Trump owned beauty pageants, hung out at the Playboy mansion. How is anyone surprised by his boorish behavior. It has always been thus. Men of a certain generation. Ring a ding ding. And such. Rat Pack. Rudy Giuliani. Newt Gingrich. Steve Bannon. Roger Ailes. Bill Clinton et al. Should be a spicy debate.
Hillary in the ‘Hood
Hillary meeting with her war team at New York Historical Society two blocks away. General Petraeus heading a National Security Advisory Group in a round table session made to mimic a Situation Room. Nobody around on 76th Street on a hot afternoon as she was whisked in the side door.
Her “nurse” and “epipen guy” in tow. 
U.S. Broken
Two flawed presidential candidates. Commander-in-Chief forum on the Intrepid. Should be Trepidation. Stranger Things? That’s a crazy Netflix show. 80’s spoofy scary comedy. Okay. Better than the election.
Over in Flushing Meadows. Is there any more boring U.S. Open ever? Lame. Literally. Defaults. Walkovers. Johnny Mac is apoplectic. So are we. Pouille.
Go Garoppolo! No.
Family Matters
In a poignant and important memoir, J.D. Vance tells the story of his Appalachian white working-class life in the context of this year’s angry crude political mood. Futility is the focus in a tale of the generational subculture of poverty made worse by addiction and abuse. 
Like Glass Castle and Blood Bones & Butter, Hillbilly Elegy portrays individual triumph over family dysfunction beyond belief. In Vance’s case he makes the miraculous climb to become a Marine, Ohio State grad, Yale Law scholar. Even with all of that, he cannot escape his roots. They remain current in his struggle to overcome bouts of ire at the bleak prospects left to the kin, classmates and community he left behind. Add drug epidemic to the scene as in every small town America today. It puts into sharp focus the reasons for this election year’s desperate yearning for change.
Bad seeds dominate Netflix Happy Valley’s second season. Families in crisis tinged with pure evil and violence in rural Yorkshire, England. Addiction plays its part as well. Repeat the theme with Ray Donovan’s clan. It’s always about family matters.
UnPrecedential
Unprecedented. Trump’s Campaign. Expectation that he’d pivot for the general election by media stalwarts and Republican establishment. Quashed. He never promised traditional political tactics. Trump continues to savor crowd adulation at his rallies. Watching himself on Fox. Retaliating with late night tweets. Party of Lincoln? Pffft. Party of Trump. He puts his label on everything. Why would a major party be any different? His behavior remains that of a petulant adolescent. Presidential? Never. Consistently UnPrecedential.
Shallow Bench
Both conventions are over. Hillary delivered a good acceptance speech. Though devolved into her perennial schoolmarm lecture cadence in the end. What are we left with? Neither party highlighted a new generation of Republicans or Democrats. Light on gravitas. The best speakers were cops and mothers and fathers and preachers.
So now. We have to choose between a wacky narcissist and a stale politicrat. Let’s hope this lousy avoidance avoidance conflict will shake things up so much that better candidates will emerge for the next election.
Meet the Trumps!
The Family Trump is descending on Ohio. From Tiffany to Ivanka. Melania. Other blonde wives. Pulchritude meets frumpitude. You won’t see Mrs. Pence. Nor much of Mike after tonight. But, there will be Chachi. Happy Days! Dante/Jagger soap star, too. B- and C -listers galore. Make America Mediocre Again!
Across the pond. Just down the lane from Trump’s Turnberry Course in Scotland, Swede Stenson bested Phippy in an epic mano a mano match to take the Open. Staying cool.
American Brands
Clinton v. Trump. Hillary Clinton’s brand supersedes her gender. The Clintonian era is indelibly etched in main stream America’s modern culture. President. Two Terms. First Lady. Senator. Global Initiative. Presidential Candidate. Secretary of State. Presidential Candidate. Only the Bushes rival this stalemate.
The Trump brand is long suffered, too. True. Beauty pageants. Skating rinks. Casinos. Apprentice reality tv show. High rises. Golf courses. But, in politics. His brand is new.
Speaking of branding. Will she use her first name to keep the distinction pure? Hillary/Tim ticket. Or Clinton/Kaine.
El Trumpo v. La Hillary
It’s official. Hillary has clinched the Democrat nomination. Stifled yawn. King of bigotry v. Queen of misandry. And. That’s only if you are politically correct. Old white men v. old white women. That’s pretty much what it’ll be. Hey. They are both the same age. Old. Young voters are with Bernie. Where do they go now? We’ll see. Those other monolithic ethnic colorful constituencies. That’s where the race will ultimately be. Too bad. Labels and division still rule. Leadership should inspire. Everyone.
Signs of the Times
The woman of the house came to the front door as we took photos in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She was with her little one and asked, “Do you think there will be a divorce?”
Nah. Both speak to this year’s yearning for outsiders. She said she got a text one morning after getting out of the shower that her husband was putting a Trump sign on the lawn. Ha.
Side Trek . NYC 