KXEL Presents: The Jacobsen Group Podcast - July 6, 2024

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It's where Iowa comes to talk, News Talk 1540, KXEL.

Good morning on another glorious Saturday in eastern Iowa, but remember, on KXEL, it's not just eastern Iowa, it's 50,000

Clear Channel Watts, Karaminga Cross, all of North America.

There's not another 1540 a.m.

frequency anywhere in this continental sphere.

And you're listening to the Jacobson Group.

And today we've got a Ratling Good program.

We've got three vaunted guests.

Dr. Jeff Stein, a longtime friend, law school classmate of mine, going back to 1985.

Last time I counted that was about

40 years ago.

And also, we've got Chip Readman, a erstwhile colleague of mine from our Omaha show that we do out of Bluffs Country, Boomer Radio Network out of Omaha and Council Bluffs.

And that hits the western part of the state of Iowa and all of eastern Nebraska.

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Here,

On KXEL, we've got that great 1540 AM and the 100.5 FM left lung complement that comes out of Cedar Rapids to give it a full AM FM signaling.

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have that is put up the Monday following this Saturday morning presentation.

Just go to kxel.com.

Jacobson spelled like the good Viking Dane that I am with an S-E-N.

And Pete McRoberts also joins us today.

This is going to be like a McLaughlin group roundtable, but it's going to be a convivial atmosphere among friends.

As you know, I'm kind of from the right side of the aisle.

Mr. Stein, we're probably a verite of that.

Mr. McRoberts is from the left side of the aisle, but

why we work together on some great legislation, some non-controversial legislation, even some controversial legislation during my tenure in the Iowa legislature.

And Pete has got some great vantage points from the other side of the aisle that I don't have.

And of course, this transmission goes out to all of the states in the Big Ten because of the power of this 1540 signal.

And I know that Chip Reidman being both

a diehard Nebraska Husker fan and an Iowa State Engineering alum will also bring some geographical and alumni balance to the program here as Pete and I have both spent most of our time in Iowa.

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So let's start the program.

First of all, Dr. Jeff Stein, this is from great cross-pollination.

It's always great to have you on the show.

You are the big shot.

You were the heir apparent to Jim Bohannon, the late great Jim Bohannon, when he occasionally would be off for vacations or other breaks.

You were the permanent guest host for Jim Bohannon.

You were kind of like what Jay Leno was for Johnny Carson, what David Letterman was for Johnny Carson in that permanent guest host role.

And Jeff, you're now the main go-to guy for Todd Starnes, formerly a Fox radio, who now has the highest rated radio program of his kind in the nation.

It's not a three-hour talk format like Rush used to do, but since moving from Fox, he has hundreds of different network affiliates.

Jeff, thanks for taking the time to join us today with us.

Well, with that introduction, it makes me wonder, what am I doing with the likes of you, John?

It's charity.

It's pity, you know.

That's it.

Yeah.

This is my penance.

This is my penance.

for something bad that I've done in a past life.

I got it.

You know, I'm such a good influence on you.

I've made you adopt these Catholic terms like penance and purgatory because you would have ver that purgatory exists knowing my long suffering wife.

Is that correct?

It's either that or that black male is alive and well in your portion of the world.

I'll go with either.

Well, Jeff was so kind.

Jeff was anchoring.

at Iowa City's University of Iowa radio station.

When we were law students there 40 years ago, Jeff was kind enough to take our ragtag group of section nine of that class of Iowa law in 1988 and allow the section nine study group to study there in those radio chambers.

Jeff, that must have rubbed off on me because here I am doing a little bit of radio on this side.

We're delighted to have you in.

As many of you know, Jeff indeed

in his many iterations of expertise is a frequent continued pundit on television and radio throughout Iowa on the presidential elections.

He's got Iowa Almanac and Iowa Business Report.

He's hosted some of the presidential appearances at the Mud Communications Center there in the Waterloo Cedar Falls area.

And he has a lot of expertise to the show having interviewed

many of these candidates.

Pete McRoberts is Pete.

I'm going to let you describe yourself so I don't get on any third rails here, but it's fair to say that you have been wise and sage counsel for many leaders of the Democrat Party, not just in Iowa from a gubernatorial standpoint, but right directly to our current executive branch with President Biden.

You've been a friend and counselor of his.

Is that a fair statement?

Well, I wouldn't say

counselor He's got he's got people around him who are just brilliant and wonderful But I but I was and I have been am lucky to be in in the circle of trust and I appreciate it's it's it's been the honor of my life

Well, Pete if you were driving him through South Carolina in 2016 with the Lazarus campaign where President Biden came back from political death to March unabated

to the nomination.

I would say you're certainly a good luck charm for the president based on the success you had with him in South Carolina.

Great to have you back with us.

And Chip Reidman, this is a little melancholy as you and I, this is our last episode together.

Some of this transmission will be over on the Omaha show.

We had a great run in Omaha, didn't we?

It's really kind of bittersweet to fold it up, but hey,

Why not go out on top sweeping 11 of the major awards for large market at Iowa Broadcast News Association this year?

