In which David Sedaris explains how David Brooks is wasting everyone's time ...

... Asking if Kamala Harris is the best candidate is like asking how the chicken is cooked.

Photo by Tyson on Unsplash

Humorist David Sedaris had this to say about people who would look at a presidential contest between Donald Trump and, well, anybody and be unsure of who to vote for:

“I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. ‘Can I interest you in the chicken?’ she asks. ‘Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?’
To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.”

The other day New York Times columnist David Brooks devoted nearly 1,500 words to asking how the chicken is cooked:

The Kamala Harris report card — David Brooks, The New York Times (via The Salt Lake Tribune), July 28, 2024

… Today, as she seemingly cruises to the Democratic nomination, I find myself experiencing a dizzying range of emotions. Some moments, I share the jolt of enthusiasm many are feeling. Other moments, I think the Democrats are suffering from a mass hypnotic delusion, nominating a candidate who is seriously flawed. To make sense of this mishmash of thoughts, I thought I’d put together a report card of her strengths and weaknesses. …

… The crucial question is: Has she learned and grown? Democrats keep telling me that she’s a much more confident campaigner, a much more effective manager, a much more focused thinker. I’m open to that possibility. But I just spent a week in Milwaukee during which Republicans kept reassuring me that Trump had changed for the better, was a man transformed.

The Republican arguments turned out to be hokum. The Harris 2.0 theory had better be more correct.”

The chances of the Orange Fascist returning to the White House, this time with a coterie of assistants who will actually be able to turn the government to his will, are too large to be fiddling around with any questions about whether Harris or anyone else with a serious chance would be the best candidate.

As Joe Biden recognized, it’s too late for any of that.