Commentary -- Alfred E. Neuman

by Joe Dahl -- If you are too young to know Alfred E. Neuman, “Google him,” as they say.  When you see the Mayor of South Bend who is also a candidate for the U.S. presidency you may notice a comparison.  I can’t help but think, “What, me worry.” If your memory goes back that far you may remember a Senator from Massachusetts who went by Jack Kennedy, later John Kennedy as he was running for the U.S. presidency.  The nation fell in love with him and his beautiful, charming wife.  Some of us were terrified with his tendencies to expand government.  Most men quit wearing hats because the president only wore a hat to formal occasions, the silk pop-up kind.  I still wear a hat and still admire a lot of things about President Kennedy.  His politics were not to be as dreaded as we feared, even though he set a trend that coursed us to a place where President Trump is admirably and mightily and with some good success struggling to correct. “The Mayor,” as his people and media refer to him, is young, well-spoken and charismatic.  He has a way of sounding thoughtful, stable, moderate and even safe.  We may see all that as wanting to offend no one because he has no guiding principles of his own but has tasted power, likes it, and wants more because government can answer all the questions and he can be of great service to mankind. So, let’s go that direction.  That’s commendable if you like big government as Kennedy did.  They seem to have a lot in common, Kennedy and this Mayor of a small Midwestern city that seems to be in turmoil.  But wait, when Kennedy moved Jackie into the White House, the whole country, indeed the whole world went into ecstasy and loved every move she made.  When, and if, the Mayor moves his wife into the White House will we fall in love with her, even if she happens to be a boy? The polls are showing the Mayor strong in Iowa but nothing in the Black communities of the south nor the Mexican communities in Nevada.  When we get out of the large cities and into the suburbs and the rural values of old fashioned America, is there still a thing of family and even religion?  Maybe we are not slouching toward Sodom and Gomorrah as fast as we fear we are.       Support local, independent news – contribute to The Fallon Post, your non-profit (501c3) online news source for all things Fallon. Never miss the local news -- read more on The Fallon Post home page. The views of our commentators may not necessarily reflect the views of the Fallon Post.