Friday, July 10, 2020

Duckworth may even grow into the VP job

Joe Biden has promised to select a woman as his VP.
      Aw, gee...
     My problem is, I wait too long. Waste time thinking. Mulling ramifications. Meanwhile, the just-say-stuff crowd thunders past.
     When whispers started that U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is being considered as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate, I tried to shake it off as her own camp floating her name. Politicians do that.
     When it became clear she is actually on the short list, my reaction was to drag my hand over my face, groan and say, “Aw, gee...”
     Because Duckworth — while unquestionably a war hero who lost both legs in 2004 when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq — was also, again without question, a lackluster Illinois Veterans Administration head who had trouble accomplishing anything. Then a meh Illinois congresswoman. And finally, since 2017, a so-so senator.
     The fault might not be hers. Maybe there’s something wrong with the seat she’s in. Maybe it’s cursed: four of her five predecessors were Mark Kirk, Roland Burris, Peter Fitzgerald and Carol Moseley Braun, a rogue’s gallery of mediocrity if ever there were (the fifth, and exception to the rule, Barack Obama, didn’t have his butt in a Senate chair long enough to leave an impression).
     I was sharpening my pencils and arranging them in a nice straight row, maybe a little reluctant, because Duckworth seems a genuinely nice person, and you hate so say something unkind about a genuinely nice person. Then suddenly a disgusting sound, like a manatee vomiting: Fox’s Tucker Carlson spewing forth several venomous diatribes against Duckworth. The stench wafted across Twitter. I felt duty-bound to take a look.


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10 comments:

  1. I guess they must be geniuses over at Fox News. The last time I actually listened to a Fox broadcast was in 2008 and whoever was giving the vote tallies was aghast that Obama was ahead in a particular state, attributing it to a statistical aberration. Nonetheless, I'm pretty up to date in what the eggshell heads at Fox have to say about every little bitty thing. They do get their ugly message out.

    john

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  2. I just had to Google "Sound of a manatee vomiting." Sadly, this important aspect of Trichechian biology seems never to have been recorded. Definitely a low-hanging PhD for some budding marine biologist.

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  3. Once again, NS provides a bracing alternative for the slack-jawed minions who consider watching Tuck the Schmuck a way to be informed about the world. Not that reading is their strong suit or they seek any alternatives. Referring to J. B. Pritzker as "Leonidas at the pass" in a daily newspaper is just not that common, but it's excellent. Though it's certainly a famous-enough allusion, I had to look it up. Which I was happy to do.

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  4. I thought I was the only one who knew it was over as soon as Kerry "reported for duty".
    The GOP somehow managed to make W, who ducked serving look like the war hero and Kerry, who actually saw combat look like a Swift Boat wimp.
    Right about Pritzker. Very pleasant surprise. HST surprised some folks too.

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  5. I'm a staunch Democrat, but I tuned in to Tucker Carlson's show twice, on the semi-recommendation of Meghan McCain, who is on the panel of "The View". I've always liked her rather bubbly, candid personality, and enjoy her because she's the only conservative voice on the show. It's fun watching her trying to get her voice heard over the din.
    Carlson...what a whining, self-absorbed crybaby. His face alone gives him away, and it took about eight seconds to figure out his agenda. I can only imagine the Fox News junkies fixating on this freak show every night, eyes bulging, heads nodding in agreement.

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  6. tucker carlson (and all the other fox weasels)aside, thank you for your take on our junior senator. i too respect her service to country, but please count me as one broken down old war veteran (it was that 60s one) who said 'duckworth, v.p., really? please no'. of course, i'll vote for joe if he opts for her, but being a homie and sister in arms doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies.

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  7. I met LTC Duckworth and watched her take questions from a sympathetic but very very knowledgeable audience. Seemed to have a low bull shit tolerance that went with her career in Army aviation. She impressed me and would, I think, make a strong candidate. The cute kids acquired late in life wouldn't hurt.

    Tom

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  8. This is one of the most hilarious columns of yours I've read. You inspire me! My mother told me that Duckworth was quite possibly going to be Biden's choice, and I hope so. She rocks-

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  9. Thanks for calling Carlson out on his rude comments about Duckworth. Only a bully and one who is a misogynist talks about a female senator in such a derogatory way. Love Duckworth — she can dish it right back without the name calling She’s got class!

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