Trump, Clinton playing to same suburban crowd
Donald Trump’s recent pronouncements about wanting to help blacks and immigrants are not really aimed at blacks and immigrants. Neither was Hillary Clinton’s speech the other day accusing Trump of pandering to bigots.
Instead, both candidates’ messages were aimed at voters in the suburbs, most of whom are white.
Trump’s softening of his stand on deporting immigrants who are in the U.S. without documentation is about making these folks feel more comfortable about voting for him. It’s about trying to halt his slide in the polls by showing that he’s more open to discussion on immigration and race than he appeared to be during the Republican primaries.
For Clinton, the idea is to remind those same
suburban voters of all the things Trump wants them to forget. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that calling Trump an enabler of bigots pushes stories about her email issues and the Clinton Foundation way into the background.
It’s all noise. The fact is, Trump is never going to build his wall on the Mexican border, and his supporters know it. He doesn’t need to anymore — just the fact that he said for months that he wanted to do it will be enough for the Trump true believers.
Besides, he could do the job by erecting a line of naked Trump statues from Calexico to the Rio Grande. One look at that and everyone would turn and run the other way.
Everywhere you go in this town, people are talking about the sinking Millennium Tower.
The Matier & Ross scoop that the luxury condo high-rise has sunk 16 inches (and counting) taps into what’s been swirling around the backs of people’s minds for some time: Just how safe are all those skyscrapers going up around downtown?
Plus, we’re talking about a big-money screwup here, and that’s always a fun topic.
One prominent architect suggested that you might have lop 20 stories off the top of the 58story building to make it light enough so that it will stop descending into the landfill. Another suggested to me that they might have to take the whole building apart and put it back together with a new foundation.
And they were both serious.
A commercial real estate guy called me the other night to say he’s recommending that investors snap up any Millennium condo that comes on the market. He figures they can be had for pennies on the multimillion dollars, and that one way or another, the building is going to be shored up and saved — and that when it is, the value of the units there will skyrocket.
When I pointed out that given all the uncertainty, it would be impossible to get financing for such a deal, he said, “I know, you’ve got to pay cash. We pitch it to the Asian market.”
The port has an old San Francisco business as a new tenant at Pier 80. Pasha Automotive Services, which started out as a garage down by Fort Mason before World War II and grew into a huge car importer, is back on the waterfront.
Among the officials who greeted the return was former district Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, fresh from her election to the Democratic County Central Committee.
Sophie was termed out a few years back and replaced by Supervisor Malia Cohen.
My bet is that Maxwell is following the footsteps of her friend and ally Aaron Peskin and is making tracks to run again when Cohen is termed out.
She sure had the look of someone running.
Movie time: “War Dogs.” Two high school buddies reconnect years later and decide to go into the Middle Eastern arms business, with the U.S. government as their silent partner.
There are a lot of comedic moments to keep you entertained, and Bradley Cooper is great. But overall the story is serious. While there’s no outright violence, the implications of what happens after the arms are delivered to our “secret” allies will give you pause.
“Florence Foster Jenkins.” Here we go with another Academy Award nomination for Meryl Streep. I wish I could say the story line about this rich, tuneless, delusional singer matches the performances of Streep, wayward husband Hugh Grant and the rest of a very talented cast, but it doesn’t.
If you’re interested, see it fast. I don’t think it’s going to be in theaters for very long.
On the other hand, Woody Allen hits a home run with “Café Society.”
I caught this one by accident, when I mixed up the showtimes for “Florence Foster Jenkins.” I’m glad I did. It’s the same period piece Allen has done a dozen times or more, set during the golden age of Hollywood and New York. But in Woody’s hands, it never gets old.
What a show at the Herbst Theatre the other night. It was called “On the Red Carpet,” a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels.
The lineup featured Paula West and the cast from the Carole King musical, “Beautiful,” but the show stealer was Dame Edna, a.k.a. Barry Humphries, singing “Hello Dolly.”
One verse was delivered in perfect imitation of Carol Channing. The next was perfect-pitch Louis Armstrong. By the end of the song, it was one line of Channing to one of Armstrong.
I’m not sure what restroom the Dame uses, but she could fit in either way.
Kevin Fagan and The Chronicle did all San Franciscans proud on Warren Hinckle’s exit. Above the fold and extended coverage, with photographs reflective of a larger-than-life character.
In Hinckle’s words, Tuesday’s funeral at SS Peter and Paul will be a “three-priesta” — that’s how much help Hinckle is going to need with the Lord.
An organized mob will be there, headed by ex-Police Commission member Wayne Friday. After all, he and Jack Davis are practically the only ones left from the old gang.
An eye patch on all attendees would be appropriate.