I just listened to three days of the Democratic National Convention on Fox News. At least I think I did, because some Democrat friends posted on Facebook that Fox News wasn’t covering it. But as I point out later, Democrats seem to be living in a parallel universe where, I guess, Fox News didn’t actually cover it.
I was struck by how downbeat and accusatory it was. Some left-wing pundits praised it. Some progressive acquaintances called it refreshing. Maybe I was listening to some deep fake videos, because I found it just the opposite. Do progressives and conservatives live in parallel universes like those in the “Mirror, Mirror” episode of the original “Star Trek” series? These universes are populated by the same people in the same situations but in one universe those people are good, and in the other they are not. And they have goatees.
John Kerry
First was John Kerry, former Secretary of State under Barack Obama and failed presidential candidate. In criticizing President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, Kerry actually said that Obama “eliminated the threat of an Iran with a nuclear weapon.” In the alternate universe, maybe, but in my universe, Obama gave Iran over $150 billion. Germany had already shown in 2016 that Iran was cheating on the deal. By 2017, Iran was refusing U.N. inspectors, and Israel confirmed Iran’s cheating in 2018.Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama, the woman who famously announced that she was never proud of her country until her husband was doing well in the Democratic presidential primary, started with “There’s a lot of beauty in that story [of America]. There’s a lot of pain in it, too. A lot of struggle and injustice and work left to do.”She continued by saying, “Four years ago, too many people chose to believe that their votes didn’t matter. Maybe they were fed up. Maybe they thought the outcome wouldn’t be close. Maybe the barriers felt too steep.” Obviously after four years, she still doesn’t understand why many in America had felt left out during her husband’s administration.
Bernie Sanders
According to Bernie Sanders, we are living in terrible times. I might agree, but he’s not concerned about the rioting in major cities across the United States. According to Sanders, the crises are systemic racism, climate change, greed, oligarchy, and bigotry. He also mentions the health crisis, which he’s been discussing since his last presidential run and, in fact, for his entire time in Congress. He also discusses the “economic collapse.” But in my universe, our robust economy is holding up against the worst pandemic in over 100 years.Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton begins by saying, “After the last election, I said, ‘We owe Donald Trump an open mind and the chance to lead.’” I don’t remember her saying that. I remember her saying that the election was stolen. I remember her saying that she actually won. I remember her saying that just a few days ago. But maybe in that alternate universe, Hillary Clinton took her defeat with dignity.She adds later in her speech that for the past four years, people have told her, “I didn’t realize how dangerous he was,” and “I wish I could go back and do it over,” and “I should have voted.” And then later again, she adds that we need to ensure that “Trump can’t [again] sneak or steal his way to victory.” See, even in her universe, she believes that she was the true winner of the last election.
Barack Obama
Barack Obama begins by referencing the Constitution, a document that he skirted so many times during his own presidency, at least in my universe. Barack Obama claims that President Trump has “shown no interest in putting in the work.” While you may disagree with President Trump, he’s obviously putting in the work.Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris, in her speech, made it clear that electing her and Joe Biden will be the first step toward American racial justice and equality by having a black, Asian woman married to a Jewish man in or near the Oval Office. In her universe, no person of color has ever been elected to high office in this country. In my universe, that already happened, and the racial divide got worse, not better.Joe Biden
Joe Biden gave a passing speech, which garnered him praise from all parts of the media (though it went unreported that he did actually screw up and say, “This is the United States of America and there has never been anything we’ve been able to accomplish when we’ve done it together.”).That’s because everyone knows that Joe Biden lives in his own private universe—one where he actually has the ability to lead the greatest nation in the history of the world. But that’s definitely not my universe.