2016 Dec 22^nd

And, as promised yesterday, back to good old Cal Thomas whose misleading commentaries are a delight to puncture. Thomas comments extensively on Michele Obama’s appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s program where she said that she, “Now knows what not having hope feels like.” Cal says that, “She couldn’t prove that by the polls.” That is the first piece of nonsense he utters. What have polls to do with how a particular person feel about the election? (Donald Trump excepted of course.)

He goes on to present some misleading poll evidence about the public’s love affair with The Donald. A CNN poll taken November 30 through December 5 has Trump with a 41 percent approval rating. At this point in their campaigns Obama was at 72 percent and G.W. Bush was at 62 percent approval. Only forty percent approve of his cabinet; 51 percent disapprove. Just 45 percent have confidence in Trump in an international crisis; Bush was at 70 percent on that one. Forty-one percent see him as “honest and trustworthy,” 31 percent see him as moral and just 26 percent see him as a good role model. Maybe his comment about grabbing women’s crotches did have some effect on the general electorate even if it didn’t dent Moral Majority’s erstwhile VP’s worshipful acceptance of him.

Now for Cal’s distortion of Michelle Obama’s comment: She said, “We feel what not having hope feels like.” Cal Thomas says that translates to, “Michelle Obama’s hubris that only her husband could provide hope.” Of course she never said that.  I guess if you can’t criticize what someone says, just change what you say they’ve said so as to make that criticism easier.

Then Thomas says that the Obamas sent their daughters to “elite private schools rather than bad D.C. public schools. But denied that choice to the less affluent…” Tell us exactly how the Obama’s choice of appropriate schools for their children has anything whatever to do with where anyone else sends their children to school.

Two important points here, neither of which bothers Cal Thomas:  The president’s children have secret service protection, and that of necessity must be increased when they are away from the White House. Trying to provide adequate protection for these young women if they were to attend a huge public high school would be very complicated and probably disruptive. Does Cal Thomas consider this at all? Of course not because it’s not compatible with his agenda.

Perhaps Donald Trump’s new Secretary of Education pick can improve public schools. But Betsy DeVos has never done anything to improve public schools. She seems bent on eliminating them. She has never attended one; her children have only attended private schools and DeVos has spent a part of her fortune pushing against any evaluation of the Michigan charter schools she so favors. If Cal Thomas were concerned about public school improvement, why is he so silent about DeVos? Again, it’s all about his agenda.