THE EMAILS THAT DARE NOT SPEAK THEIR RELEVANCE AND THE CAMPAIGN HUBRIS
by Michael Dobson
First, lets be clear, in the latest campaign twist, NO ONE KNOWS whats in the emails being talked about 10 days out from the nations vote for President.
About a week ago on twitter, I predicted that there would be an event of earthquake proportions that would rock the presidential campaign, and .. well the latest news out of Washington regarding a ratcheting up of investigations into Secretary Clinton's e-mails has in fact rocked the campaign. Behind closed doors, I supposed Hillary is somewhere screaming emails???? @#$%*&!# emails!!!? Something that most people rarely used 20 years ago , and 5 years prior knew little about them, has dogged her campaign and threatens to derail it. It all seems rather bizarre in one instance that we will allow a decision about who will be our leader in the world be based on something as trivial as emails. Yes, I know that there is the issue of national security and etc, but no one has suggested that Hillary's email was hacked while she was secretary of State, nor has anyone claimed that she gave classified secrets to anyone. So, at the end of the day, there has never been and never will be any there there.
Then there is the issue of the hacking. Momentarily, lets forget the fact that Podestas' email were hacked by a foreign government hell bent on interfering with our elections, and are legitimizing the criminal behavior of HACKING. Yes, HACKING! We used to believe that was a growing criminal enterprise that we must curve. But, a funny thing happened. Law enforcement became intrigued with hackers and saw the usefulness of them... another story.. I know... digressing. But moving forward, is every political consulting firm going to employ its own resident hacker on staff ? Are we going to start hacking the emails of those we oppose in business and in politics to destroy them? Is that now the new normal?
For instance, lets think about all the emails you ever sent to family, friends, colleagues or whomever; and consider the small dismissive comments you may have communicated about an individual, about a certain situation, or a crass comment made in confidence shared in an email. Are we now saying that we should never think that communication to be private, like the hand written mail we used to send as letters to a friend or relative, with the protections of US postal laws which prevented someone else from opening and reading your mail? Hopefully, we can start to have some serious conversations about cyber security and our cyber security systems, supported by laws that give us privacy in our electronic communications... the same kinds of protections provided to the US postal service for its mail. Some may say, dream on. But, I will forever believe that we will regret not at least pursuing that dream.
With all of that said, we find ourselves 10 days out from voting for the next President of the free world not talking about issues, not talking about the visions of the candidates for America... but about emails. Yes... emails.
Not only that, we are talking about Anthony Weiner, whom we can all agree is a sexual deviant ( some will say pervert). You know, there a saying that "sex sells". Well in this case, sex not only sells, it screams ( admittedly a twist from a Bob Dylan lyric regarding money). Therefore, with Anthony Weiners appearance into the ongoing saga of the manufactured hubris around the Hillary Clinton campaign, you now add sex coupled with politics, along with those weird sick pictures of Weiner sexting... and dumping them into the middle of a presidential campaign. Then there is the most clever trick in the book... making it about Hillary Clinton's campaign when none of this has anything to do with any actions of Hillary Clinton. None of the e-mails talked about are from her. Hillary Clinton is not Anthony Weiner or his wife, and neither of them are running for President. But, because some people have a visceral and unexplained hatred of Hillary Clinton( someone they don't know), and that most of it is misogynism from men and a certain part of our culture that just don't believe that a women should be President, the hate is comfortably Americana and is legitimized by the unquestioning of its basis. Donald Trump has no qualms about tapping into that blind hate to create and energize his base. I've talked to them. They are of various races, mostly uneducated and blue collar.... but not all uneducated. For the later, terrorism is a big issue and therefore the idea of building walls is an attractive warm and fuzzy solution for keeping them safe, and keep bad people out, no matter the impracticability. For some, its trade and the issue of products being made overseas.. although in the real world of the 21st century, that's a nonstarter for reasons of globalization. Trump knows this, but wont acknowledge it with his voters, as that truth is not a vote getter. And, for some its abortion.. which explains the christian support (the only explanation I can fathom).
Some of those in opposition to a Clinton presidency will tell you things like.. women are too emotional to be President, women are to weak to be President because they are natural nurturers, some say its against the bible.. and the most ridiculous one.. women have menstrual cycles, which is an automatic disqualifier. Yes,people have said these things to me, and yes that could be considered deplorable, but I wont go there.