Well, I can sympathize a little bit with what Jeff said.

What did I do to deserve this?

Seven years is how, at least we're approaching that.

Seven years is when I first appeared on your program.

Yeah, sure.

We were at another network.

Actually, I can say we were at KMA for the first three years.

And uh, and we had you join us when we made the move to oma continue my friend

Yeah, it was through a korean war connection is the reason that

we

kind of got together I remember right here was my uncle and your father Yes, both were in the korean war and yes to want to tell his story.

He unfortunately was killed in action In korea

you're uncle.

Yes, some reason you made the mistake and asked me to come back and now you can't get rid of me

Well, you're a steady hand on the tiller, you know and We needed some Iowa State and Husker fandom to my my wife and all of the Iowa State Farmers that surround me in Southwest Iowa there would would demand no less Well guys, let's go to issue one and let's take a look at the presidential race as it stands right now I've lived through 13 American presidents

And the first question I have is, is this election comparable or similar to any other electoral landscape?

And I point to, I'll just kick it off right here.

Are we seeing something similar to Nixon Humphrey Wallace 68 in terms of war on the horizon, economy, restlessness at home?

Or is there a better paradigm to look at?

I'll start with you, Dr. Stein.

It's easy to say this is like 68 because of the fact that the Democrats will be meeting in Chicago at least according to the current plan there's talk of doing online Nominating to meet certain deadlines etc and with the fractured nature of our political discourse there could be folks in the streets in Chicago So there might be that sort of similarity, but realistically I would say this is completely uncharted territory

And once again, people are hearing the program on July the 6th, and there's uncertainty about the Democrat ticket, although the way it's going, it's full steam ahead, and that may well be the strongest position for the party to take for a variety of reasons.

But again, even you, Jacobson, we're not alive at the time of Grover Cleveland's second ascension to the presidency.

And that's truly the parallel.

You've never had a situation with, in essence, two incumbents, and their records are still very closely held in people's minds.

Oh, that's a great point.

And we've never had two men who have each lived four score years running for the presidency.

Life expectancy is really traversed, and we've got two aging candidates, but nonetheless fierce.

combatants historically.

Chip Reidman, do you see any other parallels?

Jeff's brought out the Cleveland situation.

I brought up 68.

Any other parallels or do you think we're in virgin territory here?

I would say definitely that this is virgin territory, but there are a couple things I would throw in.

You kind of can go back to when Teddy Roosevelt decided to get back into the scene as a third-party candidate.

You have Kennedy now, but he's entering from the other side and kind of what the mess that developed into.

You also could go back to Roosevelt's fourth election where, you know, because of his health situation,

He had a vice president that people basically told him you cannot have in that chair because he was a known communist.

And then I'm going with Truman.

So you look at Kamala Harris and what's going on there.

People are, you know, from the party, many of them are trying to say that we can't go to her because she's not going to get elected.

So yeah, it's unique, but there are some overtones of previous elections and similar situations.

Pete McRoberts, I'm delighted to bring you in at this juncture because you've probably got at least hunches that are better than some of our best guesses.

And right now, obviously, there are heavings and hoings.

And by the time we air here on Saturday morning, the George Stephanopoulos interview will have been conducted, not only conducted, but edited.

And Pete, I'm curious,

Does Stephanopoulos really hold the power in his hands?

It's not a live feed that we're going to get, but an edited feed.

How important would it be for by the time we see this show the prior night for the president to have passed the pass-fail test with Stephanopoulos after the concerns that were expressed after the debate the other night?

Your thoughts and ruminations.

Well a couple things if you don't mind I'd like to take a stab at your first question that you gave

the

other gentleman The comparison here is 2016.

We don't have to look in the rear view mirror.

It's a

literal The very same

playbook.

It's the very same playbook that that media is using that the Trump campaign is using and and and that's it I mean, so Yeah, that's that's the comparison and and I think that the other ones are historically really fascinating

But I think as respectful as I can be, it's a relatively new trend where you've got a candidate running for office who is arguably entirely self-centered and self-interested.

I mean, you don't often see a campaign where one of the candidates stands to personally benefit from the election.

And that's the thing that I want us to really think long and hard about.

Everybody's got ambition.

Everybody's got ego, all of them.

The the self-interest is is the thing that sets it apart and the only comparison there is 16 and I think it's worse a Second with respect to the Stephanopoulos interview.

I mean no nobody controls a candidate's fortunes except the candidate that it's just that it's always between the candidates and the voters and There's no, you know There's hey that the 1976 comment by Gerald Ford about Poland cost in the election or the part of the election or 1984

and you know people were so concerned about President Reagan and can he live through a second term and of course he won in the landslide and at the end of the day you know voters are very well prepped to make a to make a decision and the the campaigns exist in the margins campaigns know it and so no with respect to to is this our tonight on on ABC news the most important now wherever no I mean there there's there

and obviously I'm biased, you know, my angle, but there's no hour of television that will make or break the 5% of voters who are still making up their minds after the debate, whether you trust the source or not is a question, but I looked at 538 yesterday, Biden's up in the low to mid 50s in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, I think he's 55% in Michigan, again, according to Nate Silver.

whether you trust the source or not.

