Assuming the debauched, seditious, criminal, ocher-skinned demagogue shows up, here we go. Biden v Trump II. For the sole non-felon on the bill, what on Earth could go wrong?
Hmm. These days, those who forget the past are doomed, period. In Cleveland, on 9/29/20, Trump howled. He raged. He motormouthed. He interrupted Biden 100+ times.
He, Trump, STILL claims he won the ensuing election “by landslide.” On that and other issues, he lies through his fangs all day long (and much of the night).
Happily for the nation (but not, it seems, for his own approval ratings), President Biden builds back a zillion times better than any Trump-eting tusker even begins to attempt. Trouble is, in the political arena, more often than not, it’s easier, sexier, and more appealing to bomb than to build.
This is no small beer (or bier). Especially in 2007’s The Political Brain, neuroscientist/strategist/pundit/author Drew Westen marshals tons of science and scads of history to elucidate why the rational, policy-oriented, “competence” crafting region of the all-too-human brain has little bearing on voting behavior; he goes so far as to report that when he hears a Dem exult over having a foe “beat on policy,” he advises him or her to start drafting a concession speech. Now more than ever, The Political Brain’s subtitle speaks volumes. Shelves. Libraries. Data bases. Namely, THE ROLE OF EMOTION IN DECIDING THE FATE OF THE NATION.
Safe to say, we now know that our survival as a vote-legitimized commonweal is in peril. Still, many if not most Dems have yet to get the memo that those responsible need to be called out (not to say damned) to the very bowels of hell. If that sounds harsh, here’s the thing. “Even swing voters,” Dr. Westen finds, “vote with their guts.” Tonight, the speciously embattled Mr. Biden must go for the gut, or expect to get gutted.
Here’s the bright side. Four years ago, he briefly lost his cool- and won the day. Fed up (and then some) in Cleveland, he called the caterwauling incumbent “a clown;” he went so far as to blast back at the Orange Ogre “WILL YOU SHUT UP!”
For that brief, shining moment, he intuited the fact that nice guys tend to fare poorly. Doing so, he salvaged his otherwise wonk-wizened campaign. (And hence, for the nonce, our nation.)
Aside to him (the leader of our sole non-despotic major party): as more than a few enthusiasts at the Lincoln-Douglas debates reportedly roared, “HIT HIM [figuratively] AGAIN!” And again and again and again!!!
In all, Godspeed. And, from you, a strong fight.