Understanding that mega-reams of copy have already been generated throughout the U.S., Ukraine, and rest of the world, over six hours yesterday, two U.S. diplomats presented precisely the sort of content many, many people were tingling with anticipation to know. If their testimony was the elementary start to a long campaign, those who hoped putting faces to specific and negative information (for some) would make a difference, were rewarded.
Compared to repetitive commercials or ‘witch hunt’ comments about a topic that many have almost given up listening to – and its NOT a four year old investigation, its the start of *another,* necessary one – those straight ahead, well-respected professionals held our attention most of the day.
While having an element of ‘homer’ cheering for the Charlotte Panthers after an intense loss against the Green Bay Packers Sunday was legitimate, over three hours of watching this first public session of impeachment hearings only disappointed because I’d missed a LOT of points being scored during the earlier hours.
The Prez said he didn’t watch any of it, so hopefully someone recorded it, because while everyone knows he won’t read even important stuff, yesterday was about content well worth hearing.
A sports analogy
The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team had lost 43 games in a row to Penn State up to last weekend, a string of negatives that seems unbearable, and many Americans felt this country had endured a similar series of thumpings under Trump.
On Saturday, Minnesota kept its unbeaten season (9-0) going, and rose to #8 in the polls with a 31-26 victory, with Gopher QB Tanner Morgan going 18/20 (90%) for *339 yards*, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His top receiver, Rashod Bateman, had seven catches for 203 yards and a TD, Penn State’s QB had three interceptions, and that’s really all you need to know for a righteous analogy.
To cop GOP interrogator Steve Caster’s best line during the impeachment hearings:
“It’s not as outlandish as it could be.”
That he tried to get more than simple agreement from Ambassador Taylor on “not as outlandish” brought a smile and head shake that spoke volumes.
There’s an old sports line that goes, “We knew they’d beat us at some point, I just never expected to be around when that happened.” Both Penn State boosters, who were campaigning for a spot in the year-end NCAA Final Four, and Trump’s enablers in Congress now have the remainder of this Fall (and 2020) to contemplate the pop in the chops that always comes as a huge surprise from an underdog.
Talking about “What happens if…” those Nittany Lions end the season with just one loss, much like LSU beating arch-rival Alabama, will be the subject of much scrutiny. No matter who else they beat, their aura of being too powerful has been trashed by teams that decided enough was enough of losing.
Of course, that was only the first day of these hearings, and if there were two surprising “plays” along the way, one was Ambassador Bill Taylor, Jr. stating that on July 26th, a staffer (David Holmes, counselor for political affairs in Kiev embassy) overheard a phone conversation between European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland – on an unprotected cell phone, while at dinner in a restaurant – and Trump.
How many regular people KNOW that’s the worst kind of exposure?
Call it an interception, but Trump apparently talked so loudly about “investigations” that Holmes will now be deposed behind closed doors on Friday.
Possibly the most incredible part of Day One was the recognition by many that the Democrats, like Minnesota, remained disciplined and did nothing to harm themselves all day long. For the jaded among us, the Dems not forming a circular firing squad with the wealth of information they already had is worth mentioning.
Congratulations and sincere thanks to those dedicated public servants who stood straight and tall at a dark point in our current political history. Your country appreciates it, possibly even as much as those many others whose service and deaths we remembered on Veterans Day.
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