Squat and Squabble

Conflicting viewpoints on topical subjects

  • Latest Posts
  • USA Politics
  • Other Stuff
  • Pop’s Pearls of Wisdom
  • Southpaw’s Ramblings
  • About Us

Trump’s Lob Job

June 30, 2017 by Pops 1 Comment

When we were kids growing up the northeast, winter was a special time, because it brought the snow.

For the adults, snow was a burden to be cleared from sidewalks and driveways, but for youngsters, snow was magic. Snow was the universal building material for childhood fantasies, and the universal weapon for warfighting. Snowdrifts became warrens of tunnels, and snow forts built with care by runny-nosed kids in scarves and mittens popped up like mushrooms in every yard. The petty summer rivalries of neighbor children morphed into all-out winter warfare. Preparations were hastily made, and piles of snowballs were staged behind hand-made frozen ramparts. Miniature combatants shivered silently in their own trenches waiting for the inevitable onslaught from the enemy that lived next door.

It was very real to us, outdoors in the cold, little warriors steeling ourselves for the pain of being struck by a hard-packed snowball to the body or the occasional fatal hit to the face. During those winter campaigns, we learned logistics, strategy, and tactics, long before the age of commercial electronic entertainment. It was figuratively life and death, with our pre-pubescent honor to be won or lost each grey afternoon before we were called in for dinner.

Success in a snowball fight required overwhelming firepower, accuracy, and sustained aggression. And diversion. A favored tactic was the “lob,” which was our artillery. Snowballs thrown fast and level, like baseballs, were our direct fire and were how most hits were obtained. The “lob” was the snowball thrown high, in a lofty arch, to rain down on the enemy from above.

The “lob”

The “lob” was the distraction, used to draw the enemy’s attention away for a few moments, as they tried to guess where it would impact. And while the enemy was looking up, he was not throwing at us, and that is when we always scored our best kills.


Donald Trump grew up in the northeast, and he likely had his own winter snow fighting experiences. He probably was familiar with the tactic of the “lob,” because we all used it.

As President, Trump apparently uses a “lob” strategy, in the form of a “tweet,” to some advantage. His media adversaries, cowering behind their fixed fortifications of news bureaus and TV studios, haphazardly throw barbs and insults, but while the media may share a common enemy, they lack a common strategy. Sometimes they score hits on the President, most times they miss.  The media is routinely smug in its assault, right up until the “lob.”

“Look! Up in the sky! Its a tweet!”

Out of the blue, without warning, comes a Presidential tweet or two, ranging high and arching over the normal line of fire. The media is distracted, they look up for a few moments, and a news cycle is wasted.

If the “lob” tweets thrown by the President are a calculated tactic
, it is a brilliant and effective strategy. Under the cover of his occasional “lob” to distract the media, an opportunistic Trump can maneuver into a more advantageous position, gather more ammunition, and consolidate his forces.  While they look away, he gets things done.

But if those Trump “lobs” are simply errant snowballs that are being thrown wildly in the heat of battle, without a supporting strategy, the President is wasting his ammunition and depleting his forces.

Is President Trump a political General Patton, or is he marching on to Waterloo?

We will see which side wears the laurels when they get called back home for dinner.

Tweet

Filed Under: USA Politics

Comments

  1. Southpaw says

    June 30, 2017 at 5:59 pm

    The notion that Trump’s errant Tweets are being used ass some sort of tactical distraction seems pretty farfetched. I’m saying this based on the fact that he’s a thin skinned, egocentric, goon. If anything, Trump is being distracted by each individual lob he sees. While he’s concerned about being trolled by SNL or criticized by CNN, the real assault (actually running the country) is coming at him in full force. I think it’s time that he focused on what’s important.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Log In

Please log into the site.

Search

RSS Fox News

  • James Carville calls ‘Defund the Police’ a ‘terrible drag’ on Democratic Party
    Veteran Democratic operative James Carville blasted the "Defund the Police" movement — calling it a "terrible drag" on his party.
  • Cuomo's 'New York Tough' slogan seems mocked as 'NY Touch' in light display
    A light display on an Albany skyscraper was temporarily changed from "NY Tough" to "NY Touch" in an apparent jab at New York's governor
  • Ted Cruz mocks John Boehner's 'drunken, bloviated scorn'
    U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday mockingly said he wears former House Speaker John Boehner’s "drunken, bloviated scorn" proudly after Boehner’s latest cutting remark about the Texas Republican.
  • Supreme Court rules against California's limits on in-home religious gatherings
    The U.S. Supreme Court in a divided decision late Friday ruled in favor of lifting restrictions on in-home religious gatherings, overturning a lower court ruling that upheld Gov. Gavin Newsom’s limits on people from different homes.
  • Michigan HS sports group says no to Whitmer call for 2-week break: ‘We’re going to play’
    Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday called for school sports to halt games for two weeks -- but the head of the state’s high school sports association says the games will go on.
  • Stephen Miller: 'Joe Biden has shut down ICE,' leading to a 'travesty' at the southern border
    Stephen Miller and Mark Brnovich sounded off on "Hannity" Friday, criticizing the Biden administration for "[shutting] down ICE," and creating a "disaster" at the southern border. 
  • Texas mayor says the southern border is the 'wild, wild west'
    Don McLaughlin, mayor of Uvalde, Texas, joined "Tucker Carlson Tonight" to share his town's experience with the influx of migrants at the southern border, saying the situation is a "madhouse."  
  • Gaetz links battle against sexual misconduct allegations to 'millions' who feel 'targeted' over their beliefs
    Embattled Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz vowed to fight the allegations of sex trafficking he is being investigated for, promising attendees at a conservative women’s event on Friday night that he is not “going anywhere.”

RSS CNN International

  • Elizabeth was only 13 when she met Philip. The royal love story lasted for decades
  • The bitter battle over tourism at Russia's 'Sacred Sea'
    Lake Baikal, Russia's 'Sacred Sea,' has been a lifeline for inhabitants of southern Siberia for thousands of years, thanks to its pristine water and rich fauna.
  • Laughed off for years as gaffes, Prince Philip's outbursts complicate his legacy
    For many Britons, the defining characteristic of Prince Philip was not his public service or his royal standing, but his propensity to make unscripted, off-the-cuff and sometimes wildly inappropriate comments.
  • China hits Alibaba with record $2.8 billion fine for behaving like a monopoly
    China has ordered Alibaba to pay a record fine of 18.2 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) after antitrust regulators concluded that the online shopping giant had been behaving like a monopoly.
  • What's behind the recent violence in Northern Ireland?
    For over a week, riots have marred the streets across five cities and towns in Northern Ireland. Cars and a bus have been hijacked and burned, young people have thrown petrol bombs at police, and at least 74 officers have been injured.
  • Complaints flood in over wall-to-wall TV coverage of Philip's death
    Many Britons and others around the world will wake Saturday to a sense of sadness at the death of Prince Philip, the patriarch of the UK royal family who spent more than 70 years by the side of Queen Elizabeth II.
  • Will a US/UK travel corridor be a reality this summer?
    Maybe it's falling asleep on the red-eye flight, dreaming of gleaming skyscrapers before waking up to views of Long Island, ready to live out all your NYC fantasies.
  • Boris Johnson may have won pandemic politics
    Things have been going relatively well for Boris Johnson of late.

Archives

  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017

Copyright © 2021 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in