(The title comes from a radio and TV show that aired before most of you were born.)
I didn't watch the Democrat National Convention. (And remember, folks, it's Democrat party, not Democratic. There's nothing remotely Democratic about today's Democrat party. They don't like democracy at all.)
It's not that I don't want to be informed. It's that I do. And I don't think there's much information that comes out of political party conventions.
I also don't watch the news much. Oh, I catch snippets here and there, but it's largely become so predictable that I can give the daily "news"cast as such:
"Blah blah blah Trump bad blah blah COVID blah blah blah mask blah blah Postal Service blah blah blah peaceful protests blah blah new cases blah blah blah storm troopers blah blah inland hurricane rips through Northern Iowa -"
Wait, you say - that last part has never been on the news. An inland hurricane really ripped through Northern Iowa??
It did. Google it. Maybe you'll get a hit on some local Cedar Rapids station that covered it. Assuming their power is back on.
Anyway, I did catch just enough snippets to garner the lowlights of the DNC. I herewith offer the Curmudgeon's quick hits on the convention.
- AOC only got 60 seconds. That speaks volumes about what the Dem rank and file think of her, and what letting her riff might have done to boost Trump's numbers. Yet CNN said that she proved in 60 seconds why she's "the future of the party." Maybe if the party in question needs a bartender. I'd have given her a whole hour. Talk about entertainment. Afterward, one pundit said she deserved more time because "she controls the House of Representatives, although she's not the most incandescent bulb in the intellectual chandelier."
- Ah, the Obamas. First we got Michelle, who said, "You know I hate politics." In the middle of a political speech. At a political convention. And then we got Barack, who reminded us all why Trump got elected in the first place.
- Bill Clinton basically lectured Trump on Oval Office decorum. *Ahem.* How is it that Bill Cosby is behind bars, and this guy is giving Dem convention speeches chastising the current President for how he conducts himself in the Oval Office? Was this meant to be humor? I hope so.
- Hillary was also in the lineup. (#irrelevant) I swear that woman is harder to get rid of than a cockroach infestation. And about as pleasant to have around.
- Andrew Cuomo (aka "Fredo's big brother") spent his time boasting about how well he did managing the COVID pandemic in New York. Yes, he really did. He said that the "European virus" was invading New York while President Trump was focused on China. (You know, that country where COVID originated.) And apparently that nasty "European virus" forced infected senior citizens back into their nursing homes where they could super-spread the little bug like a viral Gatling gun, and kill additional thousands of people. Keep repeating it, Godfather, and maybe someday you'll believe it yourself. Cuomo's biggest contribution to the COVID experience has been that now even us Midwesterners pronounce it "VEN-talatah."
- And then there was the man himself: Joe Biden. I'm glad his speech wasn't any longer than it was, because I have friends who are Democrats, and I'm quite certain that every Democrat was holding his or her breath the entire time Joe was reading - er, giving his speech. He didn't stammer, lose his train of thought, misstate where he was, or commit even one of the gaffes that have made him famous. For Biden, that alone is a mighty victory. And that's the problem with the concept of Joe as President: the bar is so low with this guy, what would get done? Getting through the oath of office without forgetting his name could turn out to be the greatest accomplishment of a Biden presidency.
- He apparently did say that he has the answers to COVID. So why isn't he sharing them now, instead of waiting until January? Unless he's lying, every death since his August 20 speech will rest squarely on his stooped shoulders.
- Perhaps the most telling observation: every speech was about Donald Trump. No one talked about what a great leader Joe Biden will be, not even Joe Biden. Nobody laid out Biden's policy prescriptions for America, not even Joe Biden. Barack Obama, his former boss, said nothing about how he relied on Joe as his strong #2, and how confident he is that Joe will be a great leader. AOC didn't even mention Joe Biden.
