Many years ago, and I do mean many years, in fact about 40 years, I had an acquaintance whose every second phrase was “I am surprised that you are surprised!”
So just maybe that was an exaggeration. However, it certainly was a phrase he used often during our limited time together.
The phrase has been running around my head these last few days. For many years I have vigorously maintained that nothing surprises me, nothing shocks me. True, but!
Listening to our benevolent leader the other night, blaming all and sundry for the second lockdown, except of course himself. He, in his mind, is as pure as virgin snow. True, last night, he walked back on this proclamation and admitted that the government maybe did move too quickly to reopen the economy, schools, and such like. Although he could not resist a dig and the various experts who, with hindsight, mislead him with her advice.
“Netanyahu admits mistakes made, as record 8,315 new coronavirus cases confirmed”
“29 deaths since Friday afternoon; as pandemic continues to surge with new single-day high, premier acknowledges government rushed to reopen after first lockdown.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-admits-mistakes-made-as-8221-new-coronavirus-cases-confirmed/
For someone who is always right, eating humble pie was, I am sure, a real chocker.
Last night offered another non-surprise in the form of ‘his master’s voice’, Miki Zohar’s demand that the current government is dissolved ASAP. It’s not for nothing that Zohar is known as ‘his master’s voice’. He can echo the PM’s thoughts, desires, and wants without any recourse to Netanyahu himself. If challenged, Netanyahu simply says that Zohar is speaking his mind.
But, make no mistake, Zohar’s words are those of our benevolent leader.
“Coalition whip Zohar: Government must be disbanded ‘as soon as possible’”
“Likud lawmaker accuses Blue and White of undermining Netanyahu’s response to the pandemic, amid fight over limiting anti-Netanyahu protests.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/coalition-whip-zohar-government-must-be-disbanded-as-soon-as-possible/
An overnight non-surprise was Donald J. Trump’s nomination of ultra-conservative Amy Coney Barrett for the US the Supreme Court.
“Trump nominates conservative Amy Coney Barrett for US Supreme Court”
“Barrett praises Ruth Bader Ginsburg, says she will be ‘mindful of who came before me’; Republican senators gear up for swift confirmation before election”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-officially-picks-conservative-amy-coney-barrett-for-us-supreme-court/
So its crystal clear, Trump does not give a flying hoot about conservative values. His single drive is his reelection and by it, his place in history. Trump will do anything and everything to secure reelection. He will bend over backward, bend rules, kiss arse, simply whatever it takes.
And right now, he is on course to win reelection, helped in part by Biden’s inability to mount a stirring campaign, and his near-constant ‘shooting himself in the foot’, as he did with his remarks, comparing Trump to (the Nazi propaganda spin-doctor) Joseph Goebbels.
You need to be pretty dumb to utter such BS (out loud).
This coming Tuesday’s debate in Cleveland, Ohio should be memorable for all the wrong reasons. I see Trump knocking Biden ‘out the park’. Trump will be at the top of his game, but more importantly, or maybe gloomily, Biden will make fluff after fluff which Trump will, like the predator he is, jump on and devour.
Biden, and the DNC, it would appear have learned zero from 2016 and Hilary Clinton’s defeat at the hands of Trump. Four years on, and Trump is a different animal, he knows and understands how to play the game, how to use every dirty trick in the playbook, and then some. And he understands how to rebel rouse and appeal to certain segments of the American public, even at the same time despising them. Talk about being two-faced!
I wrote many months ago that I feel a certain despondency for the American people, given the choice between Trump and Biden.
Right now at least, I am gearing up for four more years of Donald J. Trump.
But there again, I might just be surprised come November 4.
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