I’ve taken a break from doing my Smerconish Saturday the last month or so. I wanted to sit back a bit and not get overwhelmed by the tragedy in Ukraine. It’s tough to watch, let alone comment on as more humans become casualties in this completely stupid war.
I do not want to get on this blog and in any way be disrespectful to the courageous people of Ukraine. The very unfortunate thing is that the Ukrainians have a much more passionate view of democracy than the average American. How sad.
I’ll be starting back up next week on Sunday mornings with my weekly Smerconish segment. I want to move it to Sunday with the other Sunday news political shows.
Let’s get to some of the questions in my Smerconish box.
Ken from Flagstaff:
Q: Mike, I look forward to you covering the mid-terms on your blog. What’s your take on how it goes for the Democrats in November?
A: Always remember the famous James Carville line, “It’s the economy, stupid.” If the country is still within the throes of historic double-digit inflation…I would think the Dems will get slaughtered in the House and possibly lose the Senate as well.
Since 1980, we’ve had three presidents who became one-termers because of the economy stalling for various reasons. Jimmy Carter in 1980 with double digit inflation got slaughtered by Ronald Reagan.
Bush 41 in 1992 got beat when he went back on his no new tax pledge sending the county into a recession, plus the Ross Perot effect, and lost the White House to an underdog named Bill Clinton.
Then, most recently, Donald Trump lost the White House when the country dipped into negative GDP terrain during the initial stages of Covid.
There’s a lot of angry Americans out there right now. I’d be selling short on the Dems in a big way unless things change by early October.
Kathryn from Houston:
Q: Mike, love the blog. If the Election of 2024 were being held right now who would get your vote as president?
A: Clearly, Joe Biden is too old, let alone two years from now. Donald Trump is a pathetic grifter who should be sitting in a federal prison. So it wouldn’t be either one of those two guys.
It would be a woman. I’m never voting for another man to be POTUS in what’s let of my lifetime. Women are clearly more pragmatic and smarter. Plus, they’re tougher. We have become a county full of little sissy men.
I would have Liz Cheney running against Elizabeth Warren. I believe the greatest challenge facing our country is for us not to destroy ourselves from within in the next four to six years. I’m not an ideologue, so for me it’s not a conservative vs. liberal thing. It would be one of those two women. I have to think about it some more.
Stuart from Portland:
Q: If Trump was still president would Putin have invaded Ukraine?
A: Putin knows what an absolute chump Donald Trump is in reality. Plus, they both launder their dirty money at Deutsche Bank in Zurich, then wire their dirty money turned clean to Cypress, before wiring it to London, Geneva, the Cayman Islands, or the Bahamas.
Don’t make me laugh. Putin more than any American knows what a complete blowhard Donald Trump is as a leader.
Go back to Year 1 of Trump in the White House. Trump and then Sec Def James ‘Bulldog’ Mattis lobbed some cruise missiles on top of that insignificant airfield in Syria. Then, did absolutely nothing as the Russians flattened Syria.
If Trump was still POTUS I would say Russian tanks would be parked at the Polish border about right now.
Trump is a complete isolationist, while Putin is a former KGB officer who believes the day the Berlin Wall fell was the darkest day in the history of the world.
Connect the dots.
Thanks for the great questions. Have a wonderful Easter.