Dear Dad
Posted on November 23, 2016
Dear Dad,
It’s been a year since you left us.
Since that time, Notre Dame’s football program has completely collapsed, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, journalism as we know it has disappeared, and Donald Trump won the White House.
Yep, Donald Trump won the White House.
In other words, your timing was impeccable.
And can you imagine, that by the end of the election, your eldest son would throw his support completely behind Trump to win?
It’s been that kind of year.
Believe me, it was an easy choice.
First, it was Trump vs. Ted Cruz. You wouldn’t like Ted Cruz, and I don’t either. He is one of those guys that seem to think that he is God’s gift to the universe and that gives him a license to say anything he wants to gain power.
I couldn’t imagine Ted Cruz in the White House, so I took a flier on Trump. Nobody thought Trump could win, but let me tell you, during the campaign, he connected viscerally with the American people. He cleverly told them what they wanted to hear. I know, weird, huh?
I remember when you told me about how you listened to the Kennedy-Nixon debates and how you thought Nixon won on points, which was why you voted for him.
Well, you couldn’t say that Donald Trump won any of the debates. His knowledge of the issues is pretty thin to be honest with you.
But he offered change to the voters. And he promised not to touch anybody’s Social Security benefits, a cause which was near and dear to your heart. I know you would get the irony.
And then Trump had to face Hillary Clinton.
I’m pretty sure that you would have gone with Trump, but I don’t know. You might have left that line on the ballot empty. Your grandson Jack told everybody at his school that he was going to vote for Gary Johnson. But I voted for Trump.
It was a nasty, ugly campaign. The Democrats called Trump a white nationalist, an anti-Semite, a homophobe, and of course a racist.
I know, they do that all the time, but it seems like they took it up a notch this time around.
The funny thing about Trump is that he didn’t take it. He fought back and fought back hard. He called her a liar and tagged her with a clever nick-name “Crooked Hillary”.
The most disturbing part of the campaign was how the media used every arrow in their quiver to defeat Trump.
They helped the Democrats paint Trump as a racist. They inflated ridiculous stories. They editorialized on the front pages. Their news items were so slanted that anybody could get the joke. It was unbelievable.
As a journalist, you would have been horrified.
I can’t really explain what happened to Notre Dame.
Not only did they lose to Virginia Tech and Navy this year, they also lost to Duke. I don’t know how that happens.
I like Brian Kelley, but I don’t know. And worse, the NCAA hit Notre Dame with some sanctions that takes away all of their wins from the 2012-2013 season. This is not what Notre Dame is supposed to be doing.
Talking about doing what they’re not supposed to be, the Cubs finally won the World Series.
It was pretty bad. They won it in a dramatic Game 7 matchup against the Cleveland Indians.
I know you shared my concern when they hired Theo Epstein from the Red Sox. That guy can build winning ball clubs.
It’s hard to say that the Cubs suck anymore. But that doesn’t mean I will stop saying it.
Anyway, we miss you down here on Planet Earth.
Things have not been the same since you left us.
I’m not kidding about that. Things really haven’t been the same since you left.
Your grandkids are all doing well, so we have that going for us.
Love,
John