The strangest thing about these last two weeks was the outpouring of nostalgia that surrounded the funeral of President George H. W. Bush. If you lived through his administration, you undoubtedly remember that he was not a particularly beloved figure. His own party only accepted him because he was Ronald Reagan’s anointed successor, and he managed only 38% of the vote when he ran for re-election. True, he never generated the kind of hatred that has been directed at subsequent presidents (including his son), but he also never really had a fan base.
Clearly something else was going on. But what? That’s what I try to fathom in this week’s featured post “Why All the Bush Nostalgia?”, which should be out shortly. Spoiler: It’s got more to do with his era than with the man personally, and what I at least am nostalgic about is a sense that we all lived in a shared reality, rather than 1/3 of the population hiving off into right-wing fantasyland.
The weekly summary covers the recent developments in the Mueller investigation, the bizarre election fraud in North Carolina, attempts by minority-rule Republicans to scuttle the will of the voters in places like Wisconsin and Michigan, Trump administration turnover, and a variety of other topics. It should be out around noon.
The Weekly Sift 