Orts #795

[If you're sick of the political scene, skip to the links at the bottom]

As democracy is perfected, the office [of president] represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
     -- H. L. Mencken, in the Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920

     Let me be very clear. In my view, Democrats will not retain the White House, will not regain the Senate, will not gain the House and will not be successful in dozens of governor’s races unless we run a campaign which generates excitement and momentum and which produces a huge voter turnout.
      With all due respect, and I do not mean to insult anyone here, that will not happen with politics as usual. The same old, same old will not be successful.
     The people of our country understand that — given the collapse of the American middle class and the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality we are experiencing — we do not need more establishment politics or establishment economics.
     We need a political movement which is prepared to take on the billionaire class and create a government which represents all Americans, and not just corporate America and wealthy campaign donors.
     In other words, we need a movement which takes on the economic and political establishment, not one which is part of it.
     -- Bernie Sanders, speaking at the DNC, August 28th, 2015
  https://www.youtube.com/embed/NU4iNAtg6W0?start=321&end=421

Hillary Clinton didn’t just win the popular vote. She won it by a substantial margin. By the time all the ballots are counted, she seems likely to be ahead by more than 2 million votes and more than 1.5 percentage points.... She will have won by a wider percentage margin than not only Al Gore in 2000 but also Richard Nixon in 1968 and John F. Kennedy in 1960.
     --David Leonhardt, New York Times, November 11, 2016  
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/opinion/clintons-substantial-popular-vote-win.html
 

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Bonus Links. In tough times, when ordinary language fails, some people turn to poetry, others to music, and still others to strong drink. (Some sensitive souls will require all three.) Here are some links, via music, to Something Completely Different. Listen in a dark room.
Mozart:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BWn1KuXGVM
Beethoven:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVtproooi8w
Brahms:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUfDRHdvyfE