What Mike Pence Should Have Said

At this point we are all aware of the uncomfortable night the vice president-elect, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, had when attending a performance of the popular Broadway show "Hamilton" this past week.  As he was leaving the theater after the curtain calls, the actor who portrayed Aaron Burr decided to take out a pre-written message and speak it to Mr. Pence in front of the assembled audience.

I won't bother quoting the entire recitation for you; at this point you should be aware.  The actor pointed out that he was afraid of what Donald Trump might do as president, and quoted issues of diversity and being president for all Americans, and being inclusive, and that whole rainbows-and-unicorns thing.

The main point was that he claimed to represent people who were in fear, and they needed to have their fears assuaged.  You know, like making America one big college campus safe space.  Ooooh, that scary Mr. Trump.

Mike Pence is a man of immense class and restraint, going so far as to exit the theater politely with his now-embarrassed family.  In every sense, the governor embodies the man we refer to as a "gentleman."

In subsequent statements, he confined himself to acknowledging that it was perfectly fine for the actor to have said things in public, and that he greatly enjoyed "Hamilton" and his evening, at least up to a point.  OK, he didn't say that last part.  As I sit here, he has yet to utter a syllable of complaint, although his soon-to-be-boss tweeted a thing or two.

So while I know that this is one of my "What Person X should have said" columns, we have to understand that Mike Pence did precisely what Mike Pence would do the next time, and every time something like this happens again, if it unfortunately does reoccur.  So maybe this is more a reflection of what I myself would have done, had I been the good governor on that evening.  And, I suppose, assuming I had the foresight and the verbal dexterity to have thought these words on no notice.

So here's what I would have liked to have happened.  I'd have asked most politely if the actor would allow me the honor of a reply and would yield the microphone for a brief moment.  Then I would have said this:

"Young man, while I would like to reply, and I thank you for the opportunity to do so, I would be remiss if I did not first tell you that, at least to this moment, this has been an extraordinary evening of theater that I will not soon forget, and that you and your peers on stage did an outstanding job.

"That said, I would like to ask you what news media you rely on, and to let you know that your unwarranted fears would not have reached the level that they have, had not those media used the incitement of fear as a way to try to turn the election to their favored candidate, rather than maintaining journalistic standards.  

"To be honest, my friend, had they done so you would have found yourself even more afraid had Mr. Trump lost the election and your president-elect had been someone who had shown herself to be so corrupt as to have sold influence to foreign governments while serving has the head of our diplomatic efforts.  But the media you rely on downplayed that in their own interest.

"There is a lesson here for those who will learn it.  You have allowed others to convince you to be afraid when fear is not warranted.  The media have become the Chicken Little of our lifetime, screaming that the sky is falling, when the nation has elected a president who promised to fix problems that have not been solved by those who claim to be your friends, and for whom you fruitlessly voted, for reasons that make little sense.

"Give the man a chance, my friend.  He has already said that he is, and wants to be, the president for all Americans.  I pledge to you that he will be just that."

It would have fallen on very deaf ears, but would have been worth saying.

Copyright 2016 by Robert Sutton
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