The Greatest Show On Earth — Sorry Trump, Your Flatulence Still Stinks

Did you watch it? Better yet, I’m old enough that I actually went to it. Ringling Bros.-Barnum and Bailey Circus. The greatest three-ring circus in the land. Celebrated in film back in 1952 with Cornel Wilde, Betty Hutton, and James Stewart. Before your time, maybe. Not mine.

Then in 2017, Hugh Jackman played P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman. Entertaining both times. Good spectacle. Great misdirection.

But why do I feel like what I’ve been watching lately is just another circus remake, only this time starring Emmett Kelly the sad clown, sweeping up the spotlight after everyone else has gone home?

Where have we been? Asleep on Vance’s couch?

There has to be more than this. Noise. Non-stop noise. And guess who’s making it, and making it on purpose. Some call it distraction. Some call it ego. Some call it, ah, fudge, I’ll be polite and leave that one blank.

Bottom line: it’s all noise. Not governing. Not leading. Just noise.

Name one single thing that has been done that actually benefited you. And if you’re about to say immigration, I’ll counter with the hundreds of millions wasted on ICE theater, detention centers, the failed Alligator Alcatraz, vanity jets, and murdered innocents. So be smart and don’t go there.

It’s time for the circus to fold its tents, load the wagons, remove the fake freaks’ makeup, and leave town. And on the way out  put the stolen assets back in the treasury where they belong.

So where do we go from here?

More extreme right MAGA? I hope not, and I think their scared leader has done more damage to that movement than any opponent could have managed. They took themselves down.

Looking at party labels right now would be a mistake. The midterms should put Democrats in power, and hopefully they’ll be wise enough to clean out the obvious corruption while doing a little honest housekeeping on their own side as well. Nobody’s hands are entirely clean and the ones who pretend otherwise are lying to your face.

So let’s look at people. Not parties.

I started this piece about the circus on purpose. Because who’s popping up as the early favorite for 2028? Who looks good? Maybe a little too good. Maybe a little too camera-ready, too well-spoken, too perfectly lit for every occasion? Could be that’s exactly what we need right now to get people’s attention again after four years of this.

But is a pretty face ultimately who we want as Commander in Chief? And who has he alluded to as his second in command? I’m going to keep harping on that angle, because I want to know the backup plan. I want to know from day one — or at absolute minimum, day two.

Then there’s Harris. Has she gotten past being Biden’s second? I’m not anti-Biden, but he was a fool for running again and the Democratic Party was plain stupid to go that route. He and Trump were just too damn old. Just like me, so don’t anyone get any ideas about talking me into running, even though I would be absolutely fantastic. Especially with Robert Reich as my number two. Geriatrics to the rescue. Combined age of about 160 years, zero interest in a second term, nothing left to prove, and no donors to protect. Dangerous combination in the best possible way.

The point I’ll keep making between now and 2028 is this: that election will be more important than anyone currently thinks it will be. It could be, it should be, the chance to start setting things straight. To pass laws that prevent this kind of unbridled power and corruption from happening again. To rebuild the guardrails that got quietly dismantled while we were watching the circus.

Make your decisions with thought. Because whoever walks into the White House next walks in carrying way too much inherited power, and must be honestly, genuinely willing to give a lot of it back for the sake of the rest of us.

Only God is God. By whatever name you call him.

Sorry Trump. Your flatulence still stinks.