President Volodymyr Zelensky: Fighting a war to protect democracy for all of us

Our View: Zelensky’s love of country an inspiration

Echo published by the editors of The Durango Herald in Colorado.

Ukrainian president keeps our gaze on his homeland

The actor who played a TV president as recently as 2015, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has shown steely courage and resilience in defending his country against the Russian invasion. Zelensky wore his national pride on his sleeve, stepped onto the world stage and inspired us to get behind his cause of solidarity with Ukraine. And we absolutely did.

How could we not? It’s in our best global security interest and the right thing to do. But it’s also Zelensky himself, a former comedian who found success – then as a rookie president – was propelled into the horrors of war. A man who bleeds blue and yellow.

No surprise, Zelensky is Time Magazine's 2022, Person of the Year.

Since February 24, when Russia launched a full-scale military assault on Ukraine, bombing major cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa, Zelensky has led by example. His decision to stay in Kyiv – rather than flee – was the first glimpse into the man he is, when after the U.S. offered to evacuate him, he said, “I need ammunition, not a ride.”

In our own country, where divisiveness has been the commonality, Zelensky’s love for Ukraine – all of its parts, the good and not so good – is decidedly different from how things look in the United States. Yes, Ukraine is under unrelenting assault. Ukrainians fight to survive every single day, especially now in winter. But even before they were on the front lines to justify their very existence, there was a national spirit. A camaraderie. A deep affection for Ukraine, what citizens had and how they lived.

This has us thinking, could we find that same kind of love for our own country? Could we defend the U.S. as states that are truly united – all the incongruent parts, all the people and their differences – in the way Zelensky has? He would certainly be an act to follow.

People around the world responded to Zelensky’s contagious spirit by digging deep into pockets for donations, along with offering humanitarian and morale support, prayers and genuine good wishes.

During Zelensky’s visit to Washington, the Biden administration provided Ukraine its most advanced ground-based air defense system, the Patriot, along with a number of other weapons. Lawmakers also announced a deal to provide more than $44 billion in emergency aid.

Zelensky looked tired as he walked to the floor of the House Chamber to address members of Congress, where many reached out to shake hands or pat the back of this modest, yet exceptional man.

Zelensky does have his share of critics. Some Republicans are vocally opposed to sending more aid to Ukraine.

Portrait of Bravery: Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska

"We’re looking forward to victory. We have no doubt we will prevail. And this is what keeps us going."

And Zelensky caught heat for posing with his wife, Olena Zelenska, for the October issue of Vogue. He knows how to keep our short attention span on his mission for a restored Ukraine. This wasn’t about celebrity. It was an intentional move to keep all eyes on Ukraine. He and his wife just want the rest of the world to care. Attention is the currency here. Zelensky is skillful in getting it. Again and again.

Ukraine is a reminder that democracy is fragile. And a person of ordinary origins can possess the strength of character to grow into someone larger when pressed. Zelensky is this person.

Maine Writer post script: Thank you President Zelensky and Olena Zelensky. You are brave and inspirational leaders. Your leadership by example is helping to protect democracy for all of Europe.

Former guy Trump is ho-hum low energy #QPAC at the CPAC2021

#QPAC: With His CPAC2021, speech, did former guy Donald Trump send a signal we might finally be done with him?

Former guy at #QPAC the CPAC2021 Munich style domestic terrorist rally in Orlando, FL

Echo report by Stuart Emmrich published in VOGUE:

There was something very strange about the former guy Donald Trump’s speech at CPAC (aka #QPAC) on Sunday (Feb. 28), his first public outing since departing the White House on the morning of January 20, just hours before President Joe Biden was inaugurated: 

It was boring.

The former president is never comfortable speaking from a teleprompter, often reacting like this is the first time he has seen the words he is speaking. But, Sunday’s performance at the Conservative Political Action Conference seemed even more stilted than usual—Trump’s red-meat lines delivered without the usual ferocity, his lies feeling both familiar and tired, his tried-and-true applause lines only occasionally rousing the crowd to its feet. He seemed to want nothing more than to be back on the golf course, where he had reportedly been earlier that day, making him more than a hour late for his scheduled keynote speech at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando.

