Here’s what I posted on various social media sites on Thursday just to keep me sane:

Pres. Biden could cure cancer and solve climate change & all anyone would focus on is the fact that he mispronounced the words “tumor” and “temperature.” #BidenHarris2024

It’s not much but I had to do something in the moment to make me feel like I wasn’t going crazy.

Plus, it was kind of funny.  At least to me.  Because it’s kind of true. 

I’m going to try to keep this brief but let me confess the following:

I don’t have many areas of interest where I have both expertise and work experience but two of them are the entertainment industry and journalism. 

And both of them polluted the atmosphere with all kinds of horseshit this week.

Yeah, I said it.

Horseshit.

And in a blatantly insincere way, which somehow makes it worse.  I mean, if you’re going to try to sell people a load of crap at least be a little better at it. 

I’m talking to you George Clooney, a dozen plus Democratic House members, a couple of governors and a senator.

We were all spooked by the president’s poor debate performance, his dip in the polls against Trump and the fact that he’s still jumbling some names and phrases here and there.

But anyone paying attention to the facts in the last few days also knows a few other things. 

1. A rested Biden gave a master class in foreign policy and domestic issues in a live, unscripted internationally televised press conference on Thursday.

• An on-fire (Note: In a good way) Biden electrified a crowd in Detroit Friday afternoon, setting forth not only what he plans to do in the first 90 days of his second term but eviscerating (Note: And the Chair knows from eviscerating) Trump’s immorality, criminality and draconian Project 2025 plan for his MAGA fantasy second go round in the White House.  #BuckleUp.

• Biden and Trump are now STATISTICALLY TIED on average in the national polls.  They are each ahead in different selected survey averages but neither greater than the 3% margin of error.  AND often there is a difference of just 1 or 2%.  Don’t believe me?  Here, and here.

Re polling – It’s an imperfect science, especially given the failure of the far right to take hold in France or the U.K. in the last few weeks, or to remain in power this year in Poland.  Or to landslide its way to massive victory in the U.S. midterm elections. 

ALL of which MANY polls predicted.

So, given ALL of this — WTF??? 

Look, we all know the undebatable stakes of the 2024 presidential election. 

Democracy vs. Dictatorship. 

Okay, it’d likely be some botched version of a dictatorship because it’s Trump but if he wins A LOT of rights American take for granted will get taken away.

Especially if you’re non-white, poor, female, non-Christian, LGBTQ+ or have the ability to talk back to authority figures in a particularly snide, eviscerating way you find impossible to control in situations you deem to be unfair. 

So as someone who fits squarely into the latter three of those six categories and literally rules at the top of the heap in the last one, I understand the concern.

But circling back, I also recognize horseshit when I read it and see it.

George Clooney lives in a ginormous estate in Lake Como, Italy and has accrued tons of money and power, some of which he’s put behind the Democratic party (Note: Good for him). But he is NOT the Democratic Party.  Nor is Rob Reiner.  Nor are the numerous middle-aged men – and yeah, they’re mostly male and mostly straight – who are now determined to get THEIR way and get Biden OFF the ticket because THEY somehow KNOW it’s the RIGHT thing.

You can read Clooney’s editorial for the NY Times if you can get behind its paywall. Or simply read a recap of it on free-as-a-bird Slate.

But basically he uses his huge platform to salute Biden as a hero, tells us he LOVES him and then very completely and very publicly eviscerates (Note: That word AGAIN!) his cognitive abilities to do anything more than… well, I’m not sure he thinks Biden can do ANYTHING at this point.  Most certainly not a one-hour open press conference a few days later or a cogent, rabble-rousing, Trump eviscera… okay – skewering, policy-particular campaign appearance where he is also able to cool down a hot crowd from attacking an intrusive anti-Israeli protestor hellbent on interrupting his speech and simultaneously defend said dissenting voice.

Nevertheless, George says HE’s spoken behind the scenes to many members of Congress, and also governors, and EVERY SINGLE ONE (Note: His words, not mine) thinks Democrats will lose the House, the Senate AND the presidency in November.

Well then – why even have an election? 

