TRUMP VANQUISHED
THOUGHTS ON A DAY OF MIRACLES
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“ONE THING IS CLEAR,” I said to Mr. O.
“What’s that?” the profoundly politically advanced opossum giggled.
“No matter what we say today, it cannot adequately capture the joy and importance of the moment,” I said. “Lots of people are going be able to describe it more eloquently, more profoundly, with greater depth.”
“Ha, ha, ha,” Mr. O said, “Phoebe, you are such a laugh riot.”
Demonstrating that, even on a day of great miracles, there are always more surprises. Who could have predicted that a marsupial could giggle and laugh?
Sobering up for a moment, Mr. O said:
“It’s still hard to believe that Joe Biden has beaten Donald Trump.”
“And hard not to sit here and bawl my eyes out,” I said.
“I know, ladies are so emotional,” Mr. O sniffed, turning his head away from me for an obvious reason, while using his long, dreadful tail to flick away what indisputably was a tear coming from one of his teddy bear-like eyes.
“It’s such a relief,” I said. “It’s everything we hoped for, dreamed of, and really, really wondered whether we’d ever see: nearly identical headlines on both the Washington Post’s and New York Times’ webpages: BIDEN BEATS TRUMP (the Times) and BIDEN DEFEATS TRUMP (the Post). Can you believe it?”
“I think we’ve covered the surprise and wonderful part,” Mr. O said. “But no, I can’t believe it, even though we both knew it was always possible.”
“What’s that?” the profoundly politically advanced opossum giggled.
“No matter what we say today, it cannot adequately capture the joy and importance of the moment,” I said. “Lots of people are going be able to describe it more eloquently, more profoundly, with greater depth.”
“Ha, ha, ha,” Mr. O said, “Phoebe, you are such a laugh riot.”
Demonstrating that, even on a day of great miracles, there are always more surprises. Who could have predicted that a marsupial could giggle and laugh?
Sobering up for a moment, Mr. O said:
“It’s still hard to believe that Joe Biden has beaten Donald Trump.”
“And hard not to sit here and bawl my eyes out,” I said.
“I know, ladies are so emotional,” Mr. O sniffed, turning his head away from me for an obvious reason, while using his long, dreadful tail to flick away what indisputably was a tear coming from one of his teddy bear-like eyes.
“It’s such a relief,” I said. “It’s everything we hoped for, dreamed of, and really, really wondered whether we’d ever see: nearly identical headlines on both the Washington Post’s and New York Times’ webpages: BIDEN BEATS TRUMP (the Times) and BIDEN DEFEATS TRUMP (the Post). Can you believe it?”
“I think we’ve covered the surprise and wonderful part,” Mr. O said. “But no, I can’t believe it, even though we both knew it was always possible.”
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WE CONFERRED a while longer in our backyard, where we have our daily political conversations.
And today it wasn’t a chore, given that it was a remarkably warm summer day here in Newport, R.I., even though it was early November.
We decided that on the day when the networks, the newspapers and the news services all agreed that enough votes had been counted to declare Biden the winner, that we ought to to say something.
So, we came up with the following:
Joe Biden was (and is) The One.
Biden was practically nobody’s first choice of a candidate, but he turned out to be the only Democrat who could have beaten Donald Trump. And “we’ – the editorial “we” who write the Tracking Trump blog – were among the dorks who completely missed that point.
But as it turns out, Biden was and is the one person who could unite the self-destructive factions of the Democratic Party, along with Donald-Disaffected Republicans and lots of other people who really hated politics but disliked Trump more.
One day, we went so far as to write a snarky anti-Biden post: GO JOE – GO AWAY. A lot of readers (and we use the phrase “a lot” advisedly) liked that one.
And everyone hated a later one, in which we took a “2nd look”: MAYBE BIDEN IS THE RIGHT ONE TO TAKE ON TRUMP.
And today it wasn’t a chore, given that it was a remarkably warm summer day here in Newport, R.I., even though it was early November.
We decided that on the day when the networks, the newspapers and the news services all agreed that enough votes had been counted to declare Biden the winner, that we ought to to say something.
So, we came up with the following:
Joe Biden was (and is) The One.
Biden was practically nobody’s first choice of a candidate, but he turned out to be the only Democrat who could have beaten Donald Trump. And “we’ – the editorial “we” who write the Tracking Trump blog – were among the dorks who completely missed that point.
But as it turns out, Biden was and is the one person who could unite the self-destructive factions of the Democratic Party, along with Donald-Disaffected Republicans and lots of other people who really hated politics but disliked Trump more.
One day, we went so far as to write a snarky anti-Biden post: GO JOE – GO AWAY. A lot of readers (and we use the phrase “a lot” advisedly) liked that one.
