Here we go again

When I was a mere lad, my family was among the last in America to buy a television set (or so it seemed). I have memories of being in elementary school, overhearing other kids chatting about the shows they'd seen on TV the night before, and not knowing what they were talking about. It felt like I was really missing out on something.

We finally got our first black-and-white set about 1958, 1959, somewhere along in there. In those days, there was nothing resembling current technology, where I have many more choices than I can possibly watch. Back then, we received the one local channel, which was a joint CBS-ABC affiliate. That meant we didn't get the full program lineup of either network. Seeing an NBC show was out of the question, and the only other network was the educational channel, PBS. So even after TV became part of our family life, there was still a lot of stuff the other kids were talking about that I was missing. Eventually, we signed up for the cable and all four networks, but at first I took what I could get. I watched certain shows every week as part of a juvenile's devoted routine.

That was the era of the TV westerns and I was a huge fan of those. There were also a few variety shows and sitcoms that I watched regularly. One favorite was the classic Leave It To Beaver, starring Jerry Mathers as Beaver Cleaver. The Beav had a big brother, Wally, whose best friend was Eddie Haskell. Wally and Eddie were about as opposite as two close friends can be, and several episodes revolved around their relationship and various misadventures.

Eddie was a sleazy little bastard, usually up to no good but always presenting a facade of phony courtesy and attempts at charm when the grownups were around. Of course, Wally's parents, June and Ward, could always see right through Eddie's bullshit.

During the 2000 presidential campaign, my wife and I regularly watched syndicated reruns of classic sitcoms on the TVLand cable channel, one of which was Leave It To Beaver. At the time, I was struck by the similarities in character between W and Eddie Haskell, with the main difference being that at his core, Eddie was a moderately decent kid with some capacity for remorse. Unlike W, who's always up to no good and is never sorry for his f-ups. The problem: W was often perceived as an authentic down-to-earth good old boy. There weren't enough grownups in the voting booth who could see right through his bullshit.

I'm bringing all this up now because I'm beginning to see the same Eddie Haskell qualities in Willard Romney, a guy who always looks to me like he's trying to be a smooth customer. Where do the Republicans find these guys ?