Leland Vittert
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NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor and On Balance host Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He gives you an early look at tonight’s 7 p.m. ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here.
Character Conquers Hate
Baseball great Reggie Jackson gave a searing and raw view of his life as a young ballplayer in the South.
- Jackson told player turned Fox Sports announcer Alex Rodriguez before a game played in Alabama, “I walked into restaurants, and they would point at me and said, ‘The n***er can’t eat here.’ I would go to a hotel, and they’d say, ‘The n***er can’t stay here!’ We went to Charlie Finley’s country club for a welcome home dinner, and they pointed me out with the N-word. ‘He can’t come in here!’”
- The Mediaite write-up gives you the backstory of the game in honor of Willie Mays at Rickwood Field, where Jackson once played in the Negro Leagues.
STOP READING and click here to watch Jackson’s comments in full and then come back and read my thoughts.
The worst of times: As you now know from watching, before the recitation of racism and indignities visited upon him, Jackson remembered the people who stood up for him.
- “Fortunately, I had a manager, and I had players on the team that helped me get through it, but I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”
Jackson’s story is both a reminder of the evil of Jim Crow and how someone never forgets those who take a stand of moral courage:
- “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. At the same time, had it not been for my white friends, had it not been for a white manager and Rudi, Fingers and Duncan and Lee Myers, I would have never made it.”
Jackson’s story is repeated through time.
Flip the script: The only thing needed for evil to triumph is good men (and women) to do nothing. The more positive view is that good men (and women) can change a life, save a life and change the world when they stand up to evil.
The human condition: One of my favorite movies is “Love Actually” — yes, it’s a silly romantic comedy, but Hugh Grant’s opening monologue nailed it:
- “When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge — they were all messages of love.”
And in the same way, when we remember the awful times in our lives, often what we remember the most were those kindest to us.
Landslide
Former President Donald Trump will (possibly) hold his first rally post-debate in Virginia Beach, a sign his campaign thinks the state he lost by nearly 10 points is in play!
Zoom out: According to a new poll, Trump only trails Biden by 8% in New York.
Ground truth: If Biden must play defense in New York, Minnesota and Virginia, he’s in rough shape.
- BUT: The Wall Street Journal reports Biden has a plan to win North Carolina, a state last won by Democrats when Obama took it in 2008.
Cash truth: Biden’s major money advantage over Trump evaporated with Trump’s post-conviction fundraising.
- The Washington Post has the numbers: “At the end of May, the Trump campaign and the RNC had a combined $171 million in cash on hand, surpassing the Biden campaign and the DNC’s combined total of $157 million, according to reports filed late Thursday.”
Game changer: TVNewser reports 63% of Americans plan to watch the debate.
- That would make it the most watched presidential debate in history, which makes the stakes all the higher.
- Thought bubble: You can hear Trump saying, “I got the highest ratings ever.”
- Biden is spending the entire week resting and prepping.
Jail Time
For a guy who wants the nuclear codes, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. isn’t doing anything to reassure Americans that he’s close to stable or even more stable than the two major party candidates.
- A letter from RFK Jr.’s campaign bizarrely threatens jail time for the CNN debate anchors if he isn’t allowed to participate: “This means CNN, and every member of CNN who is participating in planning, executing, and holding this debate, is at risk of prosecution, as happened to Michael Cohen, for violating campaign finance laws.”
Fair question: What page of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” did the campaign get this from?
No shot: Kennedy’s argument for participating in the debate is flawed from every direction.
- He is not close to the 15% threshold long set for independent candidates to participate.
- More from Newsweek.
- He does not appear to be on the ballot in enough states to get to 270.
- Worst still, in a country rabidly hungry for an alternative to Trump or Biden, the more voters get to know him, the less they like him.
Blackball: Counterargument from John Fund in The Wall Street Journal lambasting CNN for excluding RFK Jr.
Skinny Happy
A new article in the conservative women’s magazine “Evie” declared, “I’m Happier When I’m Skinny.”
- “People don’t want the truth, they want to feel good about themselves, above all else. If that means glorifying obesity, so be it. If that means insulting thin women living healthy, balanced lives out of resentment, so be it.”
- Look back: Three years ago, the magazine would have been the subject of multiple MSNBC and CNN segments accusing its editor of microaggressions.
- Today: Evie’s editor, Brittany Martinez, wrote, “Editors from big magazines messaged me privately and thanked us for the article because they all agreed but didn’t want to say it.
- Fair question: She asks, “Is this the Ozempic effect?”
Watch tonight: Is the Ozempic effect one of those things that will be only available to the rich, but everyone will (once again) be held to the standard of being skinny? Tune into “On Balance with Leland Vittert” weeknights at 7/6C on NewsNation.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.
