After
By
Leonard Zwelling
A story from my cousin Stu.
Goldberg was dying. He was in home hospice care and was attended to by a full-time nurse. All of a sudden, he smells his favorite aroma wafting from the kitchen down the hall. It’s his wife’s famous noodle kugel.
He asks his nurse, “Can you get me a piece of that kugel?”
She said, “I’ll ask Mrs. Goldberg.”
She runs down the hall and returns shortly thereafter.
“Well?” he asks.
“She said no. It’s for after.”
It seems that this moment in our country’s history is all about what comes after. While both of the purported candidates for the presidency have been harping on the good (Biden) or bad (Trump) the current administration has done in the past four years, the truth is that elections are also about what comes next along with Lichtman’s 13 Keys. Neither candidate has been very specific about how he will handle “after.” Even as Ms. Harris takes center stage, she too has to articulate a vision for tomorrow.
The Democrats have painted no picture of how they will make life better for average Americans beyond “finish the job”(see first article from Pamela Paul in The New York Times on July 19). That there have been some accomplishments by the Biden Administration is not in doubt. What will you do for me next? This is especially critical when the standard bearer was looking so frail and old and now has been supplanted by his own vice president. Does she see a future?
It is not like Trump is any better. His brand of MAGA right-wing populism promises security (see second piece from the Times by David Brooks), but how does that move the country forward in this dangerous world. Trump seems to think he can hide from the outside world with tariffs constraining China and his friendship tempering Putin. He’s wrong.
Neither party has a clear plan for moving the United States forward. This may be as expected from two old men, but as I was taught many years ago, good leaders need to say:
I have a vision for tomorrow.
I have a plan to get us there.
It won’t be easy.
But it will be worth it when we get there.
Can either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris say this? I think not. Neither has a plan for after. At least not yet.
I think that is what is making the population of American voters so uneasy about having to choose between these two parties as they are currently configured.
You would think Donald Trump would be able to outline how he’s going to improve life for and expand the middle class beyond keeping out immigrants. Tariffs won’t do that. One might have thought the assassination attempt might have sobered him. I think not.
You would think Ms. Harris might have such a plan, but most Democrats were thinking about the plan for after Biden drops out. Now we are there. What’s the plan now?
My son tells me that those who make their livings predicting the outcome of elections think that Harris has a chance. Nonetheless, the Democrats were clearly uneasy with Biden at the top of the ticket and were looking for change. Looking for someone else after. Now they have it. Tell me your vision and your plan, Ms. Harris. What does after look like?
What really has most Americans worried is that they do not see a clear after nor a stalwart to lead us there.
Just someone tell me how you plan to deal with immigration, homelessness, inadequate public education, unequal access to health care, and the myriad of challenges off shore. What does after look like and how will we get there? And while you’re doing that, make me feel better about tomorrow.
No one, it seems, has a plan for after. I think the person who can articulate such a vision could win.
