Trump truthful: Anyone would be tempted by dirt

For once, President Trump finds himself guilty of telling the truth.

“I think you might want to listen. There isn’t anything wrong with listening, if somebody called from a country, Norway, (and said), ‘We have information on your opponent’ — oh, I think I’d want to hear it,” Trump told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos last week.

No politician will admit it publicly, but I’d bet they would all say “yes” to a chance to look at any dirt dug up on their opponent from any source, foreign or domestic. I know I would have been tempted.

At the very least, they’re going to have someone from outside the campaign, a hired gun, look at it

so there are no fingerprints leading back to them.

Then, once they see what they have, they’re going to decide whether to call in the FBI — after leaking the dirt to the media, of course, assuming it’s true.

The curiosity of what the “dirt” may be is just too great a temptation.

Let’s be honest: If someone came to you with a hot inside stock tip, you might not act on it. But you would listen.

You would not say, ‘Hold on, I’ve got to call the Securities and Exchange Commission.”

And that is what Trump was saying.

Federal Election Commission Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub released a statement Thursday saying, “Let me make something 100% clear. ... It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election.”

The president’s statement probably couldn’t be construed as an admission of illegality in the Trump campaign’s turning of a blind eye to Russia’s 2016 efforts to pump up his candidacy and knock down Hillary Clinton’s. There are technical questions about what constitutes a thing “of value” in a campaign.

But unfortunately for Trump, the public doesn’t make such fine distinctions. Total exoneration on collusion? Not exactly.

Google this: The National Association of Minority Contractors was in the Bay Area for its annual convention last week. The contractors had hoped to hold the event in San Francisco, but with rooms in the city going for $600 or more a night, they had the good sense to book a hotel in Redwood City instead. As an added plus, Google hosted a reception for the contractors at its Redwood City campus.

Hosting the minority builders was a good public relations move by the tech giant, and one that took me on my first tour of the Google world.

It’s a big place — for sheer sprawl, the Redwood City campus rivals Google headquarters in Mountain View. The workforce looked more diverse than I expected, and the place has more security than the Pentagon.

And they have more food and more varieties of flavored water than a Whole Foods store. All for free.

Pass the pineapple water.

Rossmoor muscle: Believe it or not, the biggest dues-paying Democratic club in the state is at the retirement community of Rossmoor in Walnut Creek. Its phone banking and Twitter operations have helped party candidates in races all across the country. And the members never have to leave their gated community.

On my annual visit the other day, I was asked, “What is the most practical combination for Democratic national ticket?”

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” I answered. In that order.

Who would be the next most practical?

“Biden and Sanders. Biden brings in the old vote. Bernie brings the young ones.” Who would be the most exotic?

“Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg.”

It would easily make for the best reality show casting.

Clean fun: The other morning the tourism folks hosted a “sweep the streets” campaign. They must have had 300 people with brooms start out at the Ferry Building plaza and sweep all the way up Market Street to the Tenderloin.

It was a great gesture but ultimately a short-lived one, because the people who mess up the streets outnumbered those who tried to clean them up by about 4-1.

Supreme situation: Former top Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett made a great presentation at the women’s conference hosted by Mayor London Breed at the Moscone Center on Friday.

The highlight came when Jarrett was asked whether she was interested in being on the Supreme Court.

“That’s flattering. But no, I haven’t practiced law since 1991,” Jarrett said.

At which point someone shouted, “Neither did (Brett) Kavanaugh!”