What a busy Friday: Stuff going on right now (more or less)

pope UN

Lot of stuff going on for a Friday morning. Not here in Columbia — here it’s just raining. But we have these things of national and global significance happening more or less as I type:

  1. Pope speaks to U.N. — OK, this just ended before I could finish the post. That’s OK, you might have had trouble following the feed; during the part I caught he was speaking Spanish (with an unusual accent to my ear; I guess I haven’t heard that many Argentines). He’s talked so far about saving the planet, has endorsed the Iran deal and has said nations need to remove barriers to the education of girls.
  2. John Boehner resigns — My first reaction was, “Was it something the Pope said?” After all, Boehner invited him, much to the chagrin of some of the crazies in his party. But I think it’s just the accumulated stress of trying to lead said crazies. Why would he want to quit? Well, just for instance, when his resignation was announced at the “Values Voters Summit,” the news got a standing ovation.
  3. Chinese leader visits Obama — Technically, this hasn’t happened yet, but the White House is poised to roll out “pomp-filled arrival ceremony,” then a state dinner tonight. These guys should have a lot to talk about. Mr. President, can you say, “Stop the hacking?” Not to mention the weight Xi has been throwing around in the East and South China Sea.

And… dang it, there was something else. What am I forgetting?

17 thoughts on “What a busy Friday: Stuff going on right now (more or less)”

  1. Brad Warthen Post author

    Reaction from Lindsey Graham:

    “I appreciate John Boehner’s service to our nation and his time as Speaker of the House of Representatives. I’ve known him for twenty years and he has always tried to bring about change in the best interests of our nation and party. He is a solid conservative who understands the responsibility which comes from governing. I wish him well. He will always have my respect and admiration.”

    Interestingly, I haven’t seen anything yet from Joe Wilson or the other actual HOUSE Republicans. Maybe they’re still deciding how to play it…

    1. Brad Warthen Post author

      To be fair, Joe is the only GOP member of the delegation I regularly get releases from (and still nothing from him on Boehner).

      So I went out and looked at Twitter to see what I might be missing. I mean, surely our House members would have something to say on something as big as their Speaker resigning, right?

      Mark Sanford — nothing, although I did learn that Ben Carson was his guest for the Pope’s speech yesterday.

      Joe Wilson — still nothing.

      Jeff Duncan — just reported the news, had nothing to add:

      Trey Gowdy — nothing.

      Mick Mulvaney — nothing.

      Tom Rice — We have a winner! Rice had a Tweet linking to this statement:

      “John Boehner is a good and decent man, who shouldered great responsibility during difficult times in our country. He has led with allegiance to our conference, our government, and most importantly, the American people.

      “During his time as Speaker of the House, he has helped create the biggest Republican majority in 85 years. I am thankful for his leadership and certainly wish him luck in his future endeavors.

      “I ask the public to please pray for our conference as we select our next leadership team. My hope is that our leadership team will take the reins to create bold solutions and move our country forward.”

      Oh, and nothing from Clyburn yet, either.

  4. Brad Warthen Post author

    Here’s the president’s reaction to Boehner’s departure, as reported by WSJ:

    Mr. Obama called the outgoing speaker a “good man” and a “patriot” who cared deeply about his constituents, the House of Representatives and the country. The president said the resignation caught him off guard, but he said he had an opportunity to speak with Mr. Boehner on Friday. The president said Mr. Boehner had conducted himself with courtesy, grace and civility during the five years that the two men worked together as president and speaker of the House.

      1. Phillip

        Times have changed, definitions of manhood, for the better in that regard. Now, imagine if we can get to a place where a female national political leader can shed tears publicly, then we REALLY will have made progress.

        1. Brad Warthen Post author

          I think maybe I still have that primitive, atavistic aversion to that.

          Like, “Me not want see chief of tribe look weak.”

          I mean, I’ve never seen a POTUS cry. But I don’t think I want to.

  6. bud

    I for one won’t miss the orange, crying, smoking Bone-head. Then again, we’ll probably get someone even worse.

  7. Brad Warthen Post author

    To us, the Pope addressing the U.N., the visit of Xi Jinping to Washington and to a lesser extent the resignation of Boehner may all seem of global significance.

    But if you’re the BBC, your lede story today is about that soccer guy:

    blatter

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