An interesting historical anecdote: Andrew Johnson was a reviled president who went on a whistlestop tour — you know, campaign rallies — to energize his followers and stir up support. It didn’t go well. He was frequently insulted, and his response was to go on furious rants (sound familiar?) and rage at everyone. Guess how that went.

Johnson angrily denounced with one of the strangest tirades of the tour: “I have been traduced! I have been slandered. I have been maligned. I have been called Judas — Judas Iscariot and all of that.”

By the time it was over, Johnson had been humiliated and his reputation was in tatters.

I’ll be curious to see how effective the temper tantrum strategy will be for a president whose reputation is already in tatters.

All right, everyone, stop freaking out. Bernie Sanders complained of chest pains, was taken to the hospital, had a few stents put in, and now all the babbling twits on social media are clutching their pearls and declaring him too old to be running for president, saying he had a heart attack, and questioning his ability to continue. This is nonsense. Sanders did the right thing, treating a potential problem pre-emptively, as we should all do (if we had good health care).

I experienced the same problem in 2010, and sensibly chose to go to the hospital at the first twinge, and then was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening condition, and had a procedure to install some stents. I was told to take it easy for a few weeks afterwards, and it didn’t even interfere with me going back to work teaching.

Do the math. That was over 9 years ago, and I haven’t experienced any kind of cardiac episode since. I could have served two terms as president without a hitch! This is the kind of routine treatment everyone ought to be able to get as necessary, and that allows one to go on to live a healthy, productive life for years afterward.

(By the way, I still favor Warren for president, but wouldn’t object at all^* if Sanders were in office…and my wife is still feeling the Bern all the way.)

^*OK, I lied, it doesn’t matter who gets elected, I’ll find something to complain about.

I get quoted in this article on our local Democratic representative, Collin Peterson, although it may not be obvious, since of course they misspelled my name. Peterson is one of the few Democrats in the House who is reluctant to proceed with impeachment. This is where I live.

Western Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District backed Trump over Hillary Clinton by 31 points in the last presidential election. No House Democrat nationwide represents a district with a wider Trump margin. It was the Republican’s biggest percentage of all eight Minnesota districts, higher even than in Rep. Tom Emmer’s Sixth District.

Peterson’s winning margins have shrunk the last few elections: from 26% in 2012 to 4% last year.

Yeah, this county is a brilliant shade of ruby red, and he’s a blue dog Democrat limping along by being a strong supporter of agricultural interests. He is awful in so many ways, but he is a cog used to help maintain Democratic leadership. I was one of those 4% last year, only because I am compelled to support a lackluster party in opposition to an evil insane party. And the thing is, he knows it!

In an interview in June, Peterson said his success in a strong Trump district had improved his standing with fellow House Democrats. While he differs with his party on many issues, he said he had a good working relationship with Pelosi, who understands the politics of his district. Peterson also explained his ready reply to DFLers from his district unsettled by his conservative bent. “I’m the best you’re going to get.”

Isn’t that a wonderful recommendation? “Settle for me, because as worthless as I am, everyone else is worse.”

I think he’s doomed. No matter what the consequences of an impeachment fight, whether it energizes Democrats or Republicans, he’s going to be chewed up in the middle.

Our President is holding another campaign rally (doesn’t he have important things to do? Like golfing some more?) on 10 October, in Minneapolis. So I reserved my tickets right away. I sure hope nothing comes up that Thursday, like classes maybe, or a spider eruption, or a little indigestion, to prevent me from filling that seat. We’ll see.

Mary wants to protest the visit, but there may be some personal conflicts with that, since she’s also flying off to Texas to spend time with her favorite grandson.

I guess we’ll just have to let the Minneapolis mayor speak for us.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, declared Trump an unwelcome visitor.

“Under ordinary circumstances, it would be an honor to welcome a sitting president of the United States to Minneapolis and to showcase all our city has to offer on the national stage,” Frey said in a statement Thursday. ”But these aren’t ordinary circumstances. Since taking office President Trump’s actions have been reprehensible and his rhetoric has made it clear that he does not value the perspectives or rights of Minneapolis’ diverse communities.”

Frey added, “While there is no legal mechanism to prevent the president from visiting, his message of hatred will never be welcome in Minneapolis.”

Trump Go Home.

I like this guy’s forthright response — no weasel words here! Sanders endorsed Bill Clinton in 1996, only it’s more of a “Pox on both your houses, except Bill is slightly less poxier” statement.

Yet, without enthusiasm, I’ve decided to support Bill Clinton for president. Perhaps “support” is too strong a word. I’m planning no press conferences to push his candidacy, and will do no campaigning for him. I will vote for him, and make that public. Why? I think that many people do not perceive how truly dangerous the political situation in this country is today. If Bob Dole were to be elected president and Gingrich and the Republicans were to maintain control of Congress, we would see a legislative agenda unlike any in the modern history of this country. There would be an unparalleled war against working people and the poor, and political decisions would be made that could very well be irreversible.

It’s not so much for Clinton as a comment on how awful the Republican party was 20 years ago…and it’s gotten worse. We’ve been settling for not-quite-as-evil-as-Republicans for a long time.