What’s the word for early nostalgia?
Every time I read the paper or turn on the tube, I am reminded just how much I am going to miss Barack Obama. Separation anxiety sets in. I see him comporting himself with dignity and wisdom, in Europe at the moment or wherever he goes - the thoughtful pauses, the complicated sentences, the deference to fact and reality. Every time the U.S. locates a nest of crazies in the Middle East, or the jobless rate stays down or the stock market moves up, I say, “Yeah, he’s not doing anything.” Real pundits have been saying the same thing recently. Brooks. Alter. And I just discovered a wonderful piece by Jim Nelson in GQ. I like every word. Pretty soon, even Mitch McConnell and that posse (Mitch and the Dull Normals) that stands behind him are going to miss Barack Obama, even though they have spent the last seven years resenting that a President of mixed heritage is the smartest man in the room. Après lui, le déluge. The other day I heard Trump making fun of John Kasich’s last name. Get this: a family that claimed it was Swedish, not German, making fun of a Croatian name, in front of angry whites who think they’ve gotten a bad deal. He's mocking them, and they don't get it. Now I hear Cruz and Kasich are working in cahoots to divide the remaining states. Those two mugs couldn’t figure out how to split the check after lunch. Recently I had the pleasure of voting for Bernie Sanders in the New York primary. The other day our grandson sat up close to Sanders at a rally in Pennsylvania and sent a photo and terse note: “Yeah, it was a little cookie cutter, but it was still really cool to see him.” He’s voting for the first time this fall. It’s been wonderful to see young people drawn to a political race. I hope they stick around for November, when I will do my duty and vote for Hillary Clinton. For whom else? I turned on the tube Sunday night and MSNBC was dredging up a canned Clinton retrospect. Yikes. For the next half year we are going to be hearing names like Linda Tripp and Paula Jones and Whitewater, emerging from the swamp, historical zombies. Meantime, my wife gets Elizabeth Warren newsletters, explaining the economy, the state of the union. Sometimes we fantasize about Warren running for President, this time, right now. John Nichols put it perfectly in The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/article/the-most-focused-and-effective-democratic-messenger-we-have-is-elizabeth-warren/ I doubt Sen. Warren can do Al Green. The Prez did him at the Apollo -- even made a reference to Sandman Sims, the legendary comic who gave the hook to bad acts. Where is the Sandman when we really need him?
Brian Savin
4/27/2016 09:05:30 pm
I'm just catching up and saw you disclosed your vote, George. That old, grumpy, oft-angry, miserable Socialist, Brooklyn-bred Grandfather, I believe, is the closest thing to a secular Messiah I have seen in my lifetime. I wish I could have voted for him but, alas, I have cast my lot as the last of the Good Government Republicans of a by-gone and perhaps yet future era. Good for you! And you married well, too!
George Vecsey
4/28/2016 09:57:51 am
Brian, I remember those Republicans. Met/covered some. Howard Baker. John Sherman Cooper. Tom Davis. Certainly Richard Thornburgh. Plus Javits. Rockefeller from NYS.
John McDermott
5/1/2016 08:58:15 am
I would add Senators Charles Percy of Illinois and Warren Rudman of New Hampshire. I remember being fascinated by Rudman during the Iran-Contra hearings and thinking "this is a man of real integrity, he's going to do what's right no matter what the consequences might be for his party. Finally, a Republican I thought I could actually vote for under the right circumstances". 4/28/2016 10:50:57 pm
George—your insightful post evokes much more than early nostalgia.
Roy Edelsack
4/29/2016 08:32:17 am
Alan, you wonder about President Obama's "next act." I'm old enough to remember my dad speculating about what JFK would do post-presidency. Supreme Court Justice? Secretary General of the U.N? Or my dad's personal fantasy, buy the Dodgers and move them back to Brooklyn.
George Vecsey
5/1/2016 05:40:41 pm
Thanks to everybody. We were watching Obama on Saturday night. I know a lot of writers and producers go into his talk, but he delivered, and would not do those shticks if he didn't like them. Comments are closed.
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