Anand Giridharadas on Democracy Now
If there is one positive that may come from the wreckage that is the Trump administration, it may be the destruction of the notion that wealth somehow confers greater intelligence or admirable traits. Howard Schultz doesn't have any better grasp on how to run this country because he opened a bunch of overpriced and over-roasted coffee shops. Jeff Bezos isn't a better human being because he hangs out with Bono and has built an online retail establishment that has put actual brick and mortar bookstores out of business (there are literally NO bookstores within 15 miles of my home). Mark Zuckerberg isn't some genius because he figured out a way to commodify a fratboy application of rating co-eds at Harvard. Mossimo Giannulli isn't some impressive success story against "takers" by pulling himself by bootstraps. He was such a poor role model to his children's values that he literally had to pay $500,000 to bribe a college to take them in, not caring if they valued the education they were getting or who didn't get that spot who worked their ass off.
Likewise, Donald Trump is not some uber-successful business magnate; he just played one on television. He could have sat his lazy ass on his golden toilet and invested his money in Vanguard funds and be worth more money than he is right now. And having even the reduced portfolio he has (how does one go bankrupt running a casino???), why would anyone think that scripted television business success equates to running a government?
Maybe it's time to stop deifying the wealthy and acting as if wealth connotes anything other than the means to buy things. I'm not impressed by things. And stop letting them making the rules, which only entrench their wealth at the expense of others. If nothing else comes from this screwed up time, let it be that.
ABC's "This Week" — Tom Bossert, former Trump Homeland Security Adviser; Jeh Johnson, former Obama Homeland Security Secretary; Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.; investigative journalist Vicky Ward. Panel: Matthew Dowd; former Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.; Caitlin Dickerson of The New York Times; former Mayor Mitch Landrieu, D-New Orleans; and Republican strategist Alice Stewart.
NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Democratic candidate for president; Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. Panel: Yamiche Alcindor of “PBS NewsHour”; Arthur Brooks, American Enterprise Institute; Jose Diaz-Balart, anchor of “NBC Nightly News Saturday”; and Susan Page of USA Today.
CBS' "Face the Nation" — : Mick Mulvaney, acting White House chief of staff; Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Preet Bharara, former U.S. attorney. Panel: Mark Landler of The New York Times; Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review; Jamal Simmons of Hill.TV; and Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report.
CNN's "State of the Union" — Klobuchar; Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Jim Banks, R-Ind.; Scott Brown, U.S. ambassador to New Zealand. Panel: Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind.; Karen Finney, former senior spokesperson, Hillary for America; former Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah; and Waleed Shahid, communications director for Justice Democrats.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" — A panel with Ian Bremmer, president & founder of The Eurasia Group; David Miliband, former foreign secretary, United Kingdom (Gordon Brown administration, 2007-2010); and Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO of New America.” Actor Dev Patel and “Hotel Mumbai” director, Anthony Maras; Jared Cohen, author of “Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America”; and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN chief medical correspondent.
CNN's "Reliable Sources" — A panel with Dan Rather, host of AXS TV’s “The Big Interview”; Katie Rogers of The New York Times; and Nayyera Haq, former Obama White House senior director. David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun; Andy Parker, father of murdered TV anchor Alison Parker; Nancy Erika Smith, attorney for ex-Fox News employee Diana Falzone.
"Fox News Sunday" — Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney; Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, Democratic candidate for president. Panel: Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff (George W. Bush administration); Gerald Seib of The Wall Street Journal; conservative commentator Katie Pavlich; and Democratic strategist Mo Elleithee.
So what's catching your eye this morning?
