U.S. Politics

[Royell Storing]

I don't see what the ballroom has to do with Trump playing golf. They are completely unrelated. The ballroom isn't being built for security reasons. That's just a fringe benefit. The ballroom will be a much more impressive venue for holding state dinners than the East Room which hosted last night's dinner with King Charles. I can't imagine he was too impressed by that.

But let's not bother with going ahead and finishing the ballroom. Let's just leave a pile of rubble there as a memorial to the East Wing.

Most of our recent presidents were avid golfers. Biden probably didn't play much while he was POTUS because of his decline, but he was an avid golfer while Veep. Obama, both Bushes, and Clinton played a lot. Clinton even played a round in the Bob Hope Pro-Am in front of thousands of spectators along with former presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush. Reagan played on occasion. Carter didn't play at all. Ford loved the game and was famous for his fiery temper. He played a lot after he was out of office including in Pro-Ams. I got to see him up close when he played in the Memorial Tournament Pro-Am which he did for several years. Nixon and LBJ played rarely. JFK was an avid golfer until his back pain forced him to give the game up shortly before he was assassinated. He was probably the best golfer of the presidents until Trump came along. Ike probably played golf more than any president while in office and became a member of Augusta National before he even became POTUS. There was even a tree named for him in the 17th fairway because he had lobbied to have it removed because he kept hitting it with his tee shots. A few years ago, a windstorm blew it over. I wonder if Ike had a hand in that. The earliest golfing presidents were Taft and Wilson, both of whom loved the game.

I have no problem with any president who wants to play golf.

   I have a serious problem with Gerry Ford driving a golf ball. Without question you are putting others at risk there. Gerry Ford was a Putz.

[Charles Collins]

What I think is one of the biggest problems with politics these days is all the negative advertising that tries to make the other side to be evil. Both sides are guilty of this. Sadly there are way too many people who get way too caught up in this aspect. Some of the most vulnerable people get so caught up in things (LHO, Squeaky, etc) that they even resort to assassination attempts. I hope the candidates will eventually recognize this and try to tame down the negative stuff in their advertisements. I also hope that people who want to discuss these things online will do the same.

[John Corbett]

What I think is one of the biggest problems with politics these days is all the negative advertising that tries to make the other side to be evil. Both sides are guilty of this. Sadly there are way too many people who get way too caught up in this aspect. Some of the most vulnerable people get so caught up in things (LHO, Squeaky, etc) that they even resort to assassination attempts. I hope the candidates will eventually recognize this and try to tame down the negative stuff in their advertisements. I also hope that people who want to discuss these things online will do the same.

That would be nice but it is wishful thinking. Politicians have figured out hyperbole works. It gets their base worked up which increases turnout and campaign contributions.

I forget who it was but someone on TV said a few days ago that the worst thing they ever did was allow cameras in the Senate and the House. Now the committee hearings are all about trying to get a 15 second sound bite rather than trying to get information from the person being questioned. Again, this drives turnout and contributions. As for what is said on the floors of the two houses, that's usually just for the cameras. Most of the time they are talking to an empty chamber. None of them want to sit around and listen to what each other has to say. The same thing used to happen before cameras and the members would make speeches just to get it in the Congressional Record. On big issues, there sometimes is actual floor debates but that's for show too.
They all know how they are going to vote and nobody is changing anybody's mind by what they say.