HAYDEN HOLLINGSWORTH: Curiouser and Curiouser

Hayden Hollingsworth
Hayden Hollingsworth

That’s about all one can come up with in relation to our current election woes. Are we about to go down a national rabbit hole? If so, should Trump audition for the role of the Cheshire cat? It certainly proves the old adage truth is stranger than fiction.

One of the more surprising things is that tapes of his behavior did not surface a long time ago. With all the bragging he has done about his exploits with the opposite sex, the comments made to Howard Stern over the years about how to treat women and then declaring, “They love it,” it’s probably not a coincidence that The Washington Post and NBC chose to spring this coup 48 hours before the next debate.

It would be most informative to be a fly on the wall in the Trump suite in his tower. We shouldn’t be surprised, given the level to which this campaign has sunk, if there isn’t a bugged wall hanging that will record it all. The tabloid press must be green with envy that legitimate journalism actually scooped them.

Not only are national politics in shambles, the leaders in the republic party are at a moment of crisis. Those standing for election have been quite tepid in their endorsement of their presidential candidate but some have taken the high road and withdrawn their support. That number is growing quickly.

Congressmen Goodlatte and Griffith have been virtually mute in the whole affair, despite urgings from many in their constituency to disavow a candidate so at odds with any principles of decency. Perhaps the revelations of the last two days will stiffen more backbones. We can hope our representatives will be among them.

Trump has touched a major discontent with his rhetoric and we must give him credit for that. Unfortunately, any value in his political positions has been sullied, perhaps fatally, by his unfortunate personal views on many fronts that are valued as important to a civilized nation.

The national welfare of all is the paramount issue, of that everyone should be in agreement. One can hardly imagine what Mike Pence must be going through. He certainly acquitted himself admirably in his debate performance. Many were embarrassed by Tim Kaine who stepped far out of the character of moderation for which we have admired him.

A short story writer of the last century (it may have been Ring Lardner) wrote a fictional piece about a pilot who accomplished a Lindberg-like feat and was to be celebrated in New York with the ticker tape parade and the whole enchilada. There was only one problem: What the pilot had accomplished was totally laudable but he turned out to be a colossal lout. Rather than expose themselves to ridicule for having allowed such a despicable person to gain monumental fame, the city fathers sent him to his parade via a window that was fifty floors about Fifth Avenue.

The Republican Party finds itself in a similar predicament but without the option of jettisoning their candidate. Millions of votes have already been cast and those results cannot be discounted. It seems very unlikely that the damage the candidate has done to himself can be rectified. He has shot himself in both feet, including the toes, but the process must follow to the conclusion. Even though Trump has galvanized a large portion of the electorate, he might adopt the Mort Sahl closing line to his comedy act: Is there anyone here that I have not offended?

Now the Democratic Party has its share of problems too. Hillary cannot shake her past, and although not as seamy as Trump’s odyssey, it is significant baggage. Who can say what will happen? This is not going to be pretty but we all must keep level heads, a feat that is our best hope for some sort of reasonable outcome, whatever that might be.

Hayden Hollingsworth

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