The following are some random thoughts on the Democratic National Convention.

A ROLLING STONE LOSES SOME GLOSS

You don’t always get what you want!

~Mick Jagger

If, as I have on occasion, hate it when I am right, today I find myself loving it when I’m wrong.  There was no Beyonce or Taylor Swift last night.  Because they were not needed.  There were enough “rock stars” to fill the arena.  Comma-la’s grand nieces.  The “Exonerated Five.”  The “Liberated Five,”  former Congressman Adam Kinzinger, former Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan, former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham, former Trump national security official Olivia Troye and Mesa, Arizona mayor John Giles. And headliner Kamala Harris. 

I still think not including Jimmy Carter in the “parade of presidents” was a lost opportunity to remind voters a post-defeat president can accept the voters’ choice and still serve America in any number of ways.

SHORT ONE ABE

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.

~President Abraham Lincoln

One would think Honest Abe covered all the bases.  But someone in the right-wing echo chamber proved him wrong.  Please add, “Some people are fools any chance they get.”  In this case, a representative of the media made the following observation as Kamala Harris walked out on the stage to accept her party’s nomination.  “The campaign told women to wear white yet she wore black.”  First of all, these are the same people who thought the world ended when President Obama wore a tan suit.  It did not.

Second, imagine the uproar if she, like Hillary Clinton in 2016, had worn white.  Fox News hosts would  accuse her  of playing identity politics pandering to women.   Or suggest anything but a tailored dark suit is unpresidential.  The Hollywood Reporter  provided the best explanation of her choice of attire, but of course, had to drop the designer’s name, something they never do when covering male politicians. “She bucked the night’s trend by wearing a custom navy power suit and matching silk blouse by French fashion house Chloé, a choice that seemed to say history has been made, now let’s get down to business.”

My only disappointment was that Donald Trump did not post the following on Truth Social.  “I’ve known Ka-MAH-la for a long time, not directly, and she always preferred white.  And then, all of a sudden, she turned navy blue.”

AS THE BRAIN WORM TURNS

No post-convention analysis would be complete without acknowledging Robert F. Kennedy, Jr’s suspending his independent campaign and endorsing Trump.  Some “conservative” media outlets label this a “game changer,” and they may be right.  But not for the reasons they believe. 

There is one undeniable axiom in politics.  When the opposition is trying to define you, do not give them more ammunition.  Ask Mitt Romney who, as the Obama campaign portrayed him as insensitive to working Americans, said, “My job is not to worry about those people (referring to the 47 percent of voters he called ‘the taker class.’)  I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”  Which explains why the Harris campaign should welcome Bobby, Jr. as the perfect surrogate for Trump.

• If you thought Trump and J.D. Vance were weird before, now they have added the guy who dumped a dead bear in Central Park to their ticket.  A trifecta of weird.
• Have you ever noticed Trump is surrounding himself with people who hated him?  His VP choice once called him “America’s Hitler,” and now his latest sidekick once described him as a “sociopath.”
• More evidence that Trump puts himself above country offering RFK, Jr. a job in his administration in hopes of pandering to Kennedy supporters.
• Like Trump, Bobby Jr. is a forum shopper who puts self above country.  Trump was a Democrat until he realized his message of grievance and chaos played better with Republicans.  RFK Jr. has gone from seeking the Democratic nomination to being an independent candidate to asking Harris for a job in return for his endorsement to getting that offer from Trump.
• One more Trump surrogate who has no moral compass.  Kennedy claims to be an environmentalist yet supports the candidate who just promised the oil industry he would take care of them in exchange for a $1 billion donation to his campaign.
• One more Trump surrogate whose family thinks he has betrayed his heritage, unlike Harris and Tim Walz, who feel obligated to honor their own parents.

Thursday night, Adam Kinzinger told DNC convention, “I belong here.”  Likewise, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is right where HE belongs.

MICK JAGGER REDUX

Sometimes, people get what they want and wish they had not.  Such is the case with the Trump and MAGA state legislators pushing for paper ballots.  One result is that the extended time needed to print and distribute paper ballots forced states to wrap up that process earlier than in previous election cycles.  Remember, Democrats had to schedule an on-line roll call to meet Ohio’s ballot requirement.

According to Newsweek,  RFK Jr.’s name may still be on ballots in 23 states where he qualified as an independent candidate.  One of those states is Michigan.  ABC News reports, “A spokesperson for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said that Kennedy’s name would remain on the state’s ballots in November due to his status as a ‘minor party’ candidate.”  Do not forget, when her name appeared on primary ballots even after she  suspended her campaign, 15-20 percent of Republicans still voted for Nikki Haley.  Do not be surprised if something similar happens among Kennedy supporters.