Yes, Trump did tease the audience with a predictable reference to running again in 2024—“Who knows? I may even decide to beat them for the third time,” he said, repeating his false claim that he won in 2020,—but then he returned again to the dutiful, wooden delivery of his prepared remarks.

On Twitter, the Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty was among the many who were struck by a difference in the president’s demeanor. “Does anyone else think Trump sounds like his heart really isn’t in this? The energy is ... low,” she tweeted, and then added a postscript: "Does anyone else think Trump sounds like his heart really isn't in this? The energy is ... low."

Others noticed a change as well from the Trump who, less than three months ago, was barnstorming the country falsely charging that the election was stolen, emboldened by the enthusiastic crowds that showed up.

Even when the crowd began to chant, “We love you,” it had less the feeling of a general being buoyed by his troops as they prepared to head back into battle than an elderly, retiring commander being serenaded farewell by his loyal soldiers. Trump’s reaction was almost wistful, as he welcomed the chant and recalled the “56 unbelievable packed rallies” of his last (looser!) campaign, despite the fact that he was defeated in November, 2020, and left office last month, in compliance with the U.S. Constitution, on January 20, 2021. 

And despite the standing-room-only crowd for Trump’s speech (with very few of them wearing masks, of course), there were definite signs this weekend that the Republican party might be ready to move on. Most notably there were the curious outcomes of several polls held of CPAC (#QPAC) attendees.

In one poll, 95% of the respondents said they wanted the Republican Party to advance Trump’s policies and agenda in the next election. But, when asked if Trump himself should run again in 2024, only 68% said yes. Even more striking, in a straw poll of potential 2024, candidates, Trump came in first, but with barely a majority of the vote, not a great sign for or someone who continues to insist he actually won a second term: If trump can only get 55 percent of Cpac (#QPAC), he’s in trouble. (So, is the former guy trying to create and lead a permanent minority party?)

So what’s next for Trump?

Ironically, on the day after Trump was speaking at CPAC (#QPAC), another former world leader, one whose own political comeback—fueled by xenophobia and hardline anti-immigration policies—was rebuffed by the voters four years ago, seemed headed to jail.

On Monday, the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty by a court in Paris on charges of corruption and influence peddling. It was only the second time in modern French history that a former president had been convicted of a crime.

Sarkozy, France’s president from 2007, to 2012, received a three-year prison sentence, with two of the years suspended, pending a planned appeal by the former president’s lawyers.

According to the French judge overseeing the case, Sarkozy had played an “active role” in forging a corruption pact with his lawyer and a senior magistrate to obtain information on an investigation into political donations, and there was “serious and concurring evidence” of collaboration by Sarkozy and the two other defendants to break the law.

Could Trump suffer a similar fate?

Ever since leaving the White House, the threat of legal jeopardy has hovered over the former president, as New York prosecutors have been looking into Trump’s tax returns and the accusations that he defrauded the government, as well as participated in money laundering and the payment of hush money to two women who alleged they had an affair with Trump before he was elected president.

That investigation was given an important boost a week ago, when a United States Supreme Court order cleared the way for Manhattan district attorney’s criminal investigation unit to obtain eight years worth of Trump’s tax returns and other financial records. In addition, Georgia prosecutors are looking into Trump’s efforts to tamper with the election returns in that state, and whether criminal charges can be brought.

When Trump left the White House, he lost the legal immunity that comes with the presidency.

No matter what happens with those two investigations, an increasing number of Republicans, particularly those who condemned Trump’s role in the January 6, (domestic white supremacist's terrorist) attack on the U.S. Capitol, seem to be signaling that it’s time for the party to move on.

