Kevin McCarthy, Gen X Elder

Kevin McCarthy, who is the same age as I am and thus represents the pinnacle of Generation X elder wisdom, is like some of those annoying kids I knew in high school back in the early eighties.  You know the sort - the kids who walked around like the Fonz, in their Journey T-shirts, and thought they were so cool because they bought Escape the first week it came out and quoted numerous lines from Fast Times at Ridgemont High when in fact they were as lame as f**k! 

McCarthy, who is so disrespected by Nancy Pelosi that she wouldn't even refer to him by his name, has announced he is leaving the House of Representatives at the end of the year.  He talked about his major accomplishments as Speaker, both of which died in the Senate, and he added, "No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing. That may seem out of fashion in Washington these days, but delivering results for the American people is still celebrated across the country."

"Kevin," I kept thinking, "I beg you to stop!" 

Charlie Sheen.  Brooke Shields.  Jesse Jackson, Jr.  And Kevin McCarthy.  Gosh darn it, are these the best elders my generation can offer?

I am also confident that McCarthy considers Loverboy's Get Lucky to be one of the greatest albums of all time.

McCarthy, the shortest-serving and least powerful Speaker in history, isn't just lame as f**k, he's lamer than f**k.  After selling his soul to Donald Trump and getting nothing in return, he promises to campaign vigorously for Trump and "help" continue to build the Republican Party.  

McCarthy is going out with a smile on his face, proud of everything he has not accomplished.  But as with the Cheshire Cat, the more he smiles, the more you realize there's nothing there. 

In his farewell address to the House, McCarthy said that if doing the right thing costs you your career you should do it anyway.  I have a perfect title for a book McCarthy could write containing such pearls of wisdom . . . 

. . . but it's already been taken.