Donald J. Trump keeps crowing — apparently falsely — about the size of the crowds to which he has been speaking.
He calls them “the largest anyone’s ever seen.” His critics, led by Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz, accuse him of (what else?) lying about the size of the crowds.
Allow me for just a brief moment to put the issue into another perspective.
Crowd size doesn’t matter. Size might matter in a lot of different contexts — if you’ll take a moment to ponder them — but not the size of crowds.
When I returned home from the Army in 1970, I got politically active. I guess you could call me a member of the “Vietnam Vets Against the War” in Vietnam. In 1972, we rallied behind a candidate who vowed, if elected POTUS, he would end the war.
Sen. George McGovern spoke to huge crowds all across the land. They were gigantic. They set unofficial records, as I recall.
In Portland, Ore., where I grew up, McGovern held a rally in downtown Portland. Huge crowd, man! Thousands of people gathered. I was one of them.
McGovern got us all fired up. We were ready to kick ass and take names … you know?
You’ll remember what happened on that Election Day. Sen. McGovern lost 49 of 50 states to President Nixon.
This is my way of saying that Donald Trump’s empty boast about big crowds means absolutely nothing …. particularly when he lies about it!