To the Editor,
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
The first black president was finishing his second term. The fact he had been elected, never mind re-elected was historic. There was tremendous opposition from the usual suspects, the bible and gun crowd, anti-regulation/government, talk radio and Faux News. Few recalled the previous president had foolishly ventured into ill-advised and very expensive wars. Waging war and being almost universally despised outside the U.S.A., was viewed as a sign of strength.
Nobody recalled MAD, the acronym for mutually assured destruction that eventually resulted in reducing nuclear weapon stockpiles. That left open the opportunity to repeat the folly of more nukes. Few recalled the job losses and economic chaos he inherited and why. Exiting the economic meltdown was to be grand and immediate. The huge runup in the stock market benefitted only Wall Street some claimed, but oddly Wall Street gained from the newly elected president. This hypocrisy could never get exposed to those who shouted out, ‘lock her up.’
The outgoing president had been stately, reasoned, a great orator and surrounded himself with knowledge. He was to be replaced with bombast, bromance, tweets, staged drama, yes men and a bumper-sticker mentality.
Eight years of relative sanity ended after 18 months of over-the-top campaigning. The symbolism of the escalator going to the bottom was lost.
Grant MaxwellNanaimo
To the Editor,
Re: Media manipulates message to suit a pro-Trump agenda, Letters, Dec. 8.
I find it quite amusing to read all the news headlines, letters to the editor, etc., in which people say he is not the best thing to happen to the U.S. and he does not represent any American people they know, etc.
I have to wonder who then voted for the man who only needed 270 electoral college votes to win, but managed to bring in over 300. This overwhelming majority should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is the result the American people obviously wanted.
Personally, I think he will make a great president – all you have to do to see this is take a look at the team he has put and continues to put together – it’s one of the finest collection of qualified people needed to change things for the better in the U.S.
Diana WalkerNanaimo