All of this has allowed Donald Trump, of all people, to determine she should be in jail. Yes , in jail! Donald Trump said that. This is a guy who assaults women.. came out of his on mouth; a guy that has committed criminal fraud through his businesses more times that anyone can count. Lets be clear, most people go to jail for doing to women what Mr Trump said he could get away because of his celebrity. Some people have gone to jail for stiffing people to.... not paying them for their work. Our prisons are filled with people who have done what Donald Trump did with Trump university. You can't just go around taking your name, calling it a University, charge exorbitant fees for what are really just seminars, urge people to empty their bank accounts because by doing so they will learn to be rich like Donald Trump( making themselves poorer while doing it), and never really deliver on any promises made, with Trump never showing up... classic bait and switch, and snake oil selling. But Hillary is the criminal??? As Donald would say. "give me a break".
Here is what I believe. I believe that Donald Trump knows that Hillary Clinton is not a criminal. I believe that both of them are flawed, but decent people, who like all of us.... at times struggle with our egos, our motivations, with maintaining our focus on good; and struggle with the darkness of this world, which exist, as we seek to do good. He also knows she is a decent and very qualified person to be president, the most qualified ever seeking the job. And, he knows that he has no qualifications for the job accept for his air of confidence. He also knows that our nation is full of people who live their lives vicariously through television and pop culture; essentially watching the world go by, while others make it go around. He knows that with his celebrity from the apprentice, his books, his being in the public eye for many years, that he could capture the imaginations of a large swath of an uneducated populace, that is mostly blue collar and feel like the country no longer belongs to them and that the American dream has been taken away from them at the expense of our catering to the "other". The "other" is Blacks, Mexicans, Chileans, Jews, muslums, Ethiopians, gays or lesbians, our multicultural populace and etc. He knows that there are many people who think that what should be theirs... as true blue blooded Americans, have been taken away from them by the "other". They not only blame that other, but blame the politicians who has allowed that so called "other" to prosper, gain a foot hold in the American dream, and the politicians that have encouraged it. These are people that don't quite understand globalization, the global premise of our constitution and its living reality. Nor do they understand or want to accept the interdependence of all nations, and accept that we all ultimately share in our limited (as well as vast) natural resources, made available to us through nature, as one global community. Some want an America of the 1950's- 80's, an America of challenged isolationism at the dawning of changes to come, and a cold war. They don't understand that there are no walls because God never built them, and that where ever they have been built, they eventually come down.... because isolationism is not in sync with our human natures, or Gods nature.
I write these things not to belittle ones intellect, not dismiss their emotions as irrelevant or non-existing. I say these things because not everyone was sitting in graduate school in 1989 pursuing an MBA when the big topic was globalization, as markets where expanding, walls were coming down, and our nations interdependence on each other was open sourced. Some don't understand or want to accept .... that steel jobs will never come back, that coal jobs will never come back and that many manufacturing jobs will never come back, simply because we no longer live in that world. And sadly, politicians are afraid to lay those facts out to the public in those rust belt states in a matter of fact way. Donald Trump even knows this, but it simply does not get votes. People often want to hear what they want to hear, and denial (the nile) is a place that's easy to live in.
Given Trumps persona, he also knew that our nations fascination with celebrity, wealth and the wealthy would also give him a pass on his non-existent resume for leading our country. So, today with 10 days left we are left with a campaign contest with no memorable discussions about issues but charges of CRIMINAL, LOCK HER UP, REVOLUTION IF SHE WINS, SECOND AMENDMENT RESOLUTION, LIAR, PERVERT, CON MAN, NASTY WOMAN.
Here is a truth, Hillary Clinton is not under investigation, Director Comey never said that. But, that doesn't stop others from spreading that falsehood... as the first amendment allows us to say just about anything. Another truth is that at no point after all of the reviews and etc has anyone come up with any evidence that Mrs Clinton traded favors, traded secrets or did none of the things those who hate her seek to communicate as fact. Another truth is that strong and wrong, beats weak and right every time, so the Clinton campaign may want to loudly separate fact from fiction.
Michael Dobson
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