2024 In the Rear-View Mirror
Here we are, finally arriving at New Year’s Eve, 2024. My wife and I are looking forward to pausing work, getting into the truck, and driving up to our favorite spot in the Valley. We plan to enjoy a nice meal, a couple of drinks, and celebrate the New Year with some close friends and a fantastic local band.
Before diving into our festivities, let’s reflect on the rollercoaster that was 2024, particularly with the jaw-dropping presidential election outcome. There were some anticipated events, but also some surprising twists.
Expected:
It wasn’t shocking when Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race. Despite administration officials insisting on his mental agility, it was clear after a disastrous debate performance that Joe was not up to the task. On the day of that debate, a guest from the contiguous United States mentioned how his liberal family members were becoming increasingly distressed as they followed the unfolding events. Joe’s incapacity for the role became undeniable, leading to his exit with a theatrical flair. Following his departure, he endorsed his Vice President to take over – and we all witnessed the aftermath of that decision.
Donald Trump won a historic, Grover Cleveland-style non-consecutive second term. I won’t speak for everyone, but I had a sneaking suspicion Trump would squeak out a win – but I admit I didn’t see how decisive that win would be, with not only a sweep of the swing states giving him a comfortable electoral win but also a near-five million lead in the total vote count. The 2024 election was, to put it bluntly, a slam dunk.
Democrats come unglued. Trump’s win has sent the left into a tizzy, and it’s glorious. I was a bit concerned that a Trump victory would result in unrest, even violence, but that hasn’t happened – yet. More on that in a moment.
Unexpected:
Not one but two assassination attempts on Donald Trump. The first one, in Butler, PA, gave us the most powerful political image since Reagan at the Brandenberg Gate:
Trump may well have won the election in that moment.
Serial issues from Boeing. The last airplane my father ever flew in was a Boeing product, a B-17, and he always swore that that great old warbird’s crews loved it. But Boeing in recent years has had a lot of problems, which started in 2024 with the door blowing off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737. Boeing used to be the go-to company for large aircraft. Now? Not so much.
Iran’s President dying in a helicopter crash. My mother always used to say that when someone dies, you should say something nice about them. In this case, I’d say, “He’s dead. Good.”
Hurricane Helene, and the Biden administration’s disastrously bad response to it. Plenty of money for Ukraine, or to pass out bennies to illegal immigrants. People in North Carolina? Not so much.
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s rule in Syria. Not totally unexpected, but the conclusion reminds one of Ernest Hemingway’s description of bankruptcy: “Gradually, then suddenly.”
