The Phil Donahue Show was syndicated afternoon television program—a phenomenon that ran for 29 years—eventually providing the model and leading the way for Oprah Winfrey and others.

In December 1987, Donahue had a fortysomething real estate developer on the program. The former Patricia Ryan watched the program that afternoon and told her husband about it. Her husband didn't watch the show, but had been keeping tabs on the young New Yorker for years and wrote him a letter after the fact.

December 21, 1987

Dear Donald,

I did not see the program, but Mrs. Nixon told me that you were great on the Donahue Show.

As you can imagine, she is an expert on politics and she predicts that whenever you decide to run for office you will be a winner!

With warm regards,

Richard Nixon

In an ironic twist, the Washington Post, the newspaper that did more damage than any other media outlet to remove Nixon from office and carried a lot of water for the two Trump impeachments now has an owner who—mirable dictu—congratulated Trump on his victory last evening.

We'll see how long such a tenuous alliance lasts.

As we find ourselves once again in muddied political waters, the words of Pat Buchanan—the long-time special consultant of Nixon's and one of the most cogent political analysts of the last 60 years —are worth reflecting upon. In the aftermath of Watergate, he wrote:

"The nation is a divided country; but it was not divided by conservatives; and it should not be our business to compromise our principles, to silence our complaints, or to abandon our point of view to 'bring us together.' If the right has a purpose in American politics, it is not to contribute to some false sense of unity, but to articulate the concerns, represent the interests and defend the principles, values and beliefs of our own. In the title of Richard Whalen's book, our business is 'taking sides.'"

A new morning in America is at hand once more.

As always,

Brian

P.S. – We now have something available as sweet as the liberal tears that fell last night, but much spicier. It is our own Naturally Ordered Hot Sauce and it is available here (briefly on deep discount):