I mean, this is not the stuff that's objectively a campaign that's falling apart.

I mean, the American people know the candidates.

President Trump, former President Trump, had an awful debate.

The coverage particularly has been a gift to the Trump campaign.

I think the New York Times must declare that as a campaign contribution.

But you know, to quote the beachies,

The New York Times don't make a man, and neither will George Stephanopoulos tonight.

I mean, this is the president's campaign.

538 also says that Biden is polling much stronger than Kamala is right now.

I would point out, though, that I have seen what looked to be some very legitimate internal polling that was released, done some of it even prior to the debate, which showed some

very disturbing news for President Biden in the swing states.

Of course, he's still pulling better than Kamala Harris.

But obviously, you've seen some breakage.

Tom Harkin, our senator from Iowa, asked Biden to present Biden to step down.

Bill O'Reilly, who say was well about Bill, he's gotten some scoops.

Correct.

And he says it's already decided that Biden's off the ticket.

You've got others that are

postulating, but Pete is an old pro on the inside.

Are we at an Eagleton moment where the government's behind him a thousand percent before he is dropped from the ticket?

Or is this rock solid?

Biden's not going anywhere.

Is this just all speculative right now?

And are we still going to see that Trump-Biden matchup?

Which I think Trump and Biden want.

Yeah, yeah, I think Trump ought to be careful what he wishes for but I agree with you and being look all I'm gonna say is Even with a limited primary, you know if you are one of the professional Dems and I made the mistake of listening to about three hours worth of podcasts

Just to just to see what where people were at and

you know, it's out there the talk is out there Yeah,

of course, but if a week ago you came to this startling realization that Biden is an old guy and and and that

is what

led you to think he's got to get off the ticket No, no, no, you're you're the only difference between when a year ago when you could have influenced a primary or could have had the courage to find a governor and make a hard ask challenge the guy they didn't do it so

At the end of the day, if you're a professional commentator or a dim or somebody who is, you know, gets paid to do this stuff or just, you know, an influential person who likes, you know, who likes to weigh in and I'm not going to talk about Harkin's private email at all.

You know, it's been too bad for you because you had a shot a year ago to make the rounds to Governor Whitmer, to any of these really heavy hitters who have big futures ahead of them and you didn't do it.

So I don't have any patience or sympathy for people who are essentially playing off their lack of candor.

If these guys think Biden is too old today, then there's no way that this is a fresh thought.

It's a first thought.

And I don't have any patience for it.

I mean, again, this

is going to be a time race.

I admire greatly your loyalty, because even though I was barely a teenager at the time,

I was a Nixon man to the death and I still won't forgive Hugh Scott and Barry Goldwater for going up there and telling President Nixon that his time was up.

Is there such a scenario though that could at least force maybe a Lyndon Johnson type abdication?

Is there enough pressure that could be brought to bear on Biden or is Jill who's been very resolute and the Biden team

his confidence for 40, 50 years, some of these people, do you think he's absolutely going to hold the line no matter what?

I think he should, and I think he will.

And anytime somebody's talking about, it would be the patriotic thing for Biden to do, to do an LBJ and step off the ticket, should ask themselves very, very candidly and honestly, what happened after LBJ stepped down?

Everybody looks at what they don't have as being somehow the golden ticket.

And there's not a golden ticket.

The elections are hard.

These are the same people who are arguing, oh, no, Harris, well, maybe she's one of a handful of candidates and so forth.

But so it is, you know, the old school term for my side is bedwetters.

If we didn't have something to panic about, we wouldn't be Democrats.

But this is nonsense.

And some of it reflects some resentment.

I listened to the Obama guys on their break glass show over the weekend.

And I don't want to be petty, but I do have to ask, are you living in the same world that voters are?

I mean, the distance between the commentary at and even these numbers, and you referenced the poll regarding

Biden and Harris.

I mean, this is one of the things that I think is in that plus out of this week is that she'll have scrutiny that she hasn't necessarily had before.

I mean, you heard Vice President Pence often use the phrase, well, I'm famous, but I'm not well known.

And Harris is a fantastic, fantastic candidate.

I mean, you watched her in the US Senate when she would grill people.

She's a great prosecutor.

She's a world leader.

whether she's on our radar every day or not.

So I think that the outcome here is that we see more of her because people are watching.

People are raising questions about the president's abilities, et cetera, et cetera.

So naturally, it turns to the VP.

So I think that's a plus.

The more of her, the better.

And I don't mean to sound polyannous here, but.

I think instead of an LBJ moment, I think you're looking at a two for one moment when you've got voters who get to meet the VP and see her as the person she is.

I mean, there's a reason you picked her.

Yes.

Let me go to this spot.

We know that there are some

Rival reason politics.

I certainly and Jeff full of air to this that why even in the Iowa Legislature, the Republican Senate doesn't always get along with the Iowa House.

Can you believe that Jeff Stein?

But is there some resentment?

We hear a friction between the Obamas and the Bightons for various reasons.

We hear especially of contentious activity of almost like spy counter spy from ad magazine.

between sometimes the Harris and Biden camps.

