Trump’s Ordeal – Week 1

Trump rolled through two civil trials, hardly blinking, defiant, but at the end of the first week of his criminal trial sitting at the defense table staring straight ahead, eyes sagging, he looked weary. Worn down. A born street fighter, living by the sword, like a reflex Trump punches back whenever someone punches him –…

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The Least Harm

Siena College took a poll, Biden crept up, gaining 4 points: Trump 45%, Biden 44%. The New York Times went to work interviewing people who were polled: An Independent voter, a hairdresser, said she saw Trump and Biden as ‘just blah,’ added she saw Biden as ‘the lesser of two evils’: “You can recover from…

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Fooling Voters

Leading Jesse Helms’ campaign back in 1990 Tom Ellis asked pollster John McLaughlin: ‘Who do we want to win the Democratic primary?’ John opened his poll. Turned pages. Looked straight at Tom Ellis. ‘You want Harvey Gantt – not Mike Easley.’ Gantt would be easier for Jesse to beat in the General Election. Jesse’s campaign…

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Back to Even: The Latest Polls

There’re not many media polls you can trust these days – media polls are done to give newspapers a reason to write stories their readers like. But there are a few reliable polls still around – and they’re showing a strange change in the race between Trump and Biden. For months, Trump’s been leading Biden.…

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A Hard Fight to Win

Grinning Trump said he would make a deal on abortion that would make both sides happy. This week he put his deal on the table, said he’d leave limits on abortion up to the states. Both sides erupted. Angry. Unless you have faith in the wisdom of Washington politicians, leaving abortion in the hands of…

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An Angel Shows Up

Reagan’s voice turned softer, the room fell silent, people leaning forward on the edge of their chairs to hear – remembering the ‘tap, tap, tapping’ of Neville Chamberlain’s umbrella on the cobblestones of Munich Reagan said détente was a mistake – like appeasement had been a mistake. Sitting in the White House Gerald Ford went…

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State of the Union

Hectoring Biden, angry, Republican Congressmen roared, Lies – wearing a bright red MAGA cap and a tee-shirt Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene waved both arms above her head. Combative, not Sleepy Joe that night, Biden punched back, punched again, said, ‘I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while’ – then…

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You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

Trump’s facing a stack of indictments, just had to post a $90 million bond, says since he was President he has complete and total immunity. To get herself elected, New York’s Attorney General told voters she’d nail Trump – she did, nailed him with another half a billion-dollar fine. The Georgia DA who indicted Trump…

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History Repeating Itself

WRAL TV polled, reported: Trump, Biden, Unpopular with North Carolina voters. One or two days later I read an article by a Politico pundit calling polls like that “illogical yammering” – he said Trump clobbered opponents in the primary and Biden didn’t even get an opponent and that proved Trump and Biden were the candidates…

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Four Years Ago

Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley of North Carolina accidentally told the truth last week. On a Fox News show, Whatley (photo) said, “At the end of the day, this comes down to a very simple contrast between President Trump and President Biden. Were you better off four years ago than you are today? The…

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