‘Trump plays tic-tac-toe with Jared, who lets Trump win…’

As you can see, the TV in my home office is an old SD model. But the resolution is usually better than THIS. Weird...

As you can see, the TV in my home office is an old SD model. But the resolution is usually better than THIS. Weird…

Lately, what with the weather, I’ve been doing more of my steps on the elliptical in my home office — indoors, with the A/C. And that means watching the Roku more.

So, of course, I’ve been rewatching “The West Wing” yet again. And of course, suffering the pangs of watching a show about a White House full of competent, decent, intelligent people who care deeply about serving their country — while I live (for the moment) in Trump World.

Anyway, the synopsis of this episode really jumped out at me. Boy, would that need rewriting to be current and relevant.

In case you can’t read it on that low-res screen, it says, “Bartlett engages both Sam and Toby in intricate chess matches that mirror the wily game of brinksmanship that Bartlett is playing with the Chinese.”

Today, we’d have to say something more like, “Trump plays tic-tac-toe with Jared, who lets Trump win to boost his confidence before he goes to the Chinese to beg them to help him get re-elected.”

Or maybe you can think of better words.

Oh, and before someone says “Aw, ‘The West Wing’ is fiction,” I’ll say that it’s fiction based on the reality that we knew, no matter which party held the White House, for all of our lives before 2016. I was reminded of that when I (re)watched a subsequent special episode in which presidents and their aides — from both parties — shared the kinds of observations about working in the West Wing in reality that the show worked so diligently, and brilliantly, to mirror…

7 thoughts on “‘Trump plays tic-tac-toe with Jared, who lets Trump win…’

  1. bud

    Speaking of steps. My son is working at an Amazon distribution center that requires a tremendous amount of walking. He frequently gets 50,000 steps in a day! My best day ever was 24,000. That was at Disney World. I was whipped that day. It helps to be young.

    1. Brad Warthen Post author

      Wow. That’s some serious steps! I don’t think I’ll ever get near your son’s level.

      I had a bad couple of months after the stroke. In April and May, I failed to make my minimal average of 10,000 a month. My averages were 6,893 and 8.760, respectively. That was a blow, because ever since I proclaimed in August 2017 that I was going to do at least 10k, I had made it every month, even during the campaign (while James and Mandy walked a LOT, my job was more sedentary — going nuts at a keyboard). Sometimes I did more like 15,000.

      But I had to bow to the inevitable there for a few weeks. For awhile there, I’d start out to walk, then have to quit and take a long nap.

      But I’m back now, more or less. My average in June was 10,822, and this month I’m on track to do more than 11,000. I hope to keep building, gradually….

      But 50k? Whoa…

      1. Brad Warthen Post author

        I’m jealous of your 24,000, too.

        I thought I was going to break some records when we went to Ireland last year — the first big trip we had taken since I started counting steps. I’m sure we did more than 20k a day in Thailand, but I wasn’t counting steps then.

        But I forgot about the fact that this time, we were part of a tour, and we had to keep getting on the bus with everybody.

        The first day or two, before the bus part started, my wife and I just did Dublin on our own, and it was awesome. We did more than 18,000 that first day. And then, even after we were on the bus, we had one day when we went over 20,000. That was St. Patrick’s Day, and we were everywhere that day — starting in Waterford, climbing up the castle at Blarney, enjoying the parade in Killarney, walking the streets well into the night…

        But we just didn’t rack up the steps the way I’d hoped. We averaged about 13 or 14k a day.

        Next time, no bus…. My wife’s been reading up on walking tours in England…

      2. bud

        11,000 after a stroke is damn good. I walked roundtrip over the Lake Murray dam today plus a long dog walk and I’m at 12,500. 11,000 is more than commendable.

  2. bud

    11,000 after a stroke is damn good. I walked roundtrip over the Lake Murray dam today plus a long dog walk and I’m at 12,500. 11,000 is more than commendable.

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