The opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff.
My all-time favorite television show has always been "Friday Night Lights" with "The West Wing" a close second, but both pale by comparison with the entertainment that has captured my undivided attention and slavish devotion over the last several months.
It’s a show that has almost everything I’m looking for. It’s got nobility, dishonesty, cheating, lying, anger, absurdity, humor and high drama. The only thing missing is sex.
My new favorite is the first-run remake of the Wild and Crazy Guys from the old "Saturday Night Live." It’s available on a lot of channels, but especially CNN, Fox News and MSNBC – almost 24 hours a day. I don’t even need my DVR.
The show, as you may have guessed, is the mad stumble for the Republican nomination for President of these here United States. I have never been much of a sucker for promises and platforms of candidates for election. I think all of them promise a lot more than they can ever deliver (please see berniesanders.com). But there are a couple of things I want: good judgement, compassion, the ability to stay calm in the eye of the storm, a cooperative attitude and a sense of humor. That makes a pretty good president – or a husband or wife or friend for that matter.
A microcosm of what this race has become, however, splashed across our television screens Tuesday night, after the results were in from the Nevada primary caucus.
Donald Trump won big and came out to the stage flanked by his Stepford sons, who clapped like robots every time dad said he wanted to make America great again or that he was going to build that wall and make Mexico pay for it or that he was deeply in love with the NRA.
Trump did get to the heart of his campaign, and his life, with a brief moment.
"Ted and Marco are out of touch with reality," he said. "People offer me money for the campaign, but I don’t want it. And that’s strange. Normally I’m greedy. And I want to make America greedy. I want to grab and grab and grab for America. Greed."
Then we had both Ted Cruz, who makes the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia look like a socialist, and Marco Rubio, who's clean cut but still can’t solve the riddle of his thirst that makes him keep licking his lips.
Both Cruz and Rubio have stood up to thank voters and claim some kind of victory after getting trounced, again and again, by Trump. At some point, one of their advisors has to tell them that victory speeches for finishing second or third are not really victory speeches. In order to give a victory speech, you actually have to have a victory.
And then we come to the good Dr. Ben Carson. The handwriting has been on the wall for almost 18 months for the neurosurgeon who seems to struggle with everything from getting on stage on time to figuring out how to keep his eyes open when he talks to people. You’ve got to wonder about someone who says, "If there had been no gun control laws in Europe at that time, would six million Jews have been slaughtered?"
And finally there is the hapless and hopeless John Kasich. He’s trying to win by being the only nice guy left on earth. Kasich has gotten a lot of big newspaper endorsements, helping prove that nobody cares about newspaper endorsements.
The Republican electorate is clearly spoiling for a fight, and they don’t want a mild-mannered, accomplished, good-humored guy who has actually run a government as a candidate.
Despite all evidence to the contrary, both Kasich and Carson continue on their fool’s errand which leaves us with Trump, Cruz and Rubio.
Wild and crazy for sure.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
