This Just In: Coach, K

This Just In – I’m all in for Coach, K.

As Liz Cheney (former Representative from Wyoming) announced her endorsement yesterday at Duke, I was thrilled to see the response that she got. It did not resemble the treatment that she has received by the Republican party in her home state which eventually ran her out of Washington. Not at all. It was thunderous applause and a standing, sustained ovation.

Go Duke. You heard me.

In front of my house is a thing that I never thought I’d see … a presidential yard sign. When Biden took the extraordinary step of withdrawing from the presidential contest, I immediately ordered a yard sign from the Biden Harris for president campaign.  So, in my yard there’s a sign with a Duke blue background and white lettering that says, “Harris for President.” I’m fine with the color scheme. This year – blue is blue.

My sign is the first in my neighborhood. It won’t be the last.

Months ago, Cheney appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC to talk about the need to keep Donald Trump out of the White House. Maddow’s introduction to her guest took about 20 minutes. It was necessary, she felt, to remind her audience of the many policy areas where she had night-and-day differences with Cheney.

Then came the balance of the show, where they found nothing but agreement that another term with Trump as president would be a stress test without guardrails that this country could not withstand. This, I thought, was a striking alliance.

I made a T-Shirt to mark the occasion. It reads:

“The Maddow-Cheney Caucus: Let’s save the Republic. The other sh*t can wait”

I’m thinking about more signs and shirts at this kickoff to the real election cycle. I have a UNC shirt that says “W – the coach” on the back (Roy, of course). I’m thinking that “I’m with Coach, K” might turn some heads in Chapel Hill. That’s where I am. I’m with Coach Walz and Kamala – a woman so important in US History, she’ll soon be known by her initial.  Republicans didn’t seem to have much trouble with Krzyzewski, but they can’t pronounce Kamala. Ok. Just call her President K.

As is my habit, I will make a prediction about next week’s first (and likely last) debate between Vice-President Harris and Former President Trump: It won’t be a fair fight. They are unevenly matched. As we are recently reminded, debates can be an inflection point in an election. This is no exception.

Here are some things to watch for and you can see if your BINGO card fills up throughout the evening:

Trump will say nothing truthful or provide the slightest amount of substance or direction when it comes to national policy. He will make wildly false statements about the Democrats’ positions on the border and especially on abortion while refusing to say anything definitive about what he would do in either area.

He will repeatedly use insults and name-calling to be provocative. Yawn.

What will Harris do? Hopefully when she catches Trump trying to shout her down and filibuster, she can lay that “I’m Speaking” line on him along with the side-eye that I never want to see coming in my direction. She will come across just as her running mate, Minnesota Governor and former Coach Tim Walz does – a regular, likeable human who wants to serve the public interest and protect our nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic.

As a prosecutor, she’s been in a courtroom with people who have committed terrible crimes and violated the norms of our society to degrees that most of us would find shocking and intimidating. Frankly, I think she will dismiss her opponent easily by referring to him as a sneaker and trading card salesman, a failed businessman and spoiled nepo-baby who has no idea what it means to clip coupons and wait for a sale to save some money. This man has never been in a grocery store in his life. I’ll bet she points that out.

Those kinds of details are what makes a candidate relatable and what helps a leader to understand where she’s going. She knows this. Coach Walz knows this.

So make your popcorn and enjoy the show. North Carolina starts mailing out ballots tomorrow.

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Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.

Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc

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