6 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT

Once you’ve turned 80, you realize how many presidents you’ve known (or endured) in your lifetime. There are times when I think the country might do better without a president, because we’ve lasted through so many of their poor decisions and mistakes. Thankfully, they’ve done a few things right, which is probably one reason we’re still standing. Not sure if I’ll be around for the 2024 election, so just in case I’m not, I have a few suggestions for the next President of the United States of America.

6 suggestions for next president: Don't throw ketchup on the wall — 6 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT: #6 Don’t throw plates against the wall. Someone will have to clean up the ketchup.

#1. Don’t ride in an open convertible during a parade. Presidents used to do that all the time. I remember the thrill of looking into Dwight Eisenhower’s beautiful blue eyes on one of his visits to Chicago. However, it didn’t work out well for John F. Kennedy in Dallas. .

#2. Bury the tapes. If you’re going to do something so foolish as to break into the opposing party’s election headquarters, for heaven’s sake, hide the evidence. Nixon thought he was preserving an important part of history by saving all of his conversations regarding Watergate. But the tapes came back to bite him. If the next president tries such a break-in, it will be much more complicated. He’ would have to erase all the text messages, e mails, and records of cell phone calls. Better yet, he should conduct any communication regarding such an activity one-on-one, inside a big closet. But make sure it’s debugged.

#3. If you’re feeling sick, don’t attend a state dinner with the Japanese Prime Minister. You’re liable to vomit in his lap, and it will make international headlines. George W. Bush later claimed it was just a simple case of the flu. Unfortunately, it was right around election time, and many people thought that episode contributed to his defeat.

#4 . Don’t smoke cigars, and if you do, keep them out of the oval office. Especially while conducting a tryst with an intern. And if things get out of hand, make sure you have a change of clothes available. Unlike Bill Clinton, don’t let her leave the room with the evidence . And once you have the blue dress, cut it up in little bitty pieces and flush it down the toilet.

#5. Speaking of toilets: Don’t use the toilet while talking to reporters. LBJ was known for sitting on the pot while conducting interviews. He got away with such crude behavior for awhile, but in the end, he realized he couldn’t get re elected.

#6. Unlike Trump, don’t throw plates against the wall when you get mad. Somebody will have to clean up the ketchup, and eventually, they’re going to testify before some congressional committee about your poor anger management skills. There are lots of apps now that help with that. Subscribe to something like CALM, meditate once a day, and do some deep breathing exercise before meeting with your attorney general after the election .

I don’t know about you, but I’m really hoping the next president won’t be an octogenarian like myself. We need a younger candidate who has demonstrated some common sense. But why would any sensible person want to run for president?

September 18, 2021September 18, 2021

MONICA GETS THE BEST REVENGE.

Monica Lewinsky is finally getting back at Bill Clinton. She wasn’t his first youthful conquest, but she may have ended up being his last. Yes, their relationship was consensual. But he was the president of the United States and she was a lowly, 23 year old, unpaid intern. Balance of power was heavily weighted, and he should have known better. But now, she’s produced “Impeachment.” a television show about what really happened, and it isn’t pretty. Finally, Monica gets the best revenge

The entire episode got me thinking about the incredible charm of sex offenders. So many successful, talented men have been outed as abusers, that it makes you wonder if it goes with the territory. According to psychologists, many CEO’s of large companies are narcissists. That’s because they don’t have much regard for anyone but themselves. Since they happen to be brilliant, they’ve figured out how to charm a crowd. They know exactly how to manipulate people in order to get their own way. And because they’re so cocksure of themselves, they don’t have performance anxiety. . And in the end, they become super stars.

Woody Allen is the next person who comes to mind. I truly believe his daughter’s accusations of sexual abuse. But, on the other hand, I have watched every single one of his movies, and enjoyed them thoroughly. His creativity and talent are a fact. Does that excuse his behavior? Not at all.

Next comes Matt Lauer. I don’t think I’ve watched the Today show more than once or twice since he got kicked out for his blatant sexual abuse of young female staffers. What he did is deplorable, but yet, he was a great host and the show has never been the same since he left. Do I wish him well? Of course not. It just makes me mad that someone that gifted would have such a dark side.