And everyone hated a later one, in which we took a “2nd look”: MAYBE BIDEN IS THE RIGHT ONE TO TAKE ON TRUMP.
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Which reinforces the point that none of us has all the answers, especially a sweet dog and an optopossumistic opossum.
Humility is critical. Let’s hope Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. can hang onto his.
Many, many heroes
There have been thousands upon thousands of people who worked hard and worked smart, especially at the grassroots, to build new democratic structures, coalitions and new alliances that brought Trump down.
They now may help to bring about great reforms to make it less likely that an evil demagogue will again take over the U.S. government in the way Trump has done.
We’ll never know most of their names. But they started during the inspired Women’s Marches the day after Inauguration in 2017, wearing those great pink pussy hats. And we owe them.
Humility is critical. Let’s hope Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. can hang onto his.
Many, many heroes
There have been thousands upon thousands of people who worked hard and worked smart, especially at the grassroots, to build new democratic structures, coalitions and new alliances that brought Trump down.
They now may help to bring about great reforms to make it less likely that an evil demagogue will again take over the U.S. government in the way Trump has done.
We’ll never know most of their names. But they started during the inspired Women’s Marches the day after Inauguration in 2017, wearing those great pink pussy hats. And we owe them.
The Trump mystery
We never will know why so many people fell under Trump’s spell.
Today’s victory isn’t enough
Inspired as today’s outcome is, it’s only a beginning.
One thing is for sure, no single reform, law or victory lasts – the outcomes of the Civil War, Roe Vs. Wade, the Voting Rights Act, the Clean Water Act, the First Amendment, Social Security, Obamacare.
Progress is temporary, vulnerable and always under attack. It’s not fair, but it’s a fact: nothing stays fixed.
Trump’s future?
Nobody knows what will become of him, especially backyard pundits like us, who can’t even vote (Memo to the Republican National Committee: Mr.O and I never tried to vote, so don’t use that as an idea for one of your phony lawsuits).
Maybe, he’s really finished, politically and economically.
Maybe, he’s a permanent demon, perpetually threatening, undermining, corrupting our public life.
Maybe, he’ll get a second bout of coronavirus.
Maybe, the third Mrs. T will activate the prenup.
Maybe, Trump will resign, with Mike Pence becoming president for a few weeks, on the understanding that Pence will issue Trump a universal pardon, while Trump looks for a place that has a golf course, but lacks an extradition treaty with the United States.
Maybe, Pence, being the worm that he is, will skip the part about the pardon.
Will there be justice for Trump?
(See related item above).
There’s great demand for, if not revenge, at least justice.
But can anything compensate for his many misdeeds: the divided marriages, Thanksgiving meals ruined, the corruption, the damage to the Constitution, the suffering of immigrants, the injury to the environment, and the people dead and maimed by his unforgivable handling of Covid-19?
No?
We do know this: Donald John Trump’s worst nightmare, perhaps his only nightmare, is losing.
Which just happened.
We never will know why so many people fell under Trump’s spell.
Today’s victory isn’t enough
Inspired as today’s outcome is, it’s only a beginning.
One thing is for sure, no single reform, law or victory lasts – the outcomes of the Civil War, Roe Vs. Wade, the Voting Rights Act, the Clean Water Act, the First Amendment, Social Security, Obamacare.
Progress is temporary, vulnerable and always under attack. It’s not fair, but it’s a fact: nothing stays fixed.
Trump’s future?
Nobody knows what will become of him, especially backyard pundits like us, who can’t even vote (Memo to the Republican National Committee: Mr.O and I never tried to vote, so don’t use that as an idea for one of your phony lawsuits).
Maybe, he’s really finished, politically and economically.
Maybe, he’s a permanent demon, perpetually threatening, undermining, corrupting our public life.
Maybe, he’ll get a second bout of coronavirus.
Maybe, the third Mrs. T will activate the prenup.
Maybe, Trump will resign, with Mike Pence becoming president for a few weeks, on the understanding that Pence will issue Trump a universal pardon, while Trump looks for a place that has a golf course, but lacks an extradition treaty with the United States.
Maybe, Pence, being the worm that he is, will skip the part about the pardon.
Will there be justice for Trump?
(See related item above).
There’s great demand for, if not revenge, at least justice.
But can anything compensate for his many misdeeds: the divided marriages, Thanksgiving meals ruined, the corruption, the damage to the Constitution, the suffering of immigrants, the injury to the environment, and the people dead and maimed by his unforgivable handling of Covid-19?
No?
We do know this: Donald John Trump’s worst nightmare, perhaps his only nightmare, is losing.
Which just happened.
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