Scattershooting with Trump, Beckwith, Braun . . .
Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Charles G. Dawes . . .
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OK, SO THE scuttlebutt is that Trump is playing with the idea of a third term? But is he really? With Donald J. Trump, who knows? I truly believe half the drivel that comes out of his mouth he means, half is just messing with the Democrats and half is made up malarkey. What? The math doesn’t add up? Hey, neither does the math on our property taxes. Complain to Mike Braun!
On this third term, let me go on record that I would be against it. But before we get into that, how about if we slow the roll on the screamers who are saying Trump is trying to establish a monarchy instead of a republic? First off, of the 45 men who have held the highest office in the land, only 14 have served since the establishment of the 22nd Amendment outlawing a third term. It’s not exactly like the idea of a third term is foreign to our history.
No, my opposition has nothing to do with the Trumpers or the Never-Trumpers. It’s all about him being born June 14, 1946. By the time this term ends, he’ll be 82. A third term would put him in office when he’s four years away from 90.
No thanks.
Like him, love him, hate him or don’t care – everyone watched Joe Biden mentally and physically sink lower and lower during his term. What’s the old saying in sports? The only one undefeated is Father Time.
We’ve all seen the before / after pictures of presidents. There’s no question how much that office ages a person. I’d hate to see what it would do to someone in their mid-80s.
Oh, and one more thing for you die-hard Trump fans. Before you push too hard for allowing a third term, I have two words that ought to give you pause – Barack Obama.
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THE OTHER thing that has flared up recently is Trump and due process. I swear that the national media just looks for things to get the left riled up about. (Of course, Donald doesn’t help.)
For what it’s worth, if you have not watched the entire clip of his comments please do. I guess everyone is going to read into it what they want, but I think you’ll conclude it really wasn’t a big deal. Do I believe he meant he’s throwing out the Constitution? Absolutely not.
Look, if you ask me I would say Trump think he’s the smartest guy in the room. Maybe the world. Maybe ever. But if that’s correct, he wouldn’t be the first U.S. president or even major business CEO to think that. He’s just a lot worse at hiding it.
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THERE WAS one part of that interview that made me laugh. NBC’s Kristen Welker, a fairly slanted journalist in my opinion, asked him a fair question about the economy to which Trump said in part: “I think the good parts are the Trump economy and the bad parts are the Biden economy.” To be sure, I’m taking that out of context. But it seems clear his intent was to say that most of the good numbers are his and the bad numbers are Biden’s.
Reminds me of a well-worn story that every new manager should hear AND remember.
A long-time boss is retiring. His replacement has been named and at the retirement party, the old timer pulls the young guy aside and offers some advice.
“Listen, you’ll do fine. Just remember, every business runs into problems now and then. You’re a smart guy and you’ll figure it out. Thing is, when you hit a wall, I have left three envelopes in the desk. Don’t open them now, but if you have absolutely no alternatives, remember they are there.”
Time goes by and one day comes that dilemma the old man warned about. Seeing no other alternative, the new boss opens the drawer and pulls out envelope No. 1. He opens it to find a sheet of paper that simply says, “Blame me.”
So the new boss blames the old one. Crisis passes and everyone moves on.
Later, a second crisis develops. Nothing the now not-so-new guy tries works. Then he remembers the envelopes. He grabs No. 2 and opens it. “Blame your employees.” He does. Crisis passes.
When the third crisis blows up later, and at his wit’s end, the boss snatches envelope No. 3. He opens it and when he reads it, his heart sinks.
“Prepare three envelopes.”
Congrats, Don. You just opened No. 1.
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BACK HERE at home, boy are the boobirds coming for Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith. It almost seems Trumpesque in which every little thing is blown out of proportion. Kind of makes a guy wonder how much friendly fire Beckwith is taking? After all, he works for a governor who made no secret out of the fact that he didn’t want Beckwith on the ticket. Also, if Braun continues to shoot himself in the foot repeatedly, will Beckwith be an opponent in ’28? Hmmmm.
And lastly, whether you are pro Beckwith, Braun, Trump or Little Bo Peep, how about if we all give a little grace on minor missteps? No, I am not saying to forgive outright lies (like someone who runs on property tax reform and then about faces). But maybe we ought to let the little stuff slide and worry about the big stuff? Lord knows there’s enough of the big stuff to go around.
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CHARLES G. Dawes was the 30th vice president of the United States, serving from 1925-29 under Calvin Coolidge. Give yourself a gold star in history if you knew that. And if you knew he was descended from William Dawes give yourself an A-PLUS, PLUS, PLUS! You are the star of the class if you knew that William Dawes actually did more on that famous midnight ride than his cohort Paul Revere. William was just a pretty quiet guy about it and Paul was, well, let’s just say he was pretty good at self-promoting!
Two cents, which is about how much Timmons said his columns are worth, appears periodically in The Times. Timmons is the chief executive officer of Sagamore News Media, the company that owns The Noblesville Times. He is also a proud Noblesville High School graduate and can be contacted at [email protected].