It goes on and on. We never missed an episode of the Bill Cosby show. And he was a great comedian. He was also accused of assaulting numerous women.

Harvey Weinstein was a convicted sex abuser, but he produced great movies. Remember when Meryl Street declared him a God during her famous Oscar acceptance speech? He could be the most charming man in the world—except when he wasn’t.

But in the end, all of these men got their just desserts. Their talent and ability couldn’t save them. Finally, like Monica, their victims got the best revenge.

August 26, 2020August 26, 2020

DC AWASH IN FAMILY DYSFUNCTION

Some of us have experienced more family dysfunction than we would care to admit. The façade of the “perfect family” is one that’s carefully nurtured and preserved. Politicians, especially, strive to present such an image. President Barack Obama and Vice President Mike Pence represent the ideal persona of happily married family men. Unfortunately, right now, Washington DC politicians are awash in a sea of family dysfunction.

Starting last year with Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. He’s the one who got kicked out of the Navy. Nevertheless, he made millions for doing almost nothing in China and the Ukraine while his dad was VP. Then, he got some show girl pregnant and refused to assume responsibility for the daughter she bore him. She had to go to court and get a DNA test to prove paternity. But that’s all water over the dam. He was proudly scheduled as a speaker at the DNC convention.

Things got really juicy in July when Donald Trump’s angry, disgruntled niece-from-hell, wrote a tell-all book about the dysfunctional Trump family. OMG! Senior Trump was a tyrant, an abuser, and Lord knows what all. Granny Trump opted out of motherhood—it was just too much for her. And to top it all off, the oldest son was an alcoholic, and his kids didn’t get any more in the final Trump will than the other grandkids. Well, Mary Trump got even. She went so far as to stir up some sibling rivalry, secretly recording big sissy Mary Anne complaining about baby brother. I guess all of us rant and rave about our sibs at times, but we don’t expect it to be recorded for public consumption.

Back to Biden. We know he likes to smell women’s hair. That seems weird, but not exactly immoral. What we didn’t know, until now, is that he had an affair with his wife , Jill, while she was still married to someone else. Her ex husband is writing a tell all book to be released in October.

Speaking of affairs with a married person. Vice Presidential candidate, Kamala Harris was 29 when she started an affair with 60 year old Willie Brown. His being Speaker of the California State Assembly made up for the age difference, I guess. Trouble was, he had a wife and three children.

DC awash in sea of dysfunction. Kellyanne Conway & husband George finally quit their jobs to become parents. — DC Awash in Sea of Family Dysfunction. Kellyanne Conway and her husband finally quit their jobs to become parents.

Next, we have the, most blatantly dysfunctional family imaginable with Trump advisor, Kellyanne Conway. Her husband started a Super Pack, called the Lincoln Project, to bash Trump. I guess they must have been living separately. We wondered where their four kids fit into all this, but last week, we found out. Their teenage daughter went online to accuse them both of being losers and abusers as parents. Consequently, both Kellyanne and her husband George quit their jobs and presumably are trying to salvage what’s left of their dysfunctional family.

Does it really matter to the voters? Bill Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky and got impeached. He’s been seen at the secret hideaway of sex offender Epstein, but they still had him speaking at the DNC convention.

Reporters just love it all. It gives them something to rant and rave about. But after awhile, you wonder if politicians are a different breed. You’d have to have a hide like a rhinoceros to survive. Maybe all that family dysfunction toughened them up.

Remember the words of PT Barnum: “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

September 27, 2019September 27, 2019

EACH IMPEACHMENT IS DIFFERENT

Tolstoy began his great novel, Anna Karenina with this famous line: “Happy families are all alike; unhappy families are all unhappy in their own way”. My grandchildren don’t know or can’t remember what it was like to live through impeachment proceedings. But this will be my third rodeo, and I can tell you that each impeachment hearing is different–and unhappy– in it’s own way.