To what extent is that a reality?

We know there have been tensions between the Pence people and the Trump people in the prior White House, and obviously, LBJ and Jack Kennedy, their camps were at odds with each other almost from day one.

To what extent is that coloring some of the commentary that we're hearing right now?

Is some of this locker room towel snapping Pete McRoberts?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And one of the real things, I mean, I'm not suggesting anybody's playing nine-dimensional chess here.

But quite obviously, if Biden-Harris win this next election and she's automatically a front-runner for the next cycle, and not necessarily the front-runner, but she's going to be presumed, you know, like Bush 88, she's going to be

in the driver's seat, she'll have to fight for it, but she starts with a huge advantage.

And if you are starting from a position where you're a little skeptical or you live on the inside baseball, you realize that this is three or four nominations in a row where your candidate is limited.

I mean, and so some of that is real.

And I remember working in 20 on the Biden campaign.

And again, I wasn't...

insider, but I was there every day.

And you could see it.

I mean, what you saw in the Iowa legislature, just add a few more zeros and a few million more people.

And that's exactly what you see inside these rivalries and these competitions inside the DNC and inside the partisans, of course, it's there.

Here with Pete McRoberts Biden supporter and Biden Advisor if I if I can say that certainly been integral also in helping on the state government as the main guy for Governor Chet Culver Jeffstein going to you I I appreciate the true believer nature head of my friend Pete McRoberts, but I would say that in it the the Vaux populate

there's a little bit less enthusiasm for Kamala Harris.

Particularly, she's had some issues with her wordsmithing.

And in the Democratic primary, she was the first out.

She was frankly unpopular with a lot of her, the folks she was trying to get to vote for her in Iowa, but also wasn't terribly beloved by her staff.

Jeff, do you think that she is

the heir apparent?

How can the Democratic Party bypass an African-American woman unless they're going to put a Michelle Obama there in her stead?

How is she not the inheritor if something does happen to Biden?

And because she's polling right now so much worse than Biden, is she really viable at this point?

Or is the Democratic Party ready to bandy behind her?

There's no alternative than to have the vice president, whomever the vice president is, be the person who steps in if for whatever reason a president or a presidential candidate cannot serve.

I can hardly think of a situation where the president and the vice president fully got along.

In other words, there's tension in all of those situations, right?

So, you know, it seems to me that it is a political issue if they do not go forward with her.

And it smacks of insensitivity and tokenism to say, yes, she is a woman of color.

So we'll just put another woman of color there to use your example of the former first lady.

There everything's fine.

Well, no, everything is not fine.

And it's it's a striking situation.

But I maintain

that the plan all along was to get Trump out in 20 and that Joe would turn it over after two or three years to Kamala and she would then have the power of incumbency and I would respectfully suggest that for whatever reason that didn't happen either because he did not want to let go or she did not perform as well as had been anticipated but for anybody to think that you're going to

Push the president out and not give it to the vice president or not have her be the heir apparent Especially the way fundraising is especially the way delegates are I think you know those folks need to go to a few more pool parties to fill their summertime

Yeah, I think money and delegates the infrastructure is set up there would almost have to be Harris so Chip Reedman I turn to you you follow a lot a wide variety of podcasts You do a lot of show prep for us

Chip, there's been so much speculation for, we keep hearing the name Michelle Obama, we keep hearing the name Hillary Clinton, we hear Gavin Newsom, Clay and Buck frankly are terrified that it won't be either.

They think that if Shapiro from Pennsylvania or Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan are on the ticket, that effectively blocks Trump from winning Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin that would then ironically

put the electoral college at 270 to 268, assuming Trump does carry through in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, where he has leased.

And ironically, your legislators, a Republican supermajority in the Nebraska Unicameral, had a chance and with on restoring that unified electoral block

Electrical vote block which would with Omaha going with the rest of the state would have made it a 269 to 269 are you a little nervous in Nebraska that you guys might let The Democrats run the table if they even came up with a Pennsylvania or Michigan member on the ticket and the rust belt

I don't think that's likely kind of going through what The other two guys said

There's a multitude of things in there.

Pete talked about Kamala and good prosecutorial.

Is that the right word?

Record and everything.

But I think what's also going to where he said it's between the nominee and the people is that she has problems when she gives a speech.

her interaction at the microphone is not very good.

And I think that's probably why she's done on the polls.

And that's the concern I would have for her running.

Michelle, I just saw a post today from what you can believe, what you read on the internet, but supposedly Michelle Obama's office came out in the last day or so and said Michelle is not interested in the job.

True or not, I mean, we've seen this stuff before, just like college football coaches, I'm not interested in the job, and then two days later, they're gone.

So I don't know what the truth is on that one.

But the other thing that, and sitting up here in Wisconsin, you talk about being in Nebraska and Iowa State, I'm sitting up here in Wisconsin.

And, you know, Biden's up here right now up in Madison.

As I've heard a CNN and analysts say that the United States is 50 states, 50 red states run by blue cities.

And Wisconsin is a typical example that Madison and Milwaukee dominate the balloting of what happens up in Wisconsin.

