AS I TYPE THIS...

with Barold Hume

My, oh my, a lot has gone on in the world of politics since my last column. But before I dig into some of the highlights, I must share a related anecdote from my life. Just prior to waking up at 3 a.m. last night as is customary, I dreamt that President Biden suddenly died of a heart attackthe result, it was reported, of a lifetime of poor nutrition. Republicans, naturally, were literally dancing in the streets, while those on the left simply couldn't wrap their heads around the crap diet diagnosis. After all, it's former President Trump who's notorious for stuffing his face with fried chicken and downing a Diet Coke every hour; Biden has at least been known to consume a vegetable now and then. Just goes to show how weird the mind works sometimes during the REM stage of sleep. Now back to reality... I'd be remiss not to mention coincidental firing of Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon on the same day back in late April; that simply couldn't have been scripted any better. The former got canned for essentially costing Fox News close to a billion bucks in the Dominion defamation lawsuit while the latter was a total egomaniac who treated his co-workers like dirt. Neither will be missed by me, though Fox appears to have lost some ground post-Carlson; CNN, on the other hand, may well be better off sans Lemon. His ratings stunk, anyway, so the decision to cut ties surely wasn't difficult.

So, the left and the right each lost a high-profile broadcasting ally yet the Earth continues to spin - much like poll numbers continue to change. Last month I noted how Trump is far and away the Republican candidate of choice in the lead-up to 2024 but that Florida governor Ron DeSantis, should he enter the race, seemingly makes for a stronger opponent in a national election. Well, just weeks later, the latest numbers show Trump beating everybody, even after being found liable in a recent sexual abuse case. Why? It's the two lingering I's: inflation and immigration. Until food and gas prices get back to "normal" and the Biden administration changes the perception that we've got an open door policy at the border, ol' DJT likely has a decent chance to return to the White House. Right or wrong, a lot of people seem to think he could turn things around. And, conversely, a lot of people still think Trump is a madman. He's the very definition of divisive - unlike Congressman George Santos, the pathological liar who serves as the one unifying force in politics these days. As I type this, he's been charged with fraud and money laundering, among other unsavory things. Both parties despise this guy and for good reason.

WELL, JUST WEEKS LATER, THE LATEST NUMBERS SHOW TRUMP BEATING EVERYBODY, EVEN AFTER BEING FOUND LIABLE IN A RECENT SEXUAL ABUSE CASE. WHY? IT'S THE TWO LINGERING I'S: INFLATION AND IMMIGRATION.

Into The Weeds

This admission will likely shock many of my devoted readers, but I occasionally run out of ideas for this column and must seek inspiration elsewhere. I know, I know, I make it look so easy, but even the greats need help from time to time. So this month I faxed my fellow contributor Barold Hume to see what he was cooking up on the political end of the opinion spectrum, thinking it might provide a spark of some kind. Unfortunately, he did not receive my inquiry - turns out Hume is one of those young cats who's moved on to more advanced forms of communication. I next attempted to page him; again, we failed to connect - dude doesn't own a pager. I finally broke down and just called the guy but it went straight to voicemail. As I was leaving a lengthy message explaining the