CSotD: November 22
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Jack Ohman recreates a classic moment to comment on how little power or influence Mike Pence seems to have in this transition.
It was encouraging that he came out and said he wasn't insulted or upset by the remarks of the actor at "Hamilton," but he left it open for others to determine if he should have an apology, which is about as close to "You'd have to ask my dad" as you're going to get.
Of course, as noted here before, Trump almost certainly wasn't upset by it either and I doubt he cares much about how he is portrayed on Saturday Night Live, if he can turn it into a distraction from more substantitive things.
It's too bad, because, while I disagree strongly with Pence on several issues, he seems like an honest guy. I can deal with someone who states his position clearly, even if I don't like the details.
It's quite the opposite of the GWB administration, where the man at the top was a amiable doofus and his vice-president was Svengali, but even then, Cheney wasn't straightforward about his actual goals, and surrounded himself with equally slippery puppeteers.
Well, we shall see. But Trump is no fool, and if you think you know which shell the pea is under, you are.
Meanwhile, when I wrote about Kennedy for the kids, I skipped the Zapruder stuff and showed him as he was remembered, and then the famous photo of the peaceful transfer of powers.
Part of why it's so hard to convey the impact of November 22, 1963 to modern kids is that we lived in a world we believed was safe. We knew about Lincoln and Garfield, of course, but they were back in the era of Billy the Kid.
The deaths of Bobby and Martin didn't have nearly the impact of JFK's death, because we knew we were in a struggle and we knew the world was not a safe place.
Bitter disappointment is not the same as shock.
Of course, the geniuses stepped in soon enough, not just to spin paranoid conspiracy theories but to undercut the Kennedy legacy. He wasn't faithful to his wife, he didn't get enough accomplished in his 1,000 days, he blew his big line in Berlin (which is a lie).
Well, as the song says, "Why people tear the seam of anyone's dream, is over my head."
He mattered, and he launched a generation of Peace Corps and Visa members, as well as strengthening the resolve of those young people who had gone south to register minority voters.
He mattered.
It was a long time ago, in a different country.
I guess you had to be there.
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