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Terrific column, Joe. A lot of us should have listened more closely to Pat Moynihan.

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Joe, I have an indelible memory from early in the 2012 campaign. The Morning Joe crew was in some public setting in Iowa or somewhere and you were a guest. You made a compelling, and prescient, statement about Donald Trump’s profound ignorance and unsuitability for the presidency. Joe Scarborough jumped off his stool and leaped around saying, there you have it folks, the first instance of Trump derangement syndrome. You were, of course, spot on as Scarborough has since come to realize.

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Sorry, the 2016 campaign.

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author

Yup.

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I was puzzled then, I am puzzled now. WHY was Joe Manchin to the child tax credit??? At the time, he mumbled a few things about inflation, but surely he knew what a load of crap that was. Was he really worried that the good folk of West Virginia, one of the poorest area in the US and surely a place that was making great use of the credit, would never forgive him?? Would this act of Christian charity really be unforgiven on the streets of Charleston? I agree the child tax credit should be THE issue of the 2024 campaign -let’s make it happen. But let’s also take a moment to consider why it is that the poorest (white) parts of the country seem to hate it so.

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Thanks again for another great article. You're one of the best, if not best, writing these types of articles today! Can anyone else name anyone more insightful and unbiased, asking out of genuine curiosity?

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Agreed, I assume there are similar issues with white poverty.

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Absolutely--in fact, behavior patterns among the white underclass have become very much the same as among the black underclass.

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