But focusing on Wisconsin and throwing in Nevada, the

The Biden campaign and the Democratic Party have an issue because by state law, Nevada and Wisconsin have already voted their electors are committed to Biden.

And the only way they cannot vote for him by law is if he dies.

I mean, it's that simple.

That's the state law.

And those are two swing states at this point.

Now, can the legislature change something at the end or at the last minute?

I don't know.

But if it's an amendment or if it's a constitutional issue for both those states, the Democratic Party has got a situation with them.

Biden's going to get the votes and there's no one else.

Now you also got to go to the other side.

You mentioned money and power.

So the advantage we're keeping Kamala on the ticket and if Biden steps out though on the other side is that all the campaign funds if they are for the Biden-Harris campaign

then they can keep using that money, just switching it over to Harris, and they don't run into any FEC issues as to where if both of them are out by the party's decision, that's a lot of money sitting on the sidelines, and I don't know what they can legally move.

Yeah, about a quarter of a billion dollars.

We're going to take a break here.

momentarily and then come back with part two here.

But right now I want to thank our sponsor Midwest Renewable Energy LLC and Life Runners, Jim and Cindy Jandron.

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Here with the great Pete McRoberts, Chip Readman, and Dr. Jeff Stein, a scintillating conversation.

We're going to pick it up in just a moment.

Welcome back this glorious summer Saturday morning in Iowa the Jacobson group find as a podcast at kxcl.com slash Jacobson the Danish Viking spelling Jacobson S-E-N and you're listening to us on the blowtorch America's original 50,000 watt clear channel Keraming from Waterloo Cedar Rapids to all the states the big 10 on the AM signal alone worldwide on the web and through the podcast

And of course, the FM transmitter 100.5, complimenting 1540.

This is Jeff Stein's station.

And we're glad to grab this seat on Saturday mornings, this award-winning ensemble where we're delving into the presidential race, the talk of the town on this Independence weekend here.

And I did some radio down in Kansas City the day after Independence Day.

And Pete McRoberts, you might like this.

But what I did at the end of one of our segments, it was a hard news segment.

I played an excerpt from John F. Kennedy reading the Declaration of Independence.

And Kennedy did it so elegantly and with such great art and fervor.

It's really one of the great spoken word pieces of our 20th century, Pete McRoberts, I think.

Love it.

That's beautiful.

And speaking of Kennedys, I want to move to another issue here, and that is the specter of Bobby Kennedy.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I've spent a bit of time with Bobby Kennedy on the campaign trail.

He had some exclusive interviews, continued to correspond with him by text message.

He could be a John Anderson Ross Perot,

I think what scares Trump and Biden more than Trump and Biden is Bobby Kennedy.

He did very well with his debate of the debate when he was given some time to pair up against those folks.

And Bobby is tapping into a thread that resonates a great extent with me.

I think Bobby's right on the evil.

of the Ukraine war in the United States participation in it.

I think Bobby's doing a very good job on talking about the absolute violation of our First Amendment coming at the hands of our government, the censorship.

And also, I would say that Bobby got it right.

If you read his book on Fauci, you will see that our public health administration was a debacle.

during COVID and I spread that blame around equally to both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Pete Roberts, question goes to you and then to my two friends.

This is about polling.

Number one, I think people thought that if Trump got a felony conviction, his polling would crater.

He's like Obi-Wan Kenobi.

He's stronger.

at least in initial polling after the conviction which which will be appealed and secondly Bobby Kennedy originally the thought was he would draw more from Trump in the swing states he appears to be drawing more from Biden now I have a theory Pete tell me if I'm all wet because I might be but Bobby Kennedy in August last year told an NBC correspondent

not once but twice in an interview at the State Fair that he would sign basically a 15-week abortion ban.

She was surprised, asked him to reiterate that.

He did.

The next day when he was in Logan, Missouri Valley, Iowa area, he reiterated the same thing.

By the time he got to Council Bluffs for his second exclusive interview with me, coming on the heels the one the day before, the interview which won

the number one prize this year for best political story in Iowa for large market radio.

Bobby had reversed course 180 and now is in a basically, seems have gone even beyond the road position to no fetters on abortion at all.

It seems like some of what he was drawing from the right that was somewhat socially concerted has now fallen off in his support

And it seems like he's now, at least in the battleground states, taking more away from Biden than from Trump.

Pete, your assessment of the RFK Junior campaign, he's polling consistently at 10% to 15%, even though he's being ignored in the media.

Two pieces to that question.

The first of which is, as you know, I'm an old advanced guy.

So I got to look at the mechanics of any campaign.

I don't see an infrastructure there.

The money is a huge issue.

The Shanahan has it in her power to write a giant check, and that hasn't happened, and they're just running out of time.

In terms of the issues, I mean this respectfully, because I know he's your friend, I think that these types of errors you're describing are what happens when someone is not ready to run for a major office.

That's what I think is happening.

And just to see a swing

from the 15 week question to, and I did, I read his subsequent statement and that doesn't exist in any mainstream, you know, Democratic party voters mind.

And these are unforced errors.

And so those things really do matter.

It's your question about Trump cratering, neither of them are gonna crater.

I mean, this election is gonna be decided on the margins.

And I think ultimately, would it be helpful for any of the three candidates if Kennedy were on the debate stage?

I don't know.

I mean, if you look at Trump, who was perceived to be the winner of the last debate, who did an abysmal job during that debate, I think it's probably charitable to say that some of Kennedy's positions are easy to attack.

Maybe that's a nice way to put it.

And then finally,

I don't think that Kennedy can talk about COVID or the failures of the public health system without immediately walking into just a buzz saw with regard to vaccination policy generally.

So I'm not saying he shouldn't speak his mind.

I am saying that anybody with that degree of scrutiny on them needs to needs to know exactly what they're going to say next.

And I think that I think that he just wasn't able to do that.

Jeff Stein.

You and I both try to get Bobby on the air.

He's tough to get on the air.

He's got a cordon of a very few advisors, I think his wife, Cheryl, just like Jill Biden.

And in a weird way, Melania Trump influenced their husbands and their approach.

Do you see any way that Bobby can be a George Wallace, if not Henry Wallace type of spoiler?

You could say that Henry Wallace didn't quite.

doing Harry Truman, Harry actually had a four-way race that year.

But George Wallace might have hurt Huber Humphrey a little bit, although Nixon's Southern strategy maybe rendered that moot.

Do you see any way that Bobby can be a Ross Perot type of spoiler at the end of the day if we're in swing states that just have the most infantisimal of margins?

Well, that's the key right there.

The fact is there are very few states whose votes are

undetermined at this point you can pretty much predict how most of the states will go and you can count up your electoral college votes and you see that there are very few a handful six seven states that really people are going to pay attention to and so if body candidate junior does exceedingly well in iowa and picks up three percent who cares because it won't make a difference because the margin i think will be such that that those votes don't matter

in a state where it's going to be very tight.

That's the wild card that nobody knows how to play for because if you're a voter who says, I'm sick of these two, I've seen them on the ballot, they've both been in the White House.

He has, Bobby has a better third party approach than some of the others because he's not really a third party.

And so, you know, there may be somebody, you give somebody another alternative.

I mean, if you go into the grocery store,

and you really want something other than skim milk, but your only choice is skim and whole.

You may, you know, okay, there you go.

But then when the third choice comes in and it's a nice chocolate milk, all of a sudden John's pulling the chocolate because he can.

And so that's what's potentially going to make a difference.

Can the chocolate milk outweigh the normal fare in those states where it makes a difference?

Fessing analogy, Dr. Stein.

Chip Reidman, you're an Omaha guy.

A lot of what I call old time Irish and Italian Catholic Pauls in Omaha, which there are many still have fond memories for RFK senior.

Bobby did a triumphal tour of North Omaha back in 68.

just weeks before the tragedy in California and Bobby won Nebraska before those huge wins in South Dakota and California.

Bobby did the train tour and was met like a hero in Black North Omaha, African-American North Omaha.

He went to Creighton's campus and dared to tell the Creighton's campus kids how dare they be complacent and ride the wave of their

draft exemptions while poor and black students were being sent to war, won over the Creighton kids who were certainly at the beginning by the end of that speech.

Is there any sort of possibility for Bobby to crack into disenchanted Democrats, especially if there's any Reagan Democrats left in Omaha?

That's a big electoral college vote that could tie the electoral college.

Literally, many math scenarios have the electoral college.

270 to 268.

Omaha could be the swing district like that main district, which is also up in the air.

Chip, your thoughts on that.

I hate to say this.

That was a marvelous solo que of the Kennedy history in Omaha.

Unfortunately, my short answer is going to be no.

Most people voting now weren't even alive when Kennedy, Robert or John Kennedy came through.

I mean, it's changed.

You're talking, what, 40, 60 years ago?

I mean, I was a little kid.

I'm telling you my age.

And I just don't seem to be in a factor.

I feel sorry for Kennedy on a couple levels.

Well, yeah, a couple of things.

I feel sorry for him because it goes back to

What was the Pete said earlier is he's not getting enough time to be vetted at all.

The media has ignored him.

The Democrat Party pretty much pushed him aside, which forced him to go independent.

He really didn't have a chance.

He's not vetted very well.

I was just listening to making Kelly and a couple of podcasts.

There was a book coming out about the Kennedy family that he's mentioned in and does not look very good for him at all.

You brought up the abortion issue, so making Kelly interviewed him and he still can't get the answer right.

I mean, I'm not saying right as to whether you agree with it.

He can't get it nailed down as to what his position is.

And there was another conflict.

I can tell you he's very tortured and conflicted on the as many Americans are.

He's emblematic of America.

Yeah, he is.

And so, you know, I have no idea how that's going to affect voters, especially if you can't get media coverage.

There was another issue that was similar that she kind of went after him on politely, but sternly like she does.

And it was the same thing.

He just kind of waffled in the answer.

And it's like, it just does not come off very good.

And that which that's be the same problem that Kamala Harris would have.

I mean, something she could be definitive about, but is are they ready to really stand up there?

Are they going to get the attention by the media for people to

Honestly see what their positions are and understand what they really want to do with the country

Well, let's that's a great take.

Let's we've got two more to go here guys with our time left Let's move to the VIP steaks on the GOP side.

So I'm gonna weigh in here first Who Trump should pick who would help in the most who Trump will pick and I'll say it should not be Kim Reynolds

It should not be Kristi Noem.

If it's going to be a woman, and there are some great ones out there, Sarah Huckabee Sanders would be a choice.

Elise Stefanik would be a choice.

My choice of the women candidates would be Tulsi Gabbard.

But I think maybe electorally, the president needs to fish for a rust belt warrior who can go into Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin.

It looks like JD Vance might be the one.

I dread, I dread if it is Doug Burgum of North Dakota.

Governor Burgum to me is too much carbon capture pipeline, too much big health care, too much.

Big Tech, he's Bill Gates' best friend and it would be a bitter pill for me to swallow Doug Burgum.

I'll go in reverse order this time, Schipper, even in what say you?

You know, I'm totally at a loss.

I really don't know who, I know more of who not.

I agree with you on Burgum.

I don't think Tosa Gabbard would be the right person.

I think she's got a lot of good qualities and stuff, but I'm just

I'm just worried that she's maybe a little bit too much middle of the road, maybe leaning left for me.

JD Vance is good.

Tim Scott is good.

I'll throw a wild card out there.

I mean, if it wasn't for the fact he just got in the Senate, I think Pete Rickards would be an interesting choice.

if you want to get someone with a fair amount of political experience, ran the governor, or ran the governorship in Nebraska very well, and got a lot of business experience.

Well, he could write a check.

He could write a check.

Yeah, he could.

He could run the campaign by himself.

He could outshan a hand, shan a hand.

He could outshan.

That's a great thought.

Jeff Stein, Dr. Stein, what say you?

It makes no difference.

This is Trump versus Biden or Biden slash Harris.

and whoever is the understudy, it's not going to make any difference electorally.

The old school of saying, pick for this state or this quality, this is too unique in an election.

I just don't think it's going to matter.

You know, I'm making it too complex.

I think Jeff, you probably just swerved into the most obvious.

I'm getting too clever by half, but Pete McRoberts is a possible that he could pick.

a bad choice that could be.

I still say this day that Bob Dole was a drag on jury 476 contrary to the beloved revisionist history we have on Bob Dole.

He was a terrible Veep candidate in 76 and Dan Quayle obviously did not help George H. Delby Bush.

What say you, Pete?

Who would help Trump?

Who do you think he'll go with vanity-wise?

So I'm gonna associate myself mostly with Doc Stein's comments.

I don't know what any VP candidate gets Trump.

He sucks all the air out of the room.

There's no, there's no gettable Trump vote that anybody that will be persuaded that, oh, he's closer to me on such and such issue or such and such.

There's no symbol of moderation that Trump can give.

I mean, his brand is just simply too baked in.

I tend to think

that he will go with with whoever is the the most public sycophant.

I think that that at this point you know all eyes are on bergam for that reason but I think advance nobody competes with advance as to who who is the biggest uh well I almost let anglo sax in there who's the biggest behind kisser

And I think that probably puts Vance at the top of the shortlist.

If I was telling Trump what to do, I would say find a way for Marco Rubio to get a condo in a neighboring state and put a little vigor there.

I think that might be the only thing.

And remember, everybody makes hay about Biden being an old man, so is Trump.

And I think voters are well aware of that.

Even though he presents himself pretty vigorous, he hasn't ever had.

a good day on this campaign in terms of his public statements.

You know, a lot of that stuff, we just accept as Trump being Trump.

But he is, he'll be 78.

And I tend to think that the only thing that could help him is if he presents himself as like Biden has said, described himself as, as a transitional candidate.

I mean, he's only got one term left anyway.

So if I were he, I would

I would be seriously looking at somebody who actually could be president.

That to me may be the only factor that could change people's perception of Trump.

But I think he's going to go with the biggest sycophant.

And I suspect that he goes JD Vance without taking into consideration that he's going to win Ohio anyway.

I think he plays three dimensional.

candy land and convinces himself that advances on the ticket and Sherrod Brown loses and then he gets back to Senate and on and on and on and on and they go down a rabbit hole.

But ultimately, it's whoever tells Trump, hey, you're the best president ever.

You should be the fifth face on Mount Washington, on Mount Rushmore.

And J.D.

Vance is that cheap of a senator that I think he'll probably stay at the top of the shortlist.

Well, Pete, I'll tell you what, if John Daley does,

referee that golf match between Trump and Biden.

I am putting my

money

on Trump.

It wouldn't be a Hamiltonian burr type of duel.

It would be much more peaceful and it would kind of be like Sean Connery and Ah Job and Dr. Noelter or at Goldfinger playing around the golf.

Final question, 30 seconds each.

Wither, Caitlin Clark.

I am hacked off

If the incompetent WNBA, they're not using Caitlyn properly.

They're not letting her shoot.

Her teammates won't catch the ball.

