Auchtoon!

Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, was a recent guest on The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart podcast. The long time Republican has known the President for 23 years, worked for him, and (as eventually happens to most) was fired by him.

In the course of conversation, Christie offered a number of informed insights. One that caught my attention was about the role of a leader — any leader, but especially for the President of the United States: “Character matters, and it matters more than any particular issue.”

His point: Even for those who align on issues and agree with what the President is doing, there is an underlying problem, which is “…the pettiness, the vindictiveness, the anger, all those things informs much of what he does, and it’s going to lead to big problems, I think, in the country over the long term.”

My point: And in the short term, too.

This week, Mexico and Canada apparently were able to convince our President that things they were mostly already doing were new things, which earned a 30-day reprieve on massive tariffs being applied on trade between them and the United States.

Anybody who knows anything about the automobile industry (so pretty much any Michigander) can tell you that the U.S. automotive industry supply chain is very tightly interwoven with Mexico and Canada. This is a result of decades of trade agreements that facilitated the tight bonds. You may not like this. You may not think it’s a good idea. But it is a fact. And waving a magic tariff wand will not undo it. What it will do is create chaos.

Of course, these sorts of concerns are brushed away by the President’s supporters who say his threats are simply a negotiation tactic. Well, two things about that:

First, it still causes damage. Those who run successful businesses that actually build things and create value need to plan ahead. Logistics, legally binding contracts, paying employees — these are real matters they need to deal with. Unlike the President, declaring bankruptcy and walking away is not a standard option.

Second, people tend to remember when they are treated badly. Countries remember when they are treated badly. There are consequences. Even if the United States gains a short-term advantage by threatening friends and ignoring treaties, we will have to deal with other countries exacting revenge when they no doubt get the opportunity.

So, yeah, it wasn’t the best decision for Jocelyn Benson to announce her candidacy for Michigan governor from the lobby of the the Richard H. Austin Building in Lansing (where she is currently the Secretary of State). It’s hard to argue that it provided her with any sort of significant advantage. But per Michigan election law, use of public resources, including state offices, for political causes is not allowed.

So it was understandable why the Michigan Republican Party would file a complaint. Less understandable was them getting on such a high horse about it. Their press release included this gem: “The integrity of our public office holders must be maintained, and the misuse of taxpayer-funded resources for personal political gain will not be tolerated.” I used that directly in the first panel of the cartoon.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! (More like the deepest part of distant space eternally devoid of all light calling the kettle black.) The Republican Party at this point is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trump, Inc, which is perhaps best known for its lack of integrity when it comes to taxpayer-funded resources and dutifully following election law. But, please, teach us more about high standards for public office holders!

It’s not that I was surprised, shocked, or even offended by the president’s reaction to Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon delivered earlier this week at a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. In it, Budde made an appeal directly to the president to consider applying certain Christian values when executing his public duties as our elected official.

It totally tracks that he would initially only be annoyed because he found the sermon to be not very entertaining. After apparently somebody explained the context to him, he bleated out what he tends to bleat out in these sorts of situations and a number of sycophants fell in line. Standard procedure.

The one bit that’s worth addressing, though, is him referring to her as “the so-called Bishop.” So-called? Not at all. She’s certified, ordained, and legitimately educated and experienced. It may be unfamiliar to him, but it turns out that the Episcopal Church is very much a real thing. But I wouldn’t expect he’d know that as a so-called Christian.

Actor John Ratzenberger is most famous for his role on the TV sitcom “Cheers” in which he played Cliff Clavin. Initially, there was no such character in the show. Ratzenberger tried out for the role of Norm, but says that his audition was a disaster — totally bombed it.

In an effort to save his ego and dignity, on his way out he asked the producers if they had a character as the bar know-it-all. They asked him what he meant, and he replied that every bar that he had ever been in had at least one horse’s ass who pretends to know everything. Then he went into a bit to demonstrate, got them all laughing, and the role of Cliff was born.

Ah, the good ol’ days when you could just stay out of bars to avoid being subjected to a know-it-all.

Now, however, the Internet has provided the Cliff Clavins of the world with both a community (so they can breed their idiocy) and a megaphone (so we all can’t help but to hear them). Worse, some of the richest ones control much of our media (traditional and social) and are taking autocratic steps to ensure we have to suffer their thoughts and opinions.

Case in point, the misinformation and conspiracy theories about the California wildfires. Yes, of course, mistakes were made by government agencies, public officials, and state politicians. And like any disaster, it will be important to investigate and learn lessons. But Elon et al. going off like frickin’ Cliff Clavins? Nah. Nobody needs that right now.

