Mike DeWine is saddened by Trump and by Vance!

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

Candidate Kennedy's jokes: Mike DeWine is the Republican governor of the state of Ohio. Re-elected in 2022, he's in his second term.

In our view, his guest essay in the New York Times is the number-one read of the day.

In these latter days of societal dissolution, his essay has a certain throwback feel. He lives less than ten miles from Springfield, Ohio—and he's saddened by Trump and by Vance:

I’m the Republican Governor of Ohio. Here Is the Truth About Springfield.

I was born in Springfield, Ohio. My wife, Fran, and I have lived our entire lives less than 10 miles from this city.

When we were dating in high school, we would go there to see movies at the Regent or State Theater or to eat fried clams at Howard Johnson’s. I remember Fran taking the bus about eight miles from our hometown, Yellow Springs, to Springfield to shop at Wren’s Department Store. Over the years, we’ve eaten countless doughnuts from Schuler’s Bakery, worshiped at St. Raphael Catholic Church and we logged many work hours there when I represented Springfield in the U.S. House and Senate.

Springfield has a rich history of providing refuge for the oppressed and being a place of opportunity. As a stop on the Underground Railroad, the Gammon House, which still stands, was a safe haven for escaped slaves seeking freedom. And, as a stop on the Old National Road, America’s first east/west federal highway, Springfield attracted many settlers both before and after the Civil War. Immigrants from Ireland, Greece, Germany, Italy and other countries helped build the city into what it is today.

[...]

As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield. This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there.

The Biden administration’s failure to control the southern border is a very important issue that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance are talking about and one that the American people are rightfully deeply concerned about. But their verbal attacks against these Haitians—who are legally present in the United States—dilute and cloud what should be a winning argument about the border.

The Springfield I know is not the one you hear about in social media rumors. It is a city made up of good, decent, welcoming people. They are hard workers—both those who were born in this country and those who settled here because, back in their birthplace, Haiti, innocent people can be killed just for cheering on the wrong team in a soccer match.

This is a lengthy, enlightening essay. We're leaving a whole lot out. 

In many ways, the essay seems to come from a different time and place. For reasons which go unexplained, the governor still supports Trump and Vance, but he's saddened by "their verbal attacks against" the Haitian residents of Springfield, Ohio, who are legally present there. 

Stated a slightly different way, the governor is saddened by the verbal attacks the candidates don't plan to stop.

With that, we take you back, once again, to the dawn of the era which has now become "too much with us." We take you back to Candidate Kennedy's humorous speech at the Al Smith Dinner, as transcribed by Theodore White in The Making of The President 1960.

By tradition, the Al Smith Dinner is an evening on which the presidential contenders break bread together, then deliver humorous speeches. As happenstance has it, we contributed a joke for that dinner to one of the candidates in the 2000 campaign—a joke which got a fair amount of play in the press.

(While glancing at the other candidate: Al Smith was the kind of governor I admire most—the kind who runs for the White House and loses.)

Rereading Teddy White's famous book, we were surprised to see that this tradition already existed at the dawn of this era. Actually, White seems to suggest that Kennedy may have initiated this approach to the evening before it was a tradition.

In a footnote on page 298, White presents the text of Candidate Kenndy's remarks. We won't attempt to explain every reference. According to White's transcript, here's what the candidate said:

KENNEDY (10/19/60): I am glad to be here at this notable dinner once again and I am glad that Mr. Nixon is here also. 

[Applause]

Now that Cardinal Spellman has demonstrated the proper spirit, I assume that shortly I will be invited to a Quaker dinner honoring Herbert Hoover.

 [Laughter] 

Cardinal Spellman is the only man so widely respected in American politics that he could bring together amicably, at the same banquet table, for the first time in this campaign, two political leaders who are increasingly apprehensive about the November election—who have long eyed each other suspiciously and who have disagreed so strongly, both publicly and privately—Vice-President Nixon and Governor Rockefeller.

[Laughter]

Mr. Nixon, like the rest of us, has had his troubles in this campaign. At one point even the Wall Street Journal was criticizing his tactics. That is like the Osservatore Romano criticizing the Pope.

But I think the worst news for the Republicans this week was that Casey Stengel has been fired. 

[Laughter]

It must show that perhaps experience does not count.

[Laughter and applause]

On this matter of experience, I had announced earlier this year that if successful I would not consider campaign contributions as a substitute for experience in appointing ambassadors. Ever since I made that statement, I have not received one single cent from my father.

One of the inspiring notes that was struck in the last debate was struck by the Vice-President in his very moving warning to the children of the nation and the candidates against the use of profanity by presidents and ex-presidents when they are on the stump. And I know after fourteen years in the Congress with the Vice President that he was very sincere in his views about the use of profanity. 

But I am told that a prominent Republican said to him yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida, “Mr. President, that was a damn fine speech.” 

[Laughter]

And the Vice President said, “I appreciate the compliment but not the language.” And the Republican went on, “Yes sir, I liked it so much that I contributed a thousand dollars to your campaign.” And Mr. Nixon replied, “The hell you say.” 

[Laughter and applause]

However, I would not want to give the impression that I am taking former President Truman’s use of language lightly. I have sent him the following note: 

“Dear Mr. President: I have noted with interest your suggestion as to where those who vote for my opponent should go. While I understand and sympathize with your deep motivation, I think it is important that our side try to refrain from raising the religious issue.” 

[Laughter and applause]

The popular vote was a virtual tie. Kennedy went to the White House, with Nixon soon to follow. A fuller transcript of Kennedy's remarks can be found right here.

As it turns out, the Al Smith Dinner is scheduled for October 17 this year. According to this report, neither candidate has announced plans to attend.

These very much seem like latter days here within "our democracy." In our view, "our democracy" is under tremendous stress, primarily from two major societal changes—the so-called "democratization of media," along with the journalistic practice known as "segregation by viewpoint."

The Fox News Channel has learned to build much of its evening around the power of humor. On that degraded, flyweight "cable news" channel, one of last night's bits of analysis went to a typical place:

GUTFELD (9/19/24): When the Teamsters polled their members about the Dems' new candidate, Cackles McKneepads—

[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE] 

(In an aside): Terrible. Terrible.

—Trump came out way ahead at almost 60 percent.

On this pitiful, brain-damaged program, the Democratic candidate is now known as "Cackles McKneepads." The reason?

The incels booked on this clown show each night have noticed that she's a gurrrl. The women of Fox sit around on the program each night and pretend they can't hear what's been said.

This is who and what these idiots are. On the other hand, this is also what our society has become as we continue to slide toward the sea.

This happens in prime time every night. The New York Times won't tell you that. Neither will the favorite reporters and friends who people MSNBC.

Final point: Reportedly, Casey Stengel once told our sainted mother that he liked her because his wife was named Edna too. Just a guess:

We'll guess she was dating one of his players when he managed the Boston Braves, known then as the Boston Bees.

When Kennedy spoke at the Al Smith Dinner, Stengel had just been released by the Yankees. Before long, he moved on to the Mets.