Radio CG 10: The Craziest Week in Politics Ever

Our tenth episode capped one of the craziest weeks we’ve ever seen in politics – maybe the craziest week. We had tax returns, the wild debate, the first lady’s taped remarks…and then the president caught COVID. We had a lot of callers this week, and a lot of questions that needed answers.

That Debate

“So, what did you think of the debates?”

We didn’t find a clear-cut winner. We did find an awful lot of yelling and accusation-slinging, which, unfortunately, seems to reflect a lot of what’s going on in the country in general. Republicans feel their boy came out on top; Democrats feel the same about theirs. But everyone seems to agree they weren’t ideal debates, and we didn’t come away learning much about each candidate’s stance (though we certainly learned how much they don’t like each other).

While this debate was certainly the worst we’ve seen in a long time (maybe ever), it was only the latest in what has become a gradual slide into candidates showing up to sling mud instead of policy. The guys discussed how we could get in front of that: Stronger moderators, for sure, and clear-cut rules that will nip any off-topic conversation in the bud.

The problem is getting it done.

And Then, COVID-19

Of course, all of our conversation about the debate only led up to the president’s COVID-19 diagnosis.

When the show aired, the president was still at Walter Reed, receiving several medications (including an experimental treatment). As of this posting, he’s been released to the White House, where we assume (and hope!) he’s still receiving the same level of care. He is not out of the woods yet.

The general hope seems to be if this particular cocktail of drugs works for the president, then it may eventually be rolled out to everyone else who gets sick. Hey, if it’s good enough for the president, then it’s good enough for everyone.

(In other words, the president might be a guinea pig.)

A lot has happened since the show dropped, and we won’t get into the subsequent events here. All that matters is we wish the president a speedy recovery.

Masks

Most of the callers on Saturday showed up to discuss masks.

Look, it’s not a secret: The president is not often seen with a mask. He, and many of his inner circle, attended Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination in the Rose Garden.

Many of them are now ill, the president and first lady included. We know how contagious COVID-19 is, and how carriers can be asymptomatic for days while infecting others.

With the president himself ill, it’s mildly shocking to see that there is still disagreement over the importance of masks. Even if masks don’t stop the virus in its tracks (Caller Paul’s primary complaint), they do at least slow it down, and give it more barriers to entry (Caller Al’s point).

Age Limits

As we reached the end of the show, we started talking about changes we’d make to the current political structure. Yes, we want the debate problem fixed. But do we really want 70- and 80-year-old politicians going head to head? How can they possibly keep up? Moreover, are they going to represent the younger generations properly?

We didn’t get to talk much about this. Maybe it’ll be a topic for next week.

We hope you’re staying safe and hanging in there. We also hope you intend to vote.

Be well – we’ll see you next week.