Quote of the Day

“I don’t really need those notes, because I don’t need notes. Aren’t I lucky? Nice to have that ability, isn’t it? It’s a good ability to have.”
 -- Donald Trump (R-Trump Towers), as reported by the New York Times

Leave it to Donald Trump to brag about having the ability to talk.  I'd say "Hat's off to him," except that he seems to insist on always wearing that cheap, silly hat whenever he's outside, no doubt to make sure the wind doesn't blow his hair-weave and reveal anything underneath.

Yes, being able to talk is a very good ability to have.  Being able to talk coherently with sentences that make sense and are thoughtful and meaningful with insight is an even better ability to have.  Just opening your mouth and letting diarrhea pour out and racist, misogynistic, hate-fill idiocies is not as great a skill set, though.

And I do mean idiocies.  Just consider on this specific day during this specific speech, when he deviated from the prepared text and showed off his ability to put random words together.  He was trying to pander and show he wasn't racist towards Hispanic by explaining how great Mexican leaders were. “I respect Mexico," he said, to most-likely general lack of belief.  "I respect their leaders, what they’ve done to us is incredible. Their leaders are so much smarter, so much sharper. And it’s incredible."  And then he noticed an airplane passing overhead and painted to it.  “In fact that could be a Mexican plane up there. They’re getting ready to attack.”

I have to assume that was a quip, though not a very good one, and not one that was without a sense of condescension.  That's because you have to really go far out of your way to force a point like that when you're in New Hampshire, 2,000 miles from the Mexican border.

That's the kind of great quip you get when you think that being able to simply talk is a good ability to have.  You begin to think you can say pretty much anything and it will be deep and substantive and witty.  Because you and you above almost all others have the ability to talk.

The problem is that we all have the ability to hear.