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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA Matter of Character On liars, dogs, family and, most of all, the need for decency in our leaders Steven Beschloss
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Steven Beschloss from America, America
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A Matter of Character
On liars, dogs, family and, most of all, the need for decency in our leaders
Steven Beschloss
Apr 29
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Photo of Gov. Kristi Noem by Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images.
For the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon campaign, the Democratic Party released a poster with an image of a slick and smiling Richard Nixon and this question: Would you buy a used car from this man? That anti-Nixon poster re-emerged when Nixon made another run for the White House in 1968.
Notice that the message was not about his policies or political track record. Its focus was on characterraising doubts about the candidates honesty and integrity. It was a time when raising the question of character was a ripe and fruitful strategy to influence the thinking of the voting public.
This poster came to mind in recent days as the question of character has reemerged. Dont most Americans want a person of decency and integrity running their country? At another time, the answer would have been obvious.
Saturday night, after finishing his jokes, Saturday Night Live host of Weekend Update Colin Jost got serious. He took his chance at the White House Correspondents Association dinnerwith the President of the United States seated just inches awayto talk about his grandfather and the topic of decency.
Jost said that his grandfather was a Staten Island firefighter and recently passed away. He helped raise me, and I would not be here today without him, he said touchingly, turning to President Biden. You remind me of him. Some of your best qualities remind me of his.
Jost then said that his grandfather voted for Biden in 2020, the last election that he voted in. And why? He voted for you because youre a decent man, the comedian said with great sincerity.
This was Josts moment. A chance to share what he really thinks beyond the often snarky, sometimes clever, usually funny jokes. This was the heartfelt thought that he wanted to end with, the comment that most likely will be what people remember about his appearance as this years comedian.
It was an uplifting reminder that character mattersindeed, that the question of character needs to be on the ballot.
The contrast between Jost and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, hot in the running to be Donald Trumps VP nominee, could not be more stark.
Youve probably already heard about the excerpt in her soon-to-be-released memoir. Noem decided to include the story of killing her dog, Cricket, a barely-year-old wirehair pointer that she said she hated. Noem complained that the young dog was aggressive, a biter, who killed several chickens and ruined a pheasant hunt by going out of her mind with excitement.
Her comment on Cricket, who she decided was untrainable? I hated that dog, Noem writes, calling her dangerous to anyone she came in contact with and less than worthless
as a hunting dog.
So did she search for another owner or take Cricket to the pound? Nope. She got her shotgun and led the dog to a gravel pit.
What kind of person shoots their own dog? What kind of person writes about it, sheds light on it, in the story of her life? And what does this say about Noems judgement of what deserves attentionand what she believes will resonate with her books readers?
I mean, she didnt have to include that story. Perhaps she wanted one reader in particulara possible future employer and sociopath who dislikes dogsto know about her capacity for cruelty and violence. This was a chance to let him know that shes ready to do the things, as she put it, that are difficult, messy and ugly.
Put a different way: Look at me! I can be a sociopath, too! (Oxford dictionary definition of a sociopath: A person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.
And one other thing: Kristi Noem wasnt done after killing poor Cricket. Nope. She goes on to recount killing one of her familys goats that same day, a farm animal that was nasty and mean and smelled bad. She dragged that goat to her gravel pit, too.
Every regular reader of America, America knows that I take the subject of decency seriously. It takes no stretch of the imagination to recognize that this topic has taken on particular importance at a time when a felonious ex-president and presumptive GOP nominee not only relishes cruelty and violence himself, hes succeeded at making it a feature of his partys ethos.
Is that what the majority of Americans want? Is that what the GOP thinks is a winning message? Among all the issues that are on the ballot this year, is not the question of characterof cruelty versus decencyhigh on the list? I think so.
This week the Manhattan jury in the Trump election interference trial heard plenty of nauseating factsabout the the National Enquirer boss David Pecker using his tabloid rag (the real fake news) to fantastically lie about Trumps rivals and to hide the truth of Trumps infidelities from the voting public. They heard from witness Pecker how Trump was actively involved in these efforts, both with his dollars and by signing false business records.
Trumps defense attorney Todd Blanche showcased one of their key arguments: That Donald Trump is a husband and a father. He fought back
to protect his family.
In other words, Blanche is trying to make Trumps actions appear to be a matter of characterthat a good husband and father would want to do whatever he could to keep this damaging information from his family, never mind the infidelities themselves.
Such a defense depends on the jury of 12 women and men believing that the criminal defendant is motivated by such things. But Pecker did not help that ludicrous enterprise, laughable to anyone whos been sentient these last years.
Pecker, whos been given criminal immunity as long as he testifies honestly, contradicted Blanches assertion like this: I thought it was for the campaign
his family was never mentioned and [in] the conversations that I had directly with Mr. Trump, his family wasnt mentioned.
I think most Americans want a person of decency and integrity running their country. I think its why Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976 after the criminality and degradations of Nixon. And I think it can be a key reason why Joe Biden is reelected in 2024 after the continuing criminality and degradations of Trump.
But that will take raising the question of character often and loudly in the coming monthsand our body politic, despite being terribly broken, recognizing that you cant have a decent country if you have an indecent and cruel man occupying the White House.
One final note: When our Hazel (now seven but pictured here at eight weeks) was a puppy, she was a serious biter. But we never thought about shooting her for crying out loud. And guess what? She grew out of it.
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Delphinus
(11,848 posts)was excellent! Thank you for sharing.
Irish_Dem
(48,250 posts)as one of the highlights in a book about her self.
These are two separate facts and both equally damning.
Violent, heartless and terrible judgment.
Cannot read a room.