It’s 2017.  One would think the United States (or South Korea) could produce recording equipment that accurately captures what is being said.  But it appears that is not the case.

I know!  I know! You’re wondering what triggered this post and where could he possibly be heading.  Patience, dear reader.

Actually, it was the 48th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20th.  That evening we thought we heard Neil Armstrong say, “One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind,” as he descended onto the lunar surface.  As we now know, he actually said, “One small step for a man…”  Perfectly understandable.  Armstrong was over 235,000 miles away and the signal was being relayed via electronics with less processing power than your smart phone.

Which brings us to the present day.  Candidate Donald J. Trump created a similar controversy when he supposedly used the word “bigly” during his first debate with Hillary Clinton.  Political pundits and lexicologists had a field day.  And as is so often the case today, the candidate’s staff was quick to clarify the situation.  You may have thought you heard “bigly” but what Trump actually said was “big league.”  Remember, it was the microphone’s fault.  The same one that picked up Trump’s heavy breathing during the debate.

It makes you wonder what else did Comrade Trump say which was garbled as it wended its way through the audio pipeline.  Could it explain the string of broken campaign promises and constant lying?  Here’s the most obvious case which suggests Trump was actually telling the truth.

At a May 26, 2016 campaign rally in Billings, Montana, Trump delivered the first of what would became known as  the “winning speeches.”  Here is what was reported.

We’re going to win. We’re going to win so much. We’re going to win at trade, we’re going to win at the border. We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning, you’re going to come to me and go ‘Please, please, we can’t win anymore.’ You’ve heard this one. You’ll say ‘Please, Mr. President, we beg you sir, we don’t want to win anymore.

I have spent a lot of time in Montana and have enjoyed every minute of it.  Helena is one of my favorite cities and the boat ride which traces Lewis and Clark’s voyage through the Gates of the Mountains on the Missouri River should not be missed. So I don’t mean to disparage the fine people in Big Sky Country, but I’m afraid the one thing they lack is state of art audio equipment.  In this case, Trump’s microphone had an unusual defect.  It was unable to pick up the letter “H”.  In the interest of historical accuracy, I want to correct the record.  This is what the candidate actually said.

We’re going to whine. We’re going to whine so much. We’re going to whine at trade, we’re going to whine at the border. We’re going to whine so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of whining, you’re going to come to me and go ‘Please, please, we can’t whine anymore.’ You’ve heard this one. You’ll say ‘Please, Mr. President, we beg you sir, we don’t want to whine anymore.

So, don’t tell me Donald J. Trump doesn’t keep his promises.  In this case, he told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  And it was probably the last time he did so.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP