During the March 31st season finale of ABC’s Last Man Standing, Outdoor Man store manager Mike Baxter (Tim Allen) was able to work in four quips with a political nature.
Mike’s daughter, Mandy (Molly Ephraim) is fulfilling a business management class assignment by shadowing Mike for twenty hours in the store. She tests out her skills in handling conflict resolution using a textbook and jumping between Joe (Jay Leno) and Chuck (Jonathan Adams), who both want to pitch for the store’s softball team. Along the way, Mike shows her how he handles the bickering between Joe and Chuck which includes taking a swipe at former President Obama and also declaring he could solve the problem of ISIS.
Joe: Mike, we need you to solve a problem.
Mike: Work-related?
Chuck: Absolutely. We need a new starting pitcher for the softball team, and that should be me, right?
Joe: He's wrong, right? Mike, am I wrong?
Mike: Almost always, Joe. Almost always. It's a borderline work-personal problem, but I'm on a roll, so...
Joe: Look, I'm a better pitcher than he is. Anybody with eyes can see that.
Mike: Compelling argument backed up by science.
Chuck: Except he's an idiot.
Mike: Also backed up by science. All right, all right, all right. After careful deliberation, I'll make a decision. You're both wasting my time!
Chuck: Okay. Agreed. But you're never gonna get that part of your life back, so who should pitch?
Mike: I'm gonna go with George.
Chuck: Who's George?
Mike: I don't know, but I'll find him. It's a big city, okay?
Joe: No. No, no. That's not fair!
Mike: Fair went out with Obama. Now get back to work!
Joe: You know, it worked out for the best. I didn't want to have to buy a new glove. Chuck: Yeah, what do you want to do now? Get some lunch?
Joe: Hey, I'm buying! I got that glove money burning a hole in my pocket.
Mandy: Nice work. No problem is too small for you to handle, huh?
Mike: Or too big. I've worked out a way to defeat ISIS 10 times in my mind.
Along the way, Mike teaches Mandy that book learning has its place but it is also useful to do a gut check in making decisions. Mike tells her there is only one book we have to follow “word for word.” Mandy responds, “The Bible?” Mike answers, “The Federal Tax Code because there is no statute of limitations and they will chase you down.” Lol! That’s the truth.
Two things make a great manager, Mike says - the knowledge in books and the experience to know when to apply that knowledge. A good manager has to know when to trust his gut.
In the end, Mike’s boss, Ed (Hector Elizondo) returns from a camping trip, having missed all the arguing over the softball team’s pitcher and tells Chuck he can be pitcher. Mandy asks, “Don’t you have to go handle that?” and Mike says, “This is why I can’t deal with ISIS.”
That guy, Mike. He never lets us down. This show continues to be one that conservatives can watch without our feelings insulted.
