The victorious return of Israel's former prime minister, Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, with his probable solid coalition consisting of religious Jewish and nationalist partners, triggered a meltdown from the usual liberal lefties both in America and abroad, uneasy with Jewish strength.  Capturing their horror, Thomas Friedman of the New York Times (yeah, yeah, I know) mourned: 

Imagine you woke up after the 2024 U.S. presidential election and found that Donald Trump had been re-elected and chose Rudy Giuliani for attorney general, Michael Flynn for defense secretary, Steve Bannon for commerce secretary, evangelical leader James Dobson for education secretary, Proud Boys former leader Enrique Tarrio for homeland security head and Marjorie Taylor Greene for the White House spokeswoman.

"Impossible," you would say. Well, think again.

As I've noted before, Israeli political trends are often a harbinger of wider trends in Western democracies — Off Broadway to our Broadway. I hoped that the national unity government that came to power in Israel in June 2021 might also be a harbinger of more bipartisanship here. Alas, that government has now collapsed and is being replaced by the most far-far-right coalition in Israel's history. Lord save us if this is a harbinger of what's coming our way.

Ok, Mr. Friedman, to paraphrase the Beatles, I can imagine this 2024 paradise you describe, especially when compared to the current unpleasant situation that is the President Joe Biden (D) reality.

During the Trump (R) years, annual inflation was under 2.5%; under President Joe Biden (D), it skyrocketed to over 8%, bringing misery and debt.  The rising price of gas since Biden replaced Trump is a perfect example of rising prices of basics.

Embracing the broken windows theory of crime — among other crime-fighting methods — Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R)'s New York enjoyed a period of crime reduction; although obviously not solely responsible, there has been a huge leap in crime during current Attorney General Merrick Garland's time in office, as Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) pointed out. 

Republican Sen. John Kennedy grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland for the Department of Justice "losing on crime," and pointed to how Chicago has become "the world's first outdoor shooting range."

Steven Bannon is a former U.S. Navy officer, a successful businessman in banking and the media.  A successful businesswoman and former governor of Rhode Island, current secretary of commerce Gina M. Raimondo has presided over a shrinking economy, which includes rising unemployment and higer prices. Again, obviously, she is not solely responsible for the distressed situation.

As for James Dobson, a successful minister who is also an author and psychologist, he established Focus on the Family, recognizing the importance of strong family life in successfully educating children.  Student test scores, absenteeism, violence, and other problems have plagued schools the past few years — but, to repeat again, obviously this is not solely the fault of Dr. Miguel Cardona, the current secretary of education.

Former Proud Boys member and FBI informant Enrique Tarrio, charged with entering the U.S. Capitol on