* During the first campaign of President Obama in 2008, Hillary Clinton ran an ad asking who you would prefer to be in charge in event of an emergency phone call in the middle of the night. Her ad ultimately became a reality with all the recent crises in the U.S. government the last few months. There are the IRS “lost” emails, the invited illegal immigration in the southwest, the escalating Iraq war, the deplorable five for one prisoner swap, the Snowden information leaks and the Veteran’s Administration repeat scandal to name a few. Hillary’s 2008 commercial noted her longtime public service, eight years spent in the White House and time in Congress. Obama, she said, had a “speech.” Looking at this in the aggregate makes me think it would have been better to have Hillary at the nightstand even if she were wearing a pantsuit. Since 2008 we have learned that Obama also (in addition to a speech) has a nice suit plus a practiced pose whereby he lifts and rotates his chin 45 degrees. This, to give the impression that he is receiving messages from above. In these troubled times let’s hope that this privileged communication yields some sage advice.
* There are endless videos on YouTube showing the exhilaration of grandparents, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and children as loved ones in the Armed Forces unexpectedly return on holiday or other leave. Few things make us feel any better. Often forgotten in all this joy is that none of these reunions would occur without our participation in never-ending wars. War is always a high price to pay for our inability to get along or negotiate. It is also a high price to pay for the exhilaration of seeing some of our brave soldiers return. Many don’t return or come back seriously ill or injured. We must also remember them and give them the best of care.
* Portugal tied the U.S. Soccer Team 2-2 with 27 seconds left in stoppage time. Despite our collective disappointment it was still one of the great games ever played. On the positive side we were spared the sight of the President magically appearing on the TV screen announcing a U.S. victory and taking credit for the goals.
Michael Arnold Glueck writes Deep Thoughts for the Newport Beach Independent.
