By Roger Currie
It has not been a terrific week for honesty and integrity, in either journalism or politics in the United States. Two fairly familiar names on the Republican side have jumped into the race for U.S. president.
First came the Donald. That would be Donald Trump, the man with the world’s most ridiculous hair, and a man who is totally addicted to the spotlight it seems. For a long time now, Donald has been as much about reality TV as anything else. The line he is most famous for on the tube is “you’re fired,” yet in his big announcement he boasted that he would be the “greatest jobs president America has ever seen.”
He did create some employment with his announcement. Trump’s people called up a company that supplies extras to work on movie shoots. Many of the eager supporters in the crowd, who wore Trump sweatshirts and carried big signs, were paid a whopping $50 to be there for a couple of hours.
The U.S. election is almost 18 months away, so it’s perhaps unwise to jump to any conclusions. But there appears to be a very good chance that the ballot choice will once again come down to a Clinton vs. a Bush. Have we not seen this movie a couple of times before?
Jeb Bush is the former Governor of Florida. If he were the winner in 2016, he would become known as Bush 45. He presents a somewhat more interesting image than Bush 43, his brother George W. He speaks fluent Spanish, as does the fastest growing segment of the American population.
Perhaps Brian Williams will jump up and be a candidate somewhere. He’s the former anchor of the NBC “Nightly News,” and will now be working in a reduced role as MSNBC. Even if he doesn’t win, he could have lots of fun remembering that he did.
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Roger Currie is a writer, storyteller, voice for hire, observer of life on the Canadian prairies, and can be heard on CJNU 93.7FM in Winnipeg.