They're not utilizing her properly.

The coach is incompetent.

The commissioner is rotten.

The refereeing sucks.

The WNBA is a subsidized league.

They've got a chance to have butts in seats, and they are literally doing everything they can to destroy what could be a breakout.

Will the WNBA get its act together?

And should Caitlin stay or should she go?

I go to you, Chip Reedman.

I am so tired of this topic.

I'll probably be less than 30 seconds.

I moved on from Caitlin Clark.

I know you guys text me like crazy.

I don't even read three-fourths of them at the time.

Yeah, everything you said is true.

She should stay in the WNBA.

It's growing pains.

I've moved on.

said by a true Husker fan.

Of course, he'll talk Husker volleyball with us any day, but Chip, we are out of Cedar Rapids in Waterloo, Dr. Stein.

Yeah, I may be here, but I don't care either.

The only thing I would note is the best player at the college level goes to the worst team in the professional level.

That's called the draft.

Why are we surprised that the worst team in the league doesn't automatically win by adding one player?

Yes, well, you know, you know, I've got a sweet spot for Caitlin Clark.

Pete McRoberts helped me out bipartisanally here.

John, not let her get hacked.

Hacked.

And she she got a flip and ear puncture the one game from the belt that she took.

John, I literally have written written on my legal pad here about hearing the question butts in chairs versus winning games.

And I agree with your assessment.

about the tension there.

And this is where management and players and coaches of the NBA are in really different spots because there are going to be butts in chairs.

And she's young.

I had a really, really smart guy compare her to Bill Bradley coming into the NBA.

that she's got a chance to really change the team or the league.

And I thought that that was really prescient.

So I think she had to stay put.

I think that either that team gets better or she moves on as soon as she can.

But the WNBA is like, I think Jeff said, is in some growing pains.

And they're going to get there.

I couldn't be happier to see her individual, I guess, brand.

I think she's a great role model.

I had loved ones.

The kids went to U of I. So obviously, I'm kind of.

bias there, but I would like to see them catch up to the talent that they have.

And by they, I mean the league.

I think they will.

The team may not succeed, but yes, one person is not going to make a difference or an existential difference.

But I'm glad people are watching her and it'll be all right.

Well, and I've got to say this, I am happy for both Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.

You know, I kind of like Angel Reese.

I know she and Caitlin have been frenemies and first competitors, but Angel and Caitlin, both huge vote getters, automatic locks for the WNBA All-Star team.

And since both were snubbed, I think, regrettably by the Olympic team, not their chance to revenge because the WNBA All-Stars

do play the Olympic team.

They'll be coming up soon.

Want to thank Pete McRoberts, Dr. Jeff Stein, and Chip Reedman as Jeff, you can roll the credits here at the end with our great Paul Duke Washington Week and review music that we've stolen from Rimsky-Korsakov for the session of the Nobles.

Want to tell you again that we also want to thank our co-sponsor, Haymes Holmes, Haymes Manufactured Holmes, out of Cedar Rapids, Barbara Haymes,

the daughter of Curt Norma Hames, who founded this operation, these great World War II veterans over half a century ago.

They've done so much for our community and now the next generation, Curtis and Clint Holmes.

And these are safe, affordable and lovely, beautiful homes in Southwest Cedar Rapids, not far from the mall, not far from the airport, and yet out in a rural setting, two communities that have their own

paved road systems or lighting systems, all these homes are landscaped beautifully.

These great communities in southwest Cedar Rapids with their own policing systems, their own application vetting systems, they have a food pantry, they have a dog park, they have a frisbee park.

They have their own financing and their own insurance.

And these are homes that withstood the derecho in Cedar Rapids.

Not one of these manufactured homes had an issue with safety or with damage, which is an incredible, incredible statistic.

They're willing to visit with you today.

Get on their website, hamshomes.com and visit them, right?

They're on Wabash in Southwest Cedar Rapids.

And guys, they have that legacy of Cedar Rapids Marion phone number 319-377-4187, 4867.

And until then, guys, I turn you back to the website.

Go to kxl.com slash Jacobson and we're going to get a final word.

Who wins the general election if it's held today?

With how many electoral votes?

Rounded to 10.

I'm going to start out and beat the turd in the punch bowl.

Trump wins 320 electoral votes.

Pete Roberts, you're going to gain, Sammy.

Biden wins with exactly 270.

Fascinating.

Drat you Omaha, Nebraska.

What do you say for yourself there, Mr. Reedman?

I think you're copying me.

I said 320 probably two or three weeks ago, and now you're taking my number from me.

Well, our math works out the same.

Jeff Stein, you've got the final word.

Trump, 284.

Wow.

Well, we'll find out.

We'll reconvene this group here on the Kansas City Show and on the Omaha Show.

Till next time, guys, you can find us on kxl.com slash Jacobson and listen to Dr. Jeff Stein.

day and night, whether it's on KXEL or Todd Starnes, you can find him.

He is the Dean of Iowa Journalism.

This is John Jacobson for Pete McRoberts, Chip Redman and Jeff Stein saying farewell till we meet again.

Bye-bye.

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