If you are an out-of-state visitor coming to Michigan to attend the Detroit Auto Show that starts this weekend, you may notice that the locals are a notch or two happier than you might expect. This may seem odd to you, maybe even unsettling. After all, the automobile industry is in a state of uncertainty, our now apparent object of conquest Canada looms right across the river, and then there’s the persistent dread that Ted Nugent lives somewhere around here.

But there is in fact a good reason for our general happiness: The Detroit Lions

And if you want to join in on the happiness, don’t worry — you don’t actually need to know anything about them. You only need to be open to hearing about them. Merely say “How about those Lions?” and then sit back as your new Michigander friends regale you on the virtues of the current team. They may detour into the past decades of despair (old habits are hard to break), but say the magic words (Dan Campbell), and they will be right back on track.

Enjoy the brief respite from a world of unhappy news. And if you really want to make friends, buy one of our cars.

Editorial cartoonists are paying tribute to Ann Telnaes’s principled decision to resign from the Washington Post. The Post would not publish her cartoon criticizing certain billionaires and corporations for bending a knee to the President-elect (a cartoon that is very much in line with what editorial cartoonists are supposed to do and have always done).

I simply added to her original rough sketch. To support Telnaes yourself, subscribe to her Substack. https://anntelnaes.substack.com/…/why-im-quitting-the…#standwithann

Let’s start 2025 on a positive note. It seems the United States is still the big dog on this planet — the largest and most vibrant economy, the largest and most capable military, and an abundant wealth of natural and technological resources. It’s not an exaggeration to say that we are the alpha.

It’s really the best position for a country to be in because there are times (in this dog eat dog world) that it’s necessary to demonstrate dominance to bend circumstances to its favor.

But at a certain point, too much flexing runs the risk of creating resentment and a deficit of goodwill, particularly among our allies. The United States is doing well, but it still needs a pack to run with. Being an alpha is good; being a lone wolf is dangerous.

So the incoming administration’s peculiar first choice for a flex — going after our closest ally, Canada, with threats of a trade war, followed up by the president-elect purposely trying to humiliate them… Well, it’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for ’em.

This is the last cartoon of the year, and typically I try to ease off a bit, maybe go with something lighter and more universally appealing. What I came up with, however, is pretty inside politics. Ah, well… it’s a political cartoon, right?

So you kinda have to know that Michigan Speaker of the House Joe Tate, and U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson, have both had less than enjoyable experiences this past year trying to wrangle their very slim majorities into passing legislation. This has culminated in recent days with members of their own party acting out — refusing to work, making threats, and generally s-talking them (behind their backs and openly).

It’s not like I have a lot of sympathy for Tate and Johnson — they’re grownups, they had to know what they signed up for. In fact, I’m mostly heartened by the situation. It’s a good thing for Michigan and a good thing for America when a leader cannot count on their party members to always fall in line and do exactly what they say. Sure, it can be slow and frustrating. But it’s a far sight better than totalitarianism.

Happy Holidays to you and our fragile young republic!

I live outside of the Detroit Metro area, so Mike Duggan announcing his candidacy for Michigan governor probably hit me differently than for those of you who live there. I mean, I’m aware that Duggan is the longtime mayor of Detroit and that he has been very successful.

But the thing is, I don’t think about Detroit very much. And I don’t believe that most Michiganders out here in the hinterlands do either. (The Detroit Lions, sure. But not so much Detroit itself.)

This is different than it used to be. Back in the day, Detroit was pretty much synonymous with Michigan. The daily newspaper that everybody read and the nightly news that everybody watched kept everybody up to date on the goings on in Detroit — whether it was automaking news or political shenanigans or terrible crimes, we all basically were in the loop.

Now, partially because of Detroit’s enormous population loss over the past decades, it is no longer the center of the Michigan universe. But also, Detroit simply isn’t as notorious as it once was. Ironically, much due to Duggan himself, all the good news doesn’t really make its way to where I live. Ask a West Michigander about the renovated Michigan Central Station or the nearly completed Gordie Howe Bridge, and you’re likely to get a blank stare.

My point: Being mayor of Detroit doesn’t quite have the political cache that it once did.

Now if Duggan had only been the one who got Detroit into bankruptcy instead of the getting them out of it, he might stand a better chance. Because, apparently, successfully bankrupting things is a great way to get yourself elected these days.