Right after last night's Brooklyn Clinton/Sanders debate, Bernie and Jane Sanders hopped a plane to Rome so that Bernie could address a Vatican conference. I think they return tonight. How on earth do they do it? How does anyone survive the rigors of a presidential campaign? Forty years ago, when I was in my forties, I cobbled together three speaking invitations and went on a mini-speaking "tour" -- three cities in three days. When I got home, I was totaled for a week. I know Bernie is a man of the people and all that, but I hope the campaign popped for Business Class so he could get some sleep.
By the way, Clinton showed herself last night to be an awful campaigner. What is it with those Goldman Sachs speech transcripts? She is not stupid. There must be something rather unsavory in them after all if she is so resistant to releasing them. I leave it to others to speculate.
And yes, S. Wallerstein, Krugman is forcing me to reconsider my judgment that he is, under it all, an actual person.
I think that was the best debate thus far. Bernie has really mastered the craft, and revealed all the nefarious elements of Clinton's candidacy.
ReplyDeleteFame, applause, power, the sense that you can change the world and that it's up to you are strong stimulants.
ReplyDeleteI find that what saps my energy are all the little practical details that Bernie by now does not have to pay any attention to: what the weather is like in Rome now and should I pack my cotton or wool socks? how do you say "dental floss" in Italian and where's a drugstore because I forgot my dental floss? should I take a taxi at the airport and maybe I should take a look at a city map so that the taxi can't take me by a long route and rip me off, etc., etc.
Bernie, unlike you and me, can concentrate all his energy on his chief project, the election, while even when we're at home, we have to be worrying all the time about whether we forgot to pay the phone bill or whether there's enough
yogurt in the refrigerator.
In addition to what S. Wallerstein notes, I can comment from personal experience: when I do overseas trips of 2-3 days, I strive as much as possible to stay on my "home" time zone hours. That might mean odd meal times, and the occasional experience of feeling as if I have risen at 4 am for a meeting, but for a short trip, it's often manageable, even for someone without the resources of a Presidential campaign behind him.
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