On Sunday, appearing on CNN, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, one of seven Republican senators who voted for the impeachment of Donald Trump, not only predicted that Trump would not be the party’s nominee in 2024, but also said that the #GQP party itself would go down in defeat if it did not reject the deification of the former president.

“If we idolize one person, we will lose. And that’s kind of clear from the last election,” Cassidy told State of the Union host Dana Bash. “If we plan to win in 2022, and 2024, we have to listen to the voters. Not just those who really like the former guy, but perhaps those who are less sure,” he said. “If we speak to the voters who are less sure that went from Trump to President Joe Biden, we win. If we don’t, we lose. That is a reality that we have to confront.”

And on Monday morning, Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger, one of 10 House Republicans who voted for impeachment (and the one who had the day before had called Trump’s CPAC (#QPAC) speech “boring,” and “low energy”), was back on TV saying it was time for the party to move on and start looking for a new generation of leaders.

“I think, you know, what you could see at that speech yesterday was recycling old talking points,” the 43-year-old congressman said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “I think it’s obvious there is no vision from (former guy) Donald Trump; there’s no desire to paint a vision. All he really desires is to stand in front of a crowd, and be adored and he got that in ample amounts at #QPAC, on Sunday.”

Added Kinzinger: “This president has done nothing but reflect people’s darkness back to them, reflect their fears back to them. It was sad, but I’m still hopeful that, you know, 45% of people at this Trump rally didn’t want Donald Trump again and I think there’s a growing number of people out there that see he’s a has-been.”

Fashion Fueling Politics

Fashion creates buzz even when it's not political. Of course, when fashion becomes political, the buzz helps to impact opinions.  Mrs. Jackie Kennedy was a fashion trend setter and her style influenced her husband's presidential administration.  It can do no harm to have a nod from fashionista Anna Wintour, especially when she compliments Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's taste in cloths.

Wintour knows her public relations.  As editor of Vogue, her charisma and fashion expertise keeps this artistic magazine selling.  A positive fashion statement about Mrs. Clinton helps both Vogue to create a positive image about powerful women and, undoubtedly, assists Mrs. Clinton's fashionable public opinion.  

Our powerful political women and First Ladies (FLOTUS) are role models of fashion.  They must be perfectly coiffed to reinforce their own image and protect their husbands from unnecessary public sarcasm.  When the public scorns a woman's fashion tastes, it's a hard act from which to recover.

President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton 1997 Innugural

Fortunately, American First Ladies have been wonderfully outfitted.  Nevertheless, we'll probably be thinking about how to recreate the conservative suit, tie and white shirt when a woman eventually sits in the White House, as President of the United States.  If our first female president is Mrs. Clinton, she already knows how to impress a crowd with fashion.  One of her most memorable news conferences is referred to as the April 1994, pink press conference, because she wore a pink dress when speaking about the daunting Whitewater Scandal.  Although Mrs. Clinton doesn't need fashion advice, she'll surely take a positive endorsement from the expert Wintour.  After all, who wouldn't?

Perhaps the next presidential administration will be more focused on what the First Husband is wearing while the President is running the nation.  I suspect Former President Bill Clinton can create fashion statements unique to his outgoing personality.  

Hopefully, Wintour will advise Mr. Clinton about how to reinvent the conservative suit, tie and white shirt, so he can be our nation's first male fashionista with the acronym FHOTUS.  Mr. Clinton would no doubt enjoy the fashionable role and he'll make a handsome addition to the Smithsonian Museum's collection of first spouses' inaugural dress.

"It's not for me just about the clothes, although they're really spectacular, it's about what it means, the continuous effort to be as good as you can be," Mrs. Clinton said at an event in Little Rock, Arkansas with Wintour and fashion magnate Oscar de la Renta.

Fashion savvy is among the attributes Mrs. Clinton adds to her list of impressive credentials as she prepares her presidential candidacy.  She's certainly dressed for success and Anna Wintour agrees.  It's a terrific strategy to come out of gate in a presidential campaign with the fuel of a fashionista like Wintour already endorsing your public image.