Someone has asked about political predictions, which spawns a good column, but nothing as trustworthy as the Friday night ‘Picks’.
At the post office Tuesday morning the clerk who waited on me smiled and said, “So, outside of football, how good are you at predicting presidents?”
I shook my head and said, “I have no idea.”
“Can’t believe that,” he answered. “You’ve always got an opinion.”
“OK, my opinion is this,” I countered. “It’s a race between two desperate factions, and desperate people will stop at nothing to get what they want. You and I don’t matter. That’s all I got.”
He smiled and nodded. It was hardly his first election.
“It’s not very encouraging,” he said, handing me a United State Postal Service claim for a disputed package I had sent the day prior. “This,” he explained, referring to the disputed package (by US Customs), “…is a scam. The Postal Service would never contact you by text, and customs wouldn’t be involved, anyway. Don’t click on the link they sent you, and don’t worry about it. Your package will be delivered on Thursday.”
In a lot of ways, we’ve all been scammed…for weeks and months – the name calling, mud slinging, fact-checking – and the endless television ads manipulating the truth. Just say anything if it helps you become president!
Or senator. Between Sherrod Brown and Bernie Moreno they’ve spent $500 million dollars to win, what…a job that pays $174,000? Does that make sense, especially in Brown’s case where he’s held that job for seventeen years? That’s three cycles of spending hundreds of millions (not his own) for a job that smart people wouldn’t even want. It’s a vanity job – power and leverage.
I once heard both Brown and John Boehner promise at service club luncheons that they just wanted one term in Washington. That’s all that would be necessary to represent the needs of their constituency. Boehner then ran for representative of the 8th congressional district thirteen times. This is Brown’s third campaign. It’s hard to respect that.
Some of them, like Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond nearly died in office, their thirst for the office was so insatiable. Byrd actually did die in office, while Thurmond left the senate when he was 100…and then died.
And we all know that it’s not the will of the people that they prioritize – that once they get to Washington their priority becomes the will of the lobbyists. And that getting re-elected becomes a personal priority over fiscally responsible legislation. That’s why the national debit is 35 trillion dollars.
The will of the people? I can’t actually say that I’ve personally benefited from anyone who’s held high office, compared to suffering through the process. So in a season of endorsements the only thing I’m willing to endorse is you and me…for enduring…the promise of a thousand dollar tax cut, $20 a week. Five times that would actually help…$100 a week!
Columnist Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and OSU sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
So here’s my campaign close.
Like the scams that come with shipping a package by US Mail, we’ve all been scammed by government – by the process. My hunch is that Jimmy Stewart was the only one who was ever completely honest. And Jimmy Stewart was an actor (Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, 1939), 85 years ago.
The irony? He was the last good actor to go to Washington, Ronald Reagan notwithstanding – good politician, average actor.
So no, I’m making no predictions. In fact, I’ll be in North Dakota pheasant hunting on election day.
Betting on myself!