Why vote at all?

Of course he and some others – the others being those now almost two dozen members of Congress, as well as a few governors (Note: The numbers change as I write this) – have a Clooney proposed pie-in-the-sky plan.  Let’s get some of our very “strong Democrats“ on the back “bench” like – Kamala Harris, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. J.D. Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and “figure this out.”

But, um… isn’t Kamala Harris #2 on the ticket?  So if #1 retires doesn’t that mean #2 moves up?  Or are they suggesting it’s now a jump ball (Note: George loves sports, especially basketball) and may the best PLAYER win because they could out maneuver our first woman of color, duly elected vice-president?   Good plan.

And it’s total absolute unadulterated HORSE S…well, you know what.

Because what would George do if he were trying to get a movie of his made?  Would he talk directly to the studio and production company heads, negotiate behind the scenes with others and through agents, or even figure out new, creative solutions with his team and their teams to get what he wanted?

Or –

Would he publicly denounce the very people he’s been in business with – VERY publicly IN the press – and knowingly blow up any potential positive outcome for not only THIS DEAL but ALL OTHERS in the future because of all the bridges that HE burned? 

That’s not what he ever does for his movies, or in his career.  So why go down that road now?

Well, here’s the deal: 

George wants what he wants.  He thinks HE’S right – because how could he not be – and none of the collateral damage (Note: That would be we voters) matters.  This isn’t how he makes his living and he doesn’t have to do another deal in this arena.  And even if he isn’t that cavalier and is doing it for the betterment of the world – HIS WAY couldn’t possibly be the wrong way.  Because in a movie mindset there is nothing more powerful AND more right than a MOVIE STAR director AND producer.

With elected officials it’s easier.  What they want is to not lose their seats in Congress, their power and their access to future power.  They’re running scared, not unlike many in the Republican party who have enabled Trump, lost their moral compasses and find themselves choking daily on their own hubris in hopes they can survive the next roll call vote.

None of this is democracy.  It has nothing to do with the voters.  It’s merely a path that will lead us on the road towards Dictatorship Lane.

And the same principal applies to some of the most reputable media outlets determined to devote 50% of their focus to sidelining the Biden of it all.  The New York Times Editorial Board firmly calling on the president to step aside after the debate, knowing it will send the race into a feeding frenzy, and then denouncing Trump two weeks later as totally unqualified for president and a threat to democracy.

Maybe pick a lane in the real world?

Unless it’s about hedging bets for access and self-preservation in case the orange nightmare were to take over.

CNN “journalists” hosting a presidential debate with NO fact checking are no better.  Nor is one of those CNN hosts several weeks later for going out of his way to retweet stories on Twiiter/X from other sources roasting Biden’s staff, the candidate and any real prospect of him emerging victorious in winning a second term.  Visit the Twitter/X hellscape and scroll through Jake Tapper’s feed (@jaketapper) and you’ll see what I’m saying.

The one public person I do see working for the American people is Joe Biden.  He’s hosted a week-long NATO summit of leaders determined to save the world from an actual dictator, Putin; announced a three-part plan this weekend that could end the war in Gaza; got inflation down another .3% this month despite all the naysayers (Note: Yes, things WILL cost a little less); continues to add more new jobs monthly than almost any president in the last 40 years; and is presiding over record stock market numbers.

Yup, he screws up names, clears his throat A LOT, and occasionally, or maybe even a little too much, gets lost in a sentence.  But as he reminded a crowd Friday night, Trump called Nikki Haley Nancy Pelosi, was convicted of “raping” (Note: The judge’s official word) a woman, and boldly proclaims he will be our “dictator on Day One.” 

We VOTERS – not the pollsters, not the celebrities and certainly not the media – get to decide who wins the 2024 election.

Sure, nothing’s perfect, certainly not this year.

But contrary to popular punditry and electoral strategies, this is real life democracy. 

It’s not a game, it’s not entertainment and it’s certainly not the base reality show that is desperately being shoved down our throats from every which way.

Or is it?

Inner Circle – “Games People Play”

P.S. – So much for me being brief.