The Nixon resignation in 1974 was the first impeachment proceeding I had seen in my lifetime — NIXON WAS ON THE VERGE OF IMPEACHMENT WHEN HE RESIGNED

The Nixon debacle came at a time when my personal life was in turmoil. My then husband lost his job in the recession. I returned to school to get my dietitian’s license, while raising three children under 7. I was so tied up with financial worries, exhaustion, and stress, that Nixon’s impeachment was the farthest thing from my mind. As a university grad assistant, I heard college professors discussing Watergate. . I didn’t see impeachment as a major concern, or anything that would change my life for the better or worse. . Nixon’s resignation speech was painful to watch, but life went on pretty much the same. I know I voted for Jimmy Carter in the next election.

Comic photo of Bill Clinton wearing Monica Lewinski's blue dress — EPSTEIN HAD THIS STRANGE PICTURE OF BILL CLINTON IN A BLUE DRESS

The Clinton impeachment hearings came at a time when my children were raised, and I was nearing retirement. That winter, I came down with the flu, and spent hours on my computer with the Drudge report. It was like reading an enactment of the National Inquirer; sex, lies, and the famous blue dress. It was great entertainment and got me through a rough bout with the flu. For Republicans, is was schadenfreude at it’s best. Even liberals found the cigar wielding president a salacious distraction. When the impeachment didn’t pass the Senate, I don’t remember being upset. My life would go on pretty much the same, although I would miss the presidential soap opera.

Now we have the Trump impeachment inquiries. I’m probably not going to watch the hearings during the day. They won’t have near the entertainment value that we had with Bill Clinton’s time on the hot seat. And of course, it will be all over the news, night and day, until the final vote is taken. But from my standpoint, this impeachment would have much more impact on our nation.

If Trump goes down, a liberal president is a foregone conclusion. And most everyone’s life will change. Like it or not, we will have Medicare for all. Since I’m already on Medicare, it won’t make much difference to me. But as we seniors know, Medicare A doesn’t cover everything. I’m wondering what will happen to the cost of supplemental insurance and Medicare part B? My husband and I currently pay over $10,000 a year for this coverage. . Will the premiums go up even more than they have the past few years? For sure, taxes will increase to pay for all the freebies. Since my time on this earth is limited, it won’t change my life so very much. . But the direction of my grandchildren’s future will take a sharp left turn.

May 5, 2018November 11, 2018

SOME POTUS WERE A LITTLE “OFF”

The author F. Scott Fitzgerald once opened a story with, “the rich are very different from you and me.” Lately, with all the craziness going on in national politics, I have begun to wonder if politicians are very different from you and me.

Why do men and women go into politics? Supposedly, they are passionate about helping people to have a better life. That’s a worthy and very believable reason, but it seems you’d have to have an unusual amount of self confidence to think you would have the requisite personality traits and abilities to make great changes in society. Somewhere along the way, someone helped them form this good opinion of themselves—whether it be a parent, grandparent, teacher, or someone very close to them. So, that high self-esteem, wired into their brains, makes them slightly outside the “normal” curve. Politicians also must have the intestinal fortitude to endure a lot of nasty attacks on their integrity, appearance, personal life, ability to do the job, and even their families. Most of us don’t have the stomach for all of that public criticism.

Many presidents have been slightly “off.” FDR hid his polio-withered legs from the public for years, afraid that if people knew about his disability, they would never vote for him. Richard Nixon was paranoid and had an alcohol problem. JFK seduced White House interns and slept with mafia call girls. Lyndon Johnson sat on the toilet while talking with reporters , and was feared for his dark moods. Jimmy Carter acted more like a preacher than a president. Bill Clinton had a bit of a sex addiction problem. Now we have Donald Trump who behaves more like a medieval monarch that an elected official. And yet, in spite of their eccentricities and mental health problems, many politicians such as Abe Lincoln and Winston Churchill became great leaders.

Some presidents, like Harry Truman, had modest resources and no doubt were grateful for the perks, pension, and income provided by public office. Power, prestige and money could motivate many a politician. But what about those who are already rich? Someone like Romney? Is he a saint, or on an ego trip. I have no idea what makes these people tick. All I know is that something beyond the “normal” curve propels politicians into the stratosphere, seeking public office in places where angels fear to tread.