Thursday, October 18, 2018

Not

If you are old enough to remember when you had to stay up late to watch Saturday Night Live, rather than wake up the next morning to catch the YouTube distillation of the best bits, then you may remember a cat named Chevy Chase. He was the first Weekend Update anchor, and he had this catch phrase: "Good evening. I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not." It was a flippant bit of arrogance that began as a humorous jest since no one had any idea who Chevy Chase was. Then it became something more: arrogance for arrogance's sake, since he had quickly evolved as the first breakout star of this new late night skit show. In part because he was the only one who announced himself weekly by name. 
If you were tuned in to the Sixty Minutes interview with the "President" this past Sunday, you may have missed his moment of channeling the spirit of Mister Chase. “I’m president―and you’re not,” he told Leslie Stahl. We can only assume that this was his way of reminding the viewing public that he continues to be, not unlike the way Francisco Franco was able to remain dead, "President." And a big blustery ball of denial as well. When pressed by Stahl about whether he believes he treated Justice Kavanaugh accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Fordwith respect, Trump said: “W―you know what? I’m not gonna get into it because we won. It doesn’t matter. We won.”
Way back in 1950, UCLA football coach "Red" Sanders told a group of PE teachers he was mentoring, "Men, I'll be honest. Winning isn't everything", then following a long pause, "Men, it's the only thing!" So maybe it was Red that Orange was channeling rather than Chevy. 
Then Ms. Stahl asked the "President" if he would pledge not to shut down the Mueller probe. The probe that has already resulted in thirty-two people being indicted. And how did he respond to this challenge? “I don’t pledge anything,” he said. “But I will tell you, I have no intention of doing that. I think it’s a very unfair investigation because there was no collusion of any kind.” When asked once more, Trump again fired back, saying: “There is no collusion. I don’t wanna pledge. Why should I pledge to you? If I pledge, I’ll pledge. I don’t have to pledge to you.”
He doesn't have to pledge to anyone. He's "The President." And you're not. 

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