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Don’t expect Trump to offer any compassion; Oren M. Spiegler; Beaver County Times; September 13, 2016.
Mr. Spiegler is such a prolific letter writer the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review gave him a little tribute back in 2003. Google “Oren M. Spiegler” and you’ll get more hits than you know what to do with. Unfortunately, prolific is not a synonym for competent. Mr. Spiegler claims to be a Republican. In my critique of “Breathing more freely,” I cited reasons why I was “beginning to believe Mr. Spiegler is simply another Republican impersonator,” but he sealed the deal with “Greatest foreign policy debacle.” Subsequent letters provided more confirmation. The group of local Republican impersonators also includes Messrs. William A. Alexander, Arthur Brown, Edward J. Hum, Bill Ralston, and George Reese, all claiming to be disgruntled Republicans. While he has previously claimed to be a Republican, this appears to be the first time Mr. Spiegler claimed to be a registered Republican in a BCT letter. If true, Mr. Spiegler joins Mr. Hum in going the extra mile to further his impersonation of a Republican.
ALERT! Though I missed it by several months, Mr. Spiegler finally did the honorable thing and ended his charade and deregistered as a Republican.
You can find links to previous critiques of Spiegler letters I critiqued here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The BCT has or had a limit of 12 letters per writer per year. In 2014, the BCT either ditched that limit or made a huge exception for Mr. Spiegler. By my count, the BCT published at least 25 Spiegler letters in 2014. Mr. Spiegler and/or the BCT dialed things back a bit in 2015; the BCT published only 15 Spiegler letters.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“I was particularly saddened to learn of Hillary Clinton’s illness, knowing that Donald Trump will use it against her to argue that she is not fit for the presidency, as he asserted all along.”
[RWC] Of course “Donald Trump will use [Hillary Clinton’s illness] against her to argue that she is not fit for the presidency,” as would any responsible candidate in a similar situation, including HRC. A presidential candidate’s health is a legitimate issue. HRC didn’t help her cause by trying to hide her illness. HRC’s coughing bouts didn’t start just last week; they have been popping up for weeks.
“A decent human being who opposes Clinton in the bid for the presidency would express sadness that she has been felled by pneumonia and a sincere desire for a speedy and full recovery so that she may return to the campaign trail.”
[RWC] “I hope she [Hillary Clinton] gets well soon. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m like you. I just see what I see -- the coughing fit was a week ago, so I assume that was pneumonia also. So something is going on, but i just hope she gets well and gets back on the trail, and we’ll be seeing her at the debate.” – Donald Trump (DT) on “Fox and Friends.”
“Well, I don’t take satisfaction, Joe, and frankly, you know, I hope she gets well and I hope she gets well soon, but, you know, it was quite sad to be honest with you. And I hope she gets well soon. No satisfaction, believe me, whatsoever.” – DT on CNBC “Squawk Box.”
Does this mean Mr. Spiegler (OMS) now concedes DT is “a decent human being?” Probably not. OMS will likely claim DT’s comments were insincere. As for sincerity, who knows? DT was probably as sincere as Hillary Clinton (HRC) would be if the roles were reversed. A couple of days after I posted a shorter version of this review on the BCT website, OMS proved me correct when he commented (shown below) about a letter that said he should apologize.
“Knowing what we do about Donald Trump, there will be no such statement. It is reasonable to conclude that in his heart of hearts, assuming that he has a heart, he hopes she does not survive.”
[RWC] Does OMS really think “[DT] hopes she does not survive?” What a horrible thing to believe of someone. Perhaps it’s psychological projection.
“In the event that Hillary Clinton were elected but unable to serve, the nation would be far better served with President Tim Kaine than President Donald Trump. Kaine has demonstrated himself to be a sane, decent, honorable, compassionate and genuine man who is able to form a coherent sentence and to speak without the use of vulgar language.”
[RWC] Blah, blah, blah.
Below is OMS’ non-apology on the BCT website in response to Mike Neely’s letter entitled “Writer owes an apology to Trump and supporters.”
ospiegler Sep 15, 2016 8:25pm
“I based my opinion on the Trump’s nature as expressed in countless efforts to insult and denigrate women, Muslims, African-Americans, Syrian refugees (‘they’re probably ISIS’), and military veterans, including war heroes like John McCain.
“Trump did, in fact, pay lip service to wishing his opponent well, words which were no doubt written for him by Kellyanne Conway, his new campaign manager, who recognizes that he must attempt the impossible: to soften his image if he is to attract voters that he desperately needs.
“The writer asserts that I have little credibility. I am sure that is true vis-a-vis Trump supporters because I have cited the facts about this loathsome man. I am not, however, the liar that I am made out to be. Trump initially responded to news of the Clinton illness with ‘I do not know anything’ (an accurate statement in more ways than one). After my letter was submitted, I learned that he had said some lovely-sounding words, the right thing to do.”
[RWC] OMS was a Republican impersonator for years and he wants people to believe he’s not “the liar that [he’s] made out to be?”
“I have had the privilege of contributing to this fine newspaper for years. Many appreciate my contributions. I have not the slightest concern that the Times will revoke this privilege based upon a false representation made by a political foe.”
[RWC] Though I could do without the hyperbole, Mr. Neely didn’t make “a false representation made by a political foe.”
Finally, here’s a rhetorical question. Why do you think OMS waited for a letter like Mr. Neely’s to defend his honor when he could have responded to my comment over two days earlier and on the same page as his letter?
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