Dinner Table Politics

For a special Halloween podcast, Abby and Eliza take over Dinner Table Politics and tell ghost stories from the White House. Did the spirit of Abigail Adams truly return to the mortal world to hang laundry from a clothesline? Did Harry Truman really get ding-dong-ditched by the ghost of Andrew Jackson? Did the Great Emancipator startle Winston Churchill on the privy? And when Jim returns to share in the spooky tales, do we discover that real life politics before the 2018 midterms are even scarier than anything Halloween can offer?

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The Democrats are poised to ride the "Blue Wave" to retake Congress, but is there a 2016-style upset in the making? Abby and Jim discuss the biggest political surprises in history, notably the hanging chads of Bush v. Gore, and how that relates to one of Abby's favorite episodes of "How I Met Your Mother." Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, and Rutherford B. Hayes all play a part in the drama, even though Abby does not have a poster of Rutherford B. Hayes hanging on her wall. 

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Turning back to Tip O'Neill's adage that "All politics is local," Abby and Jim break down Utah's four ballot initiatives, which focus on school funding, medical marijuana, Medicaid expansion, and an independent redistricting commission to draw legislative boundaries. Which ones does Abby endorse and why?  Also, Abby admits that she has no idea who Tip O'Neill was and assumes he must have been some kind of Muppet. 

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Both Abby and Jim wish they could talk about anything but the Brett Kavanaugh nomination mess, but the intricacies of Jim's Facebook newsfeed come under scrutiny anyway. How do we navigate our way out of this? What reforms could make future confirmations less of a nuclear war? Abby also names all four Beatles and comes close to naming all the Supreme Court justices. Shout-outs to Abby's law professor uncle Nate Oman, and to Lee Shagin, Jim's high school government teacher.  Also: learn what happens when you call a member of Congress from another state. (Hint: Don't expect much.) 

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How do natural disasters define a presidency? (And what if the presidency IS a natural disaster?) From Andrew to Katrina to Sandy to Maria to Florence, Abby and Jim discuss how hurricanes and other disasters can make or break the man in the Oval Office - or both, in the case of George W. Bush -  and why Bill Clinton was much better than Donald Trump as a "Consoler in Chief."  Also, why does the musical "Wicked" have an axe to grind against Ronald Reagan? And why doesn't Abby want to be president?

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The accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh prompt Abby and Jim's discussion about scandals past and present, including Clarence Thomas, Bill Clinton, and presidents stretching all the way back to George Washington. Kennedy, Eisenhower, Roosevelt, Jefferson - even Washington himself were all subjects of salacious rumors, many of which turned out to be facts.

When scandal arises, why does who you vote for impact who you believe? What was Gloria Steinem's "One Free Grope" rule? And, on a less important note, what is the proper way to pronounce "harassment?"

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Who was the "Senior Trump Official" that write the anonymous Op-Ed in last week's New York Times? Abby and Jim review the list of suspects, including Jon Huntsman, Jr., Larry Kudlow, Mike Pence, Kellyanne Conway, and Melania Trump. (It probably wasn't Melania Trump.)  Also, are we living in a computer simulation? Elon Musk says yes, but Abby only says maybe. 

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Abby and Jim discuss Climate Change and what's to be done about it. Did Obama do enough? Should Trump do more? How did the problem start? What's to be done about it? And will any of the measures designed to fix it do any good? Bjorn Lomborg and James Hansen get their say, and the Paris Climate Agreement is put under the microscope. Abby also reveals her long-term plans for Jim's funeral. 

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Abby and Jim discuss the passing of John McCain, an American hero, and then discuss the separation of church and state. What does the Constitution have to say about religion? Is Utah's Proposition 2 a political issue or a moral one? And should Scientology become the state religion of Rhode Island? Sen. Alan Simpson, C.S. Lewis, and Karl Rove all get mentioned, too, for reasons that are better left unexplained. 

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