China Holds All the Cards…Here’s a bizarre, troubling, yet very conceivable scenario that might occur in the next eight months to a year: [This is based on a premise that Donald Trump could win the Presidential election in November]:
The Chinese laboratories manage to develop an effective vaccine against the corona virus within a year, as the gang-that-couldn’t-shoot-straight United States and the West fail to come up with their own vaccination.
Donald Trump, for the past couple of years, has beaten up on China like a drum, and there’s an excellent chance there’ll no let-up even after China announces its vaccination breakthrough. The President then continues to insist that China, at the very least, did not do enough to stop the virus’ spread, and may even have intentionally created it, releasing the new, deadly virus to the world in order to cause death and havoc in the West, and accelerate the West’s decline vis-à-vis China.
Taking this barrage of abuse for years, with Donald Trump upping the ante by asserting China is ‘cheating’ on trade issues and augmenting its military capabilities to rival the United States all over the globe, will China now turn the other cheek and graciously donate to America its vaccine? Will China, ignoring Donald Trump’s criminal charges, magnanimously give to us the vaccine to inoculate our 330,000,000 citizens? I wouldn’t count on it.
Back to the present: do any of my astute readers really believe that our President has spent more than five minutes since he took office considering this more-than-theoretical possibility – a situation in which the United States is going to need a huge favor from China? Not Mr. ‘Day-Trader’ Trump. I’ll wager he’s so emotionally wrought and angry all the time [unless he’s on a golf course] that he can only deal with short-term matters laid out on one 8x11 sheet of paper. Advice from his staff? No way. His infallible ‘gut’ always tells him how to proceed. Contemplating long-term issues is unimaginable to Mr. Trump. His reptilian brain doesn’t operate that way.
And, one more thought: even if China agrees to donate their vaccine to America, who’s to say the President will even accept it? In Trump’s conspiratorial mind, the possibility of China intentionally adulterating the ‘batch’ of serum given to the United States will preclude Trump from accepting the vaccine at all.
It’s an altogether frightening scenario.
‘Empathy‘ – It’s Not Happening….. There’s nothing more overrated, Mr. Gripes thinks, than the search for ‘empathy’ from the President. Lately, the media has figuratively lay down and prostrated themselves on the White House Rose Garden lawn looking for empathy that could be directed toward anxious, worn-out Americans and the country’s 110,000 corona virus deaths. Every one of the White House correspondents was insisting that President Trump say a few words of sympathy to the families of the deceased. Talk about pack journalism.
Mr. Gripes’ views about the issue come from another place: real Presidential empathy across many Administrations has been basically a lie. Donald Trump obviously does not empathize with anyone. That’s his nature; he’s not going to change. So, even successfully eliciting an empathetic comment about all the deaths would be false. His heart, indeed, is not in that place, and Mr. Trump will not bow to a phony plea from journalists. Why should he? After all, that could actually be defined as ‘fake news’, right? Leave him alone, please. It’s not worth the effort.
In fact, I don’t believe any President is empathetic in an authentic sense. Some ‘play’ the role much better than others and sure look good on television doing the obligatory rituals – Obama, Clinton come to mind – but I think it’s still mainly performance art. Presidents are generally so focused, so ambitious, so competitive that there’s very little room in those hardened souls for compassionate sentiments like empathy.
In that vein, I’ll relate to you a true event that did indeed take place around the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion – June 6 1944 – in which American and British soldiers came ashore on Omaha Beach in France, precipitating the final stages of the Second World War and the victorious end of the struggle a year later:
President Clinton journeyed to Paris to take part in the momentous 50th anniversary in June 1994, and later traveled up to Normandy on the coast for a ceremony to commemorate those soldiers who were killed that June 6 morning on that landing beachhead.
Alone, slowly and solemnly, Mr. Clinton walks down to the water’s edge, and kneels down and picks up some small stones; dramatically he places them in a circle in the sand, all the time looking very grave indeed. He then rises; stands very still, a sad countenance on his face, head down, in a praying stance. To this cynic, a theatrical performance of the first order.
He jets back to Washington at the conclusion of the event a day or two later. Upon entering the Oval Office, he hastily summons an aide to bring him the latest approval/disapproval polls. He looks down at the figures, and immediately throws down his glasses on the desk, furious.
‘God damn it, only two f---kin’ points [increase in his approval polling] even with all that work!’
Every President, on some level, behaves precisely in this disingenuous manner. Empathy? No.
Right now, the Democrats seem to be in a favorable position to win the Presidency in November. But American political sentiment changes in a nano-second, and it is five whole months before all of us actually vote. And, lest we forget, this is the Democratic Party I’m alluding to: Hillary Clinton in 2016 is verifiable proof that the Democratic Party can easily snatch a loss from a probable victory. Winning is certainly conceivable, but Mr. Gripes is convinced if the Party endorses a ‘flavor-of-the-month,’ ballyhooed slogan, such as ‘Defund the Police’, they will most likely lose the election in November.
‘Defund the police’ as a rallying cry? You must be kidding. I understand perfectly well the rage and fury of black communities which have endured state-sanctioned murder and terror for three hundred years. But, endorsing the concept of outright elimination or even just the diminishment of police forces across the country is exactly the issue that a bottom-feeder like Donald Trump and his Republican operatives are looking for. Campaigning in comfortable, affluent suburbs in states like Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, they will scare the sh_t out of white voters by asserting the Democrats are not only ‘weak’ on crime, but in ‘your’ very nice neighborhoods, crime will skyrocket and threaten your comfortable and cozy circumstances, if police are constrained in any fashion.
The Republicans are extremely skilled and experienced at campaigning on a ‘law-and-order’, fear-mongering platform. That’s’ for sure. Combine that kind of campaign with an undeniable presumption that the November election is going to be extremely tight – a razor-thin margin of 10,000 votes may decide the electoral-college selection in several states– and ill-considered language such as ‘Defund the Police’ could very well ‘swing’ enough frightened voters over to a Donald Trump re-election. God help us. So, Democrats, please focus on the election, and not on some fanciful, of-the-moment slogan.
Stallone – The mention of the movie Raging Bull in a prior item [from a ‘Gripes’ in 2009] reminds me of an incident that supposedly happened on the set of the first ‘Rocky’ movie, way back when. This may be an apocryphal tale, but, if indeed a deity does exist, please, please, God, declare this occurrence to be true. It’s so good:
An extremely capable prizefighter, Ernie Shavers, who fought in championship heavyweight bouts against big boys like Mohammed Ali and Ken Norton, was hired by Sylvester Stallone for a role as an opponent of Rocky Balboa, whom Stallone portrayed. After a few days of rehearsal and getting his moves down, working collaboratively with Mr. Shavers, the two entered the boxing ring for the day’s shoot one morning. In the ring, Mr. Stallone struck a fighter’s pose, and asked Mr. Shavers to ‘give me [Stallone] your best shot.’ Mr. Shavers, demonstrating sound forbearance, gently demurred. Stallone continued to pester the fighter, ‘Come on, give me your best shot.’ Mr. Shavers, who must have dealt with challenges like this in taverns all the time, demurred once more.
Finally, after louder, more insistent entreaties, Ernie relented and said, ‘OK.’ The two combatants proceeded to the middle of the ring, at which point Mr. Shavers unloaded a short right hand to Mr. Stallone’s sturdy mid-section. Mr. Stallone fell over backwards, flat on his back, gasping for air.
After about 10 minutes, ‘Rocky’ wobbled to his feet, and retired to the restroom for an hour-and-a-half. Film shooting was subsequently postponed for a week.
Sylvester, do you not recall those Greek tragedies from acting classes? Hubris, big fella, hubris. And you’ve forgotten something else. Your ‘Rocky’ movies are nothing more than elaborate choreography – dancing, if you will – not pugilism. Mr. Stallone, I hate to break the bad news to you: you’re related more to the twinkle-toed, ballet-shoed, prancing Gene Kelly of ‘Singing in the Rain’ than the brawny Marciano. Rocky Balboa, despite all his sinew and muscle, is nothing but pure baloney.**
** This Stallone piece appeared originally in a ‘Mr. Gripes’ column of March 2009.
Jim Israel
June 9, 2020
Mr. Gripes
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