Inauguration Day:  Will Mighty Casey Strike Out Again?

by Clayton J. Callahan, WashCo Dems Communications Committee

Most of us are at least passingly familiar with the classic American poem “Casey at The Bat,” wherein a great blowhard and supposed baseball champion allows his massive ego to bring about his team’s ruin. Spoiler, Casey strikes out and the game is a crushing loss for his entire community, but I digress.

I write this article in the first week of January, 2025, and as I do, let’s take a moment to look at America’s scoreboard…

Today, unemployment is at 4.2% according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. And as the American Automobile Association informs us, the average cost of gas is $3.07 a gallon. Also, as of now, US deaths by homicide per 100,000 people stands at 7.5, so says the National Vital Statistics System. The national debt—which some conservatives still pretend to care about—stands at $35.27 trillion. And, at this moment, 92.1% of Americans have health insurance of some kind.

And now, Trumpy, mighty Trumpy, is to take up the bat.

And, keep in mind, he’s not been shy about telling Americans that the scoreboard I’ve just described represents an absolute disgrace. Throughout his campaign, he’s lamented about the jobs situation, the cost of gas, violent crime, the debt, and the state of our healthcare. And somehow, he also claims, it was all Biden/Harris’s fault but, never fear America, he knows how to fix everything.

Well, Mr. Trump, it’s time to pick up that bat and take your best swing. And all of America is watching, with one eye on you… and the other on the scoreboard.

Now, as I recall under mighty Trumpy’s first administration, unemployment, the cost of gas, and crime had all skyrocketed. Heck, the national debt alone increased by $7.8 trillion during Trump’s last turn at bat. Not to mention the over 1,219,487 deaths from COVID-19 he thinks should not be considered as part of his batting average. But somehow, Trump managed to convince a wide swath of Americans that none of those disasters were actually his fault. And besides, to quote the man himself, “Who knew healthcare could be so complicated?” So obviously, he was merely in his rookie season back then, and we should just give him a mulligan.

But now it’s batter up once again for Trump, and this time he can’t claim rookie status. Also, please keep in mind that the umpires (The Supreme Court), the spectators (The US Congress), and even the press in the Fox “News” box are all firmly on his side, so this time he has no excuses to make… Well, not that he won’t make excuses anyway, this is Trump we’re talking about after all.

Nevertheless, the question remains, can Trump fulfill his promises to “make America greater’er again,” or will he, once more, whiff out?

Personally, I expect no joy in Mudville for the next four years. Mighty Trumpy can ONLY strike out because it’s what he was built to do. What makes me so certain? Well, as anyone who bets on sports will tell you, past performance is the best prediction of future outcomes (which is why nobody bets more than a fiver on the Phillies these days). And since 2016 to 2020 was the disaster I clearly remember it was…America, we ain’t seen nothing yet.

But don’t take my word for it. Rather, I invite you to keep an eye on the scoreboard. A year from now, what will the unemployment rate be? The cost of a gallon of gas? The murder rate per 100,000? Or the national debt, perhaps?

Because “making America great” can’t be just about slogans. This is the real world, and the American people are expecting real world results.

So, yeah, Trump better keep his eye on the ball, because us Americans are all watching that scoreboard. And when the lies and excuses start pouring down like Mudville rain, I for one intend to go up to the ticket vendor and demand my f*#@king money back.