From: Bob Bernstein <bob@fanatick.org>
To: Bob Bernstein <bob@dontlooknowbut.com>
Subject: How do you get a job like this?
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 03:51:53
User-Agent: Alpine 2.22 (NEB 394 2020-01-19)
Michael Goodwin of the NYPost, perhaps the in-house columnist most hyped by the paper itself, was disappointed with the debate.
First he brings the now-mandatory exercise in pomposity and self-importance by setting his expectations for the debate somewhere in a planetary orbit:
"America was mistreated Tuesday. A highly anticipated showdown in a closely fought presidential election in a deeply divided country had the potential to be a clarifying moment."
Goodwin wanted, perhaps needs, a "clarifying moment." He was severely disappointed:
"Instead, it was a sweaty, formless flop...it was annoying."
An observation, or two, if I may:
From my vantage point, the debate did a first-rate job "clarifying" for Goodwin the current state of the nation: "sweaty, formless...annoying." What a wonderfully pithy, and accurate summation of our body politic here in Fall 2020! The three principals, Biden, Trump, and Wallace, effectively communicated the emotional flavors of political life in these United States.
Then Swami Michael returns to his crystal ball and brings back this insight:
"Not good moments for a president whose personality is a drag on his policies for many of the voters he will need to win over if he's to get a second term."
Where do our ink-stained wretches get their data? Goodwin, by implication, declares Trump in need of voters if he's going to win on Nov. 3 -- how does he know this? -- and suggests that his, Trump's, job between now and then is to woo -- that's the requisite cliche, yes? -- the stragglers. Further, he identifies the main problem for the president: HIS PERSONALITY.
But we need to thank Mr. Goodwin for helping us with these knotty considerations: there is at least one possible voter who takes marked exception to Trump's personality: fellow by name of Michael Goodwin who pounds a keyboard for the NYPost.
But strangely, the theory that holds that personality is secondary in importance to actual behaviour, i.e. to concrete actions undertaken, still holds sway with many observers, such as the group of Aussie lawyers who have nominated FOR A THIRD time Donald Trump for a NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.
Apparently, single-handedly rewriting the history of the Middle East quagmire lacks a certain "je ne sais quoi" for the likes of our Mr. Goodwin.
--
These are not the droids you are looking for.