Can One Of My People Lead Us Out Of The Wilderness—Again?

Can One Of My People Lead Us Out Of The Wilderness—Again?

By

Leonard Zwelling

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/opinion/josh-shapiro-democratic-party.html?searchResultPosition=1

I believe that Donald Trump and his presidencies will be viewed as aberrancies in American history. They are the ultimate manifestation of the people being fed up with an unresponsive federal government and then resorting to a dictatorial father figure to fix what is wrong. The people will realize that only they can fix what is wrong and will vote accordingly in 2026 and 2028. I have faith in the Constitution. My faith in the American people is definitely shaken. I can hope. How did this happen?

First, Donald Trump is the only man to defeat two women for the nation’s highest office. Each of his opponents was an aberrancy in history. Hillary Clinton, while infinitely capable, was uniformly disliked. Kamala Harris was a pinch hitter for an enfeebled, diminished incumbent. She who struck out. That’s who Trump beat. He couldn’t even beat a relatively weak and elderly Joe Biden in 2020. When it came to national elections, Trump was lucky. He had a really good draw.

Second, while Trump has done a lot, both good and bad, he has done so with no overriding plan or philosophy beyond doing things that are good for him personally. He was rich when he began his fist presidency, we’ve been told. He and his family are far richer now. Despite what he says, the economy for most Americans is unchanged since January of 2025 and our relationships around the world are not stable, especially with our traditional friends in Europe. Trump has still not solved the major issues behind the two most damaging wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Third, Trump is anything but presidential. He blurts out ridiculous things at any time. He loves to bad mouth people who do not agree with him, most of whom he wants to prosecute and lock up. He talks like a high school sophomore, when he is not dozing off at meetings.

Fourth, he’s a bully. This is very unbecoming in an American president. He has eliminated the soft power of American foreign aid and diplomacy. Instead, he is playing a video game with drones shooting speedboats out of the water in the Caribbean. If that’s his idea of foreign policy, the country is in a heap of trouble on the international front.

Finally, Mr. Trump’s greatest asset is that he is not a weak, do-nothing president as we have had for the past 25 years before him. Mr. Clinton had a lot of good ideas, but couldn’t convince Congress or keep his pants on. Thus, the last real presidential President we have had is George H. W. Bush. I had the pleasure of meeting President Bush 41 a couple of times when I was an MD Anderson executive and he chair of the Board of Visitors. I always found him to be consequential, courteous, and definitely presidential.

So, what has all that got to do with today’s topic?

I believe that the American people are in the wilderness due to an ever-changing world for which many are ill-prepared due to a dreadful educational system and a lack of substantial leadership (see above) to get them out of the wilderness. I believe that many voted for Mr. Trump because of his immigration policy and his projected fortitude. The guy did perform great the day he took a bullet to the ear. Again, the deck was stacked when he got to run against two women. As someone said to me in 2017 after Barack Obama was elected and Hillary Clinton was not—“this proves that America is even more misogynistic than it is racist.” Trump is not the answer to America’s woes.

In 2028 we are going to need a new direction.

About 3500 years ago, my people, then known as Hebrews, needed direction as well. We (at the Passover seder we are reminded that we Jews each were there at Mt. Sinai) had managed with the help of God to escape Egypt, but a lot of obstacles awaited us before we got to the Promised Land. It took Moses, perhaps the greatest leader of the Jewish people ever, to traverse the desert, cross the Red Sea, avert our enemies in Jordan, and show the Jews Israel, a place he never got to having died on Mount Nebo in Jordan.

My second favorite Jewish leader is, of course, Jesus. Yes, he started a whole new religion, an alternative to Judaism which got far more popular. In fact, Jesus is the cornerstone of that religion, but he started off as a Jew and led with his deeds and inspired with his words when a new direction was needed for so many. It must have worked, for 2000 years later, Christianity is still around and flourishing. It is a religion of faith and forgiveness. It is a call to the highest aspirations of man.

The attached article from The New York Times by Binyamin Appelbaum on November 14 is all about the Jewish Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro and his success governing one of the most consequential states in the Electoral College. The piece goes into great detail about his accomplishments, but my favorite is the time in June 2023 when a tanker truck caught fire and collapsed part of highway near Philadelphia. The projected length of time that the road was to be closed was measured in months. Shapiro had it open in 12 days. It’s not parting of the Red Sea or raising Lazarus, but it’s pretty good.

Since I was a kid, there have been discussions about whether a Jew could ever be President. So far, no one has even run. The closest we came was in 2000 when Joe Lieberman was Al Gore’s running mate.

I think that there is no doubt that Mr. Shapiro aspires to higher office and both his performance as Governor and his popularity suggest he will be in the running for the Democratic nomination in 2028. Keep your eye on this.

Representatives of my people have led groups out of the wilderness before. Without such people there would be no Israel today. It could happen again.

Moses restored our freedom.

Jesus restored our faith.

Maybe Shapiro can restore law and order to America once again.