RIP RBG

There are opponents who, because of their intellect, honesty, tenacity and courage, you have to respect and admire. Unfortunately, there are so very few of such giants. Ruth Bader Ginsberg was such a person ... in spades. May she Rest In Peace.

Courage

One by one the leaders of the Hong Kong protests vanish in the night ... never to be seen again. Yet still they come ... fighting a battle they can not win. Such is courage!

Being There

The term of art is "acting presidential." Two weeks ago Donald Trump upstaged President Obummer by four days with his visit to the flooding devastation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and commiserated with the its victims. The only equivalent response that Hellary Clinton could muster was a short phone call to the Louisiana governor ... who then covered for her by saying that her visit was not required.

Now today, Trump is on an invited visit with the current president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, to lay out his positions on the issues that fester between our two nations. The former Mexican president, Vincente Fox, has called this visit a political stunt ... a thought that DJT's contender, HRC, agrees with ... even though she has no plans to reach out in the same way ... even though she too was invited. This is not very presidential of her. And I just watched the joint press conference after this meeting and Trump did well enough to embarrass, once again, his opponent.

In fact, the optics of these two events point out a few bright lines between their two candidates:

- One is energy level. Trump is forward-leaning ... he shows up. Hellary seems to be slogging through the motions of her campaign. She has, for almost nine months, not had the fortitude to hold even a  live press conference. It's as though she believes she can coast right into the front door of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

- Two is courage. Trump is willing to deal face-to-face with his friends and potential adversaries. The best that Hellary can muster is staged Teleprompter pap deriding her opponent.

- Three is spontaneity. Hellary is so programmed by her enormous clutch of advisers that she appears almost robotic. Trump is more than willing to respond to events ... one reason that he now seems much more able to don the mantel of presidential power.

Perhaps, Trump is just lucky to do things that have pulled his poll numbers out of the dumpster since Hellary's post-convention bounce. Perhaps like the Chauncey character in Being There, Trump may sometimes be saying inane things ... yet some of us are hearing revelations ... but whatever it is, he is clearly recapturing his mojo.

If I Only Had a Brain ...

Does he know the difference ...
Corps vs. Corpse
2008 vs. 2011.
Transcontinental vs. Intercontinental
Breathalyzer vs. Inhalator vs. Inhaler.
Jews vs. Janitors
57 states vs. 50 states
(See: Michelle Malkin)

And a heart ... (See: Jane Sturm)

And some courage ...
“We watch a president who once talked about the courage of his convictions, but still has yet found the courage to lead,” Christie said.  (see: Chris Christie)

The Wizard of Ozama