One of my favorite movies is "The American President." The acting in the movie is fabulous, and there are so many good scenes: Lucy playing the trombone, Annette Benning in the "Dish Room" are among my favorite.
But then there is this "speech" from the President when his girlfriend is being verbally attacked by his opponent:
For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being President of this country was, to a certain extent, about character. And although I've not been willing to engage in his attacks on me, I have been here three years and three days, and I can tell you without hesitation - being President of this country is entirely about character. For the record, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU, but the more important question is, why aren't you, Bob? Now this is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the question, why would a Senator, his party's most powerful spokesman and a candidate for President, choose to reject upholding the Constitution? Now if you can answer that question, folks, then you're smarter than I am, because I didn't understand it until a few hours ago.
America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours." You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.
I've known Bob Rumson for years, and I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it! We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things, and two things only: making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle age, middle class, middle income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family, and American values and character, and you wave an old photo of the President's girlfriend and you scream about patriotism. You tell them she's to blame for their lot in life. And you go on television and you call her a whore. Sydney Ellen Wade has done nothing to you, Bob. She has done nothing but put herself through school, represent the interests of public school teachers, and lobby for the safety of our natural resources. You want a character debate, Bob? You better stick with me, 'cause Sydney Ellen Wade is way out of your league. I've loved two women in my life. I lost one to cancer. And I lost the other 'cause I was so busy keeping my job, I forgot to do my job. Well, that ends right now.
Tomorrow morning, the White House is sending a bill to Congress for its consideration. It's White House Resolution 455, an energy bill requiring a twenty percent reduction of the emission of fossil fuels over the next ten years. It is by far the most aggressive stride ever taken in the fight to reverse the effects of global warming. The other piece of legislation is the Crime Bill. As of today, it no longer exists. I'm throwing it out. I'm throwing it out and writing a law that makes sense. You cannot address crime prevention without getting rid of assault weapons and handguns. I consider them a threat to national security, and I will go door-to-door if I have to, but I'm gonna convince Americans that I'm right, and I'm gonna get the guns.
We've got serious problems, and we need serious people. And if you want to talk about character, Bob, you'd better come at me with more than a burning flag and a membership card. If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I'll show up. This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I AM THE PRESIDENT!
The part I like is "We've got serious problems, and we need serious people." President Trump is acting like Rumson and wants to blame EVERYONE but himself. Trump is blaming China for COVID 19. Trump has had enough time to use the DPA to get testing available to EVERY AMERICAN, but instead he is in the White House (or at his club) blaming China. This is a serious problem Mr. President, and we need YOU and your TEAM to get us out of it. Stop the blame game, and get us testing. The testing will allow us to open schools. Will allow us to get into crowds. If someone tests positive, go home, and keep testing until you are negative.
And then this weekend, he created the payroll tax deferral, but he will only make it permanent if the American people elect him again. This is a threat? Fix the problem Mr. Trump. We need serious people to fix the problems.
Florida has SERIOUS problems, and the Governor of FL is a Trump fan. Florida is HOT right now, and people are waiting in long lines to get tested in unbelievable HOT weather. The President of the United States can get more tests if he makes it a priority and stops blaming China.
Trump wants the SCHOOLS to open. (His own son's school is remote until at least October.) But he wants the rest of the kids to go back and get teachers and themselves sick. The President of the United States could HELP public schools by shipping them tests, and PPE but instead he points the finger and blames China.
We have serious problems Mr. Donald J. Trump, and I hope your fifteen minutes are up. We will not be speaking Chinese if Biden is elected. We will be electing a man who will listen to science and get testing and PPE to people. He won't sacrifice college football players and school teachers. He offers us hope. He offers us a change to the blame game.
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