This story first appeared in AROUND THE BLOCK
Commentary
Watching the debate last night was like “driving my Chevy to the levee.” And yes, “the levee was dry!”
Last night’s debate was a disgrace. Last night’s debate was sad. Last night’s debate was an embarrassment for American democracy. Last night, as Bob Woodward opined this morning, Donald Trump “assassinated the presidency.”
A long, long time ago Don McClean summed up how I feel this morning.
A long long time ago
I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they’d be happy for a while
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die
That long, long time ago was only four years back. We could smile, we could dance, we could be happy, not all the time, but more than once in a while. Now all I can think, after last night’s debacle, is this, “Was September 29, 2020, the day of the first Presidential debate of the 2020 election, the day that America died?”
With due respect to another songwriter you might know, Irving Berlin,
God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with the light from above
If ever we need God’s blessings, it is now.