask him to do it.
Jamelle Bouie concurred:
Exactly. And this was clear from the very beginning. Recall that, after securing the nomination, he reportedly offered Kasich the vice presidency with the promise that Kasich could actually run the government while Trump would “Make America great again.”
Trump is bored with all this dodging responsibility, not answering tough questions, and being stuck in the White House. He wants to get out, play some rounds of golf, hold an adulation rally or two:
President Trump on Wednesday said he plans to resume traveling next week with a trip to Arizona after spending the past month largely cloistered in the White House due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think I’m going to Arizona next week, and we look forward to that,” he told reporters during a roundtable with business leaders.
“And I’m going to, I hope, Ohio very soon,” he continued. “And we’re going to start to move around, and hopefully in the not too distant future we’ll have some massive rallies and people will be sitting next to each other.”
Fintan O’Toole observed on MSNBC’s “The Last Word” Wednesday night the conservative valorization of risk, the notion that “real men take risks.” They don’t wear masks in a pandemic. For Trump’s whole career, he’s made others pay the cost of his bad risk-taking. Anyone who doesn’t take risks is a “loser.”
So Trump wants to gamble with other people’s lives and ramble around during a deadly pandemic.
New Orleans. New Orleans would be good. Maybe New York’s 14th congressional district (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district), the epicenter of the epicenter.
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For The Win, 3rd Edition is ready for download. Request a copy of my free countywide GOTV mechanics guide at ForTheWin.us. This is what winning looks like.
Note: The pandemic will upend standard field tactics in 2020. If enough promising “improvisations” come my way by June, perhaps I can issue a COVID-19 supplement.