Let the games begin
Strap it on for the next two weeks of political grandstanding.
It is the season of conventions - the Republican Convention begins today in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Democratic Convention will follow the next week in Philadelphia.
Think of each one as a four-day infomercial - or at least that's how they operate most years.
But this is not most years - at least not in the Republican Party, anyway.
Because Trump is so divisive, he's had a hard time finding speakers for the convention he promised would be riveting. So sit tight for a billionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur (Peter Thiel) and all four Trump children.
On the other hand, guns will be everywhere, and we all know how quiet westerns usually are. In all seriousness, on this front, we all need to be praying for boredom. Ohio is an open-carry state, so guns will be allowed throughout the convention event zone (though not in the convention hall, per Secret Service).
But don't despair. All safety has not been tossed out the window: Hammocks, mattresses, tennis balls and water guns are banned.
The following Monday, when the Democratic Convention begins, all the Democratic heavyweights will be lining up to be "Stronger Together."
By that time, America should be plenty ready for some grown-ups.
Pence and the mercurial Trump
Donald Trump's on-off-and-on-again choice of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate seems finally settled.
Naturally, the world learned about it in a tweet.
"I am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my Vice Presidential running mate. News conference tomorrow at 11:00 A.M." stated a Friday morning missive from @realDonaldTrump.
In fairness, Trump had planned to hold the announcement event on Friday, but his campaign on Thursday evening canceled the event out of respect following the terror attack in France. But then Trump went on Fox News just a few hours later and said reports about his choice of Pence had been premature. Trump told Fox he had not made a "final, final decision."
Poor Pence. Trump's delay - both before and after the terror attack - had left Pence in something of a lurch. He was up against a deadline to file for re-election as governor, and Indiana law prohibits an individual from appearing on the ballot for both a state and federal office.
Then, with his tweet, the mercurial Trump changed course again Friday morning. Thus, his "respect" for the dead and terrorized in France allowed him to yank headline strings not once, not twice, but three times in the space of hours.
Call it a three-for-one: Trump may be a joke about foreign and domestic policy, but he's a master at using the media. Apparently, he's pretty good at using potential running mates, too. Minutes after Trump's tweet, NBC reported that Pence formally withdrew as a gubernatorial candidate.
Dear conservatives: Do you really think anything Trump seems to promise will remain the same within any single 24-hour time span?
Obama and race relations
We are not as divided as we seem. That's what President Barack Obama says. And he is right.
But we're pretty doggone divided. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll indicates that racial discontent is at its highest point since the Obama presidency began and at the same level seen after the 1992 riots touched off by the acquittal of the Los Angeles police officers charged in Rodney King's beating. Last year, a CNN/ORC poll found that four in 10 Americans said race relations have gotten worse under Obama.
Those findings have produced lots of political talk - and blame.
So let's have that conversation: Yes, in some ways America's perception that race relations are worsening is Obama's fault. But not - not - because of anything he did or said. Rather, it's because he is who and what he is: America's first black president.
Eugene Robinson with The Washington Post put it exactly right: "A black man stands to deliver the State of the Union address. A black man toasts foreign leaders at glittering White House dinners. A black family crosses the South Lawn to board the Marine One helicopter and be lifted into the sky. These scenes are irrefutable evidence of how much America has changed, and to some they are threatening."
Especially if those some are white people. But blacks' perceptions also have been affected.
Some blacks have been frustrated by Obama's steady effort not to take sides. And when the mere fact of a black man delivering the State of the Union address and boarding the Marine One helicopter didn't magically end racism, there was a letdown.
So let's be clear. The black men recently killed by police in Louisiana and Minnesota were not the first to die under questionable circumstances. Many have died that way while many different presidents served. And, yes, Obama will leave office and there will still be racial problems - perhaps even worsened racial problems, because people on both sides have new examples to build into their festering resentments.
But as Robinson concludes: "[Obama] will not have made them worse; rather, he will have allowed us to see how deep they remain and how much healing still needs to take place."