Dear Editor
A recent letter to the editor reminded me that the word "listing" has multiple meanings. The statement contained a long, dubious list of Donald Trump's accomplishments as president: "Tax cuts" that create deficits, charge-it-to-the-children economics, is not an "accomplishment.” The letter concluded with a stilted challenge reminiscent of a sinking ship listing at sea.
The recent writer knows that a cleanup man will have more RBIs than the lead-off batter, and he knows a quarterback will throw more touchdown passes than a lineman, yet he challenged us to compare the accomplishments of a president, Donald Trump, in four years, to the accomplishments of a VP, Kamala Harris, in the same amount of time.
The challenge was a stacked deck. Our Constitution gives the president more power than any individual in the federal government, while it invests little authority in the vice presidency. John Nance Gamer, VP from 1933 to 1941, offered a crass but accurate appraisal of VP power when he said the job isn't "worth a bucket of warm p**** (rhymes with hiss).
Now, if the recent writer had challenged us to compare the accomplishments of the Trump/Pence administration to the Biden/Harris efforts, that would have been balanced.
Unfortunately, any mention of Mike Pence would remind us that Trump was ready to have his running mate stain because VP Pence behaved honorably.
Comparing the lives of Trump and Harris prior to their entrance into politics might be of some value, but that would remind us of the fraud convictions against a white-collar
criminal, the vows he's walked away from, and the klepto-female-crotch-grabbing he's boasted about.
Let me offer a comparison. You can decide if it is balanced.
Donald Trump is not the first Western leader to grow up in wealthy, prestigious circumstances. The same is true of FDR and Great Britain's Winston Churchill. The Hudson River Dutch doffed their caps to kid Roosevelt; Winnie was addressed as "Sir" long before he could shave. Yet, fate and character caused these men to step aside from the gravy train. They discovered the dusted-over footings of their great societies, unassuming service, sacrifice, and integrity.
They took the time to understand the trials and tribulations of the common man. When crisis came in the midst of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt was able to level with the American people, telling them, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
With Nazis gazing across the English Channel and five years of world war in the offing, Winston Churchill leveled with his people, promising them "blood, sweat, toil, and tears."
What did Donald Trump do when the COVID germ was leaching "from sea to shining sea?” He pretended. He told us, "It will be over by Easter."
When Easter was past and the dying skyrocketed, what did Donald do? He pretended. He told us there were magical cures, the Lysol high-ball or a stiff shot of bleach.
Pretending wasn't on the recent writer's list of Trump accomplishments.
Jesse Laurentius
Perryville
