Happy Thursday.
This week has been a bit up and down for me — more on that, probably, tomorrow or over the weekend.
But, one thing that has really pumped me up — and gratified me — is the reaction to my post on Tuesday about how much (or little) I should be writing here.
Tons of you not only voted in the poll but took the time to offer comments. Many people sent me emails directly. I read them all — and tried to respond personally to the emails. (If I haven’t replied to yours yet, it’s coming!)
They were filled with good ideas, compliments and constructive critiques. It was a sign, to me at least, that we have built a community of thoughtful, bright and savvy media and political consumers.
Which made me feel really, really great.
I am mulling over your ideas and am going to come back at you with, at minimum, a clearly defined mission statement sometime very soon. The aim of that mission statement will be to make sure people know exactly what I am trying to do here, how I am doing it and why I believe it is a) unique and b) worth supporting financially.
So, stay tuned on all of that. But, for the moment: Thank you. Thank you for being engaged in this community.
Speaking of engaged in this community, every Friday I answer questions from paid subscribers in my mailbag post.
It’s my favorite post of the week because we cover everything from the presidential race to the Senate to pop culture to music to sports and back.
Ask me anything! I will do my best to get through a ton of questions tomorrow!
Do you have a comment on David Brooks column about his doubts about Biden winning? Brooks has friends who think Trump is a better executive than Biden. How in the world can any thinking, morally reflective person come to that conclusion?
I know we focus so much on Trump and the cult of personality that seems to surround him. So, here is another question for the pile.
Why do you think so many of the people in his orbit have been willing to throw away their careers, personal lives, and livelihood in support of him? The amount of people who have either been indicted / gone to jail (Michael Flynn, Rudy Guiliani, Mark Meadows, Michael Cohen, Steve Bannon, Roger Stone etc.) for him is staggering. Kelly Ann Conway is divorcing her husband over issues tied to him not supporting Trump (clearly ballooned into something else). Not to mention people who make utter fools of themselves kissing his ass (hi Lindsay Graham!) Do you suspect he has compromising information on these people? Are they just stupid enough to risk it all? Or is it something else?