Scottish-born Craig Ferguson, a naturalized U.S. citizen, would open every episode of his late night talk show with, “It’s a great day for America.”  Friday was one more.  But remember, the one that matters most is November 5th.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

I continue to be surprised how many people who have read my book In the National Interest ask me, “Do you believe it was possible that Kennedy ordered his own assassination?”  I even had one reader ask me, “How did you, of all people, get possession of that journal?”  On Facebook and Reddit sites dedicated to the assassination, I constantly have to remind commenters who want to poke holes in the narrative that it is a work of fiction, not intended to solve the crime of the 20th century.

This morning, based on efforts by the MAGAverse to put the brakes on Kamala Harris’ game-changing entry into the 2024 presidential sweepstakes, I wondered if there was room for one more work of conspiratorial fiction.  Was this mastermind Joe Biden’s last act, eclipsing his rigging the outcome of Super Bowl LVIII?  Another saga in which the mystery is not “who dunnit” but “how dunnit?”

I, therefore, offer for your imagination In the National Interest Redux by Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.  President Biden has only forwarded the preface to me, but promises to send the complete story to be offered as a serial.

PREFACE
Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Dare I say, “Mission Accomplished!”  On January 20, 2025, Kamala Harris will take the oath as 47th president of the United States.  The first woman and second person of color to occupy the Oval Office.  No surprise, Donald Trump has yet to concede even though the final vote tally represents a larger Democratic margin of victory than 2020.  And the MAGA conspiracy machine is in fifth gear.  Of course, their malarky theories cover all the usual bases.  Corrupted voting machines.  Fake Harris and destroyed Trump ballots.  Foreign interference.

If only they knew the truth.  They are half right.  There was a conspiracy, a grand one in fact.  It was launched years before the election and had nothing to do with when and how people voted.  That is the beauty of a truly great conspiracy.  Get the victim to focus on the wrong things, especially when he fancies himself as a master of misdirection.  I laughed when Trump, immediately following my announcement that I would withdraw from the race, threatened to sue the DNC.  He claimed his campaign had wasted millions of dollars running against me when I had always planned to step aside.  A classic case of the fraud calling the bluffer black.  Donald, you’re getting warmer than you imagine.

Let me take you back to the beginning, January 20, 2021.  When Donald and Melania Trump never invited Jill and me to the White House and said he would not attend the inauguration, I knew he would not ride off into the sunset.  If you are someone who picked up this book, you already know that is who he is.  Therefore, 2020 was not a one-off.  We would have to defeat him again, and this time, he would up his game of fear, lies and misinformation.  He would have four years to build a case against me and my record, regardless of our success or failure.  We, too, needed a four-year strategy.

Now, you may find this hard to believe, but back in 2020, at age 77, I knew I was old.  And I knew if I wanted to run again in 2024 at 81, I would be even older.  That is why I suggested on several occasions, one term was enough to do the things I hoped to do.  Save the country from a second Trump term.  Bring us back from the pandemic.  Restore the United States’ reputation as leader of the free world.  And lay the foundation for the next generation of American leaders, hopefully Democratic ones.

I also knew, to defeat Trump again, we needed to rely on the same coalition of minority voters, progressives and educated suburban voters to counter any increase in my predecessor’s recruitment of cult followers and believers who wished for a return to their delusional memories of a “simpler time.”

One more thing you might find hard to believe.  I did not pick Kamala Harris to be my running mate.  Donald Trump did, unwittingly of course, but that’s a given.  Although she did not win the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton had been right about what a Trump administration would mean.  Especially, appointments to the Supreme Court and the danger to women’s rights, years before the Dobbs decision.  By putting Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett on the Court, it was Trump who created the backlash that assured time had come for a female chief executive.

Then I had to do my part.  Which is why, on August 11, 2020, I announced the Biden/Harris ticket.  Thus began the journey which brought us to this moment.  However, before I share the details, I need to correct something I wrote previously.  This may have been a grand scheme, but it was no conspiracy.  A conspiracy requires the collaboration of two or more people.  Prior to this account, no one, not family, close advisors or even Kamala, knew this was the plan from day one.  I may be old,  but I can still protect a secret, classified or not.

TO BE CONTINUED
Dr. ESP