Few things better illustrate the cultural isolation of the New York Times in their liberal bubble than the fact that they actually consider it an insult to President Donald Trump to compare him to the popular character of Al Czervik in the comedy movie Caddyshack.
That was the bizarre assumption made in their February 13 Editorial Notebook opinion piece, The 'Caddyshack' President, written by Elizabeth Williamson. Had she or anybody at the Times' editorial staff done just a bit of research, they would have discovered that many Trump supporters have long been making the same comparison because the way Al Czervik shook things up at the stodgy golf club was looked upon favorably.
We will now watch Ms Williamson display the cultural cluelessness that seems so prevalent at the Times:
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This is rule by Al Czervik, Rodney Dangerfield’s character in “Caddyshack”: a reckless, clownish boor surrounded by sycophants, determined to blow up all convention. But this is real life, and every time Mr. Trump strikes a pose, the rest of the world holds its breath.
Had somebody at the New York Times googled the names of Al Czervik and Trump together, they would have quickly found out that, just a month ago, the comparison was made at the liberal NPR to explain why Trump was favorably viewed by his supporters:
His rhetoric is much like that of a stand-up comedian, says Marc Jampole, a blogger and poet from New York City. He says a typical Trump speech has the structure of a stand-up routine.
"Most stump speeches have a beginning, a middle and an end and follow classic speech structure, which basically is tell the audience what you're going to say, say it, and then tell them what you just said," Jampole says. "Trump doesn't do that. It appears to be free-form just like a comedian."
Jampole says Trump's followers hear him as a comic hero and a disruptor.
"It was Rodney Dangerfield or Jackie Mason in the Caddy Shack movies where these two comedians played rich guys who were really average Joes breaking down the barriers of elite institutions," he says.
Even people who were no big fans of Trump such as John Feehery at The Hill wrote in A 'Caddyshack' Candidate last April near the end of primary season that he recognized that Trump's inner Al Czervik made him a popular candidate:
Al Czervik is poised to take over the Republican Party, and the Judge Smails faction of the GOP just can’t accept that truth.
Czervik, of course, was the uncouth, politically incorrect, nouveau riche boor played by Rodney Dangerfield in the iconic 1980 movie “Caddyshack.” Smails was the WASP, played by Ted Knight, who was horrified by Czervik’s antics but had his own hidden character flaws.
Donald Trump is Al Czervik.
The GOP front-runner has broken every rule of campaign politics. He has challenged Republican orthodoxy on every issue, from Planned Parenthood to immigration, from taxing the rich to free trade. He gets away with saying things that would have killed any other candidate. He is undisciplined and obnoxious. He is self-centered and egotistic and does nothing to hide it. He doesn’t even have a campaign pollster!
...I don’t like Donald Trump. Never have and never will. But in many ways, I admire how he has shaken up the system by cleverly telling a class of voters what they want to hear. Those voters seemingly represent a huge percentage of the Republican base.
Trump doesn’t really pretend to be perfect, and that too is a breath of free air. In a world of self-reverential hypocrites, his flaws are obvious for the world to see. Kind of like Al Czervik.
Exit question: Was Elizabeth Williamson one of the pearl clutchers at the Caddyshack clubhouse horrified by the antics of Al Czervik?
