Political mailbag
It has been a few months since I went to my fictional mailbox and answered the letters you wish you had time to write. Since the election season never really ended and people are still as angry today as they were the morning after Donald Trump won, why don’t we confine our focus to political questions from you my avid, loyal readers.
Dan in Delanson starts us off, “Dear John I keep hearing talk that Andrew Cuomo is going to run for president. What do you think?” Well Dan if you want to predict what a politician is going to do you look at two things- the polls and their actions. I have no clue what the polls would show about a potential Cuomo presidency but he certainly has national name recognition. However if we look at his actions and the things he has pushed for, he certainly seems to be setting himself up for something bigger than New York. That said I want to give you the one thing to watch for that will give his plans away. In poker they call this a player’s “tell.” Bachelors don’t run for president in this country and right now Andrew may have a steady girlfriend, the famous Sandra Lee, but as Beyoncé’ would say, “He hasn’t put a ring on it.” The day Mr. Cuomo asks Sandy to be Mrs. Cuomo you’ll know he’s running. Or just in love. Or both.
Tonya in Troy has a question about a Clinton, “Hey Gray, I’ve been seeing Chelsea Clinton’s name in the press lately. What’s up with that?”
You are very observant Tonya and I’ll tell you what’s up with that. Someone is moving pieces around the chess board to have Chelsea run for something; Senate, Mayor of Gotham, President of the “I hate Donald Trump” fan club. She’s running for something, just not yet. I know this because this was a young woman who went out of her way to fly under the radar and be left alone by the media. Then, as you so astutely observed, she made headlines three times in one week. She announced she was writing a book, she was named to a prestigious board of directors and she was given a very important woman’s award that you never heard of until now. That shows you either Chelsea is super, duper lucky or a public relations firm is positioning her for something big. Don’t be surprised if in about five years Chuck Schumer announces his retirement and Chelsea steals a move from her mom’s playbook and skips over all the minor offices you could run for and goes right for United States Senate. Gary in Gansevoort is curious about something, “Johnny boy, you’re a journalist so tell me something. Why are we seeing so many speakers get shutdown by protestors at college campuses? Aren’t places like UC Berkeley supposed to be a safe space for free thought?”
Let me say first I saw what you did there with the “safe space” reference Gary, well played. Now to the point. This is the new normal and you need to get on board. College is not a place to challenge yourself intellectually or face the reality that not everyone on the planet thinks like you. Nope. It is now commune where like-minded people skip class and talk about how horrible we treat the poor on this planet while sipping $6 unicorn Frappuccino’s.
Wendy from Watervliet has a brief question, “Dear John. Every time I see Elizabeth Warren on TV she seems angry. What gives?” Well Wendy I will meet brevity with brevity. She seems angry because she is angry. All the time at everyone. Sam in Saratoga has an odd one, “John I know you’re on Fox News and so is, or was, Bill O’Reilly. Did you ever see him in the hallway at work? Is he a big jerk?” Gosh Sam, you’ve got me mixed up. I work at a Fox affiliate which has nothing to do with Fox News the network. So Bill would be in New York City in a fancy building eating lobster and I’m up here in Albany buying Skittles out of the vending machine. As for your last question I never met the man so I don’t know if he’s a jerk or not. I did see that old “Inside Edition” tape where he yelled at everyone, “We’ll do it live !!!! ” I thought it was funny. OK time for one more letter. Charlie in Chatham has another TV question, “Mr. Gray do you think Megyn Kelly will be successful on NBC?”
The short answer is yes but not as successful as she was on Fox. That was a perfect spot and show for her. Think of all the TV stars that jumped ship to go to another network and bombed; paging Katie Couric.
Alright folks we are out of space and time but I’ll leave you with this. If you look around and don’t like what you see happening, just remember 90 million people didn’t bother to vote last fall. Blame them.