Not a day goes by now without a headline or two telling us that someone prominent in politics, television, movies, etc., is facing charges of sexual harassment dating back years in some cases.
For example, right before airtime on Wednesday, NBC sacked Matt Lauer, who'd been on Today for 2 decades. Seems to me that in the mind of Lauer's detractors, this was a long time coming. Later in the day, Garrison Keillor, creator and former host of A Prairie Home Companion, was given the boot by Minnesota Public Radio.
All of this comes on the heels of revelations of similar improprieties involving Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore, Minnesota senator and former TV personality Al Franken, actor Kevin Spacey, movie execuitve Harvey Weinstein, and Andrew Kreigsberg, who earlier this week was bounced by Warner Bros. Television.
Today's Record tells us that there may be a scandal close to home, too.
Newly elected Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin is dealing with some issues from the recent past during his tenure in the state Assembly involving---what else?---interns. Just what the county GOP doesn't need, as they retained control of the County Executive's seat, at least for now. If an investigation is warranted, though, I suspect McLaughlin won't last long in his new post, as there may be so much public pressure for him to step down before he can actually settle in.
And what of the Pervert-in-Chief? Let's remember that a nation of disenfranchised voters elected Donald Trump last year, despite the fact that an 11 year old Access Hollywood video surfaced right before the election where Trump bragged that because of his celebrity status, he could do anything and get away with it.
However, America's biggest man-child is now claiming the video was doctored. Typical Trump, resorting to childish tantrums to avoid manning up and accepting responsibility for his actions. He even went so far as to call for an investigation into NBC News head Andrew Lack and commentator Joe Scarborough, recalling a cold case from Scarborough's days as a Florida politician in which an intern had been found dead in his office. The authorities say the the victim suffered from cardiac issues. Trump, not knowing all the facts, and already in an online feud with Scarborough, claims there was a cover-up. Predictably, on Morning Joe, Mika Brezinski, speaking for Scarborough, refuted the President's false claims.
37 years ago, Ronald Reagan was elected President, the first to make the transition from Hollywood to the Oval Office, having warmed up for the Presidency by serving as Governor of California. Because of that experience, Reagan is held in high esteem for his two terms in office. Trump? For a man who reportedly became a born-again Christian last year, the President is behaving like anything but, and that's not good. Instead, he continues to play the role of the Ugly American, stirring up the gullible fan base to deflect from his inexperience in handling political matters. As I've written in this space before, VP Mike Pence might need to add Chaplain to his duties, and remind Trump that he has a responsibility not only to a base of disgruntled citizens, but the entire country, which views him now with a collective side-eye because of his own sordid past, and his unwillingness to address the real issues before him without resorting to a juvenile Twitter-tantrum when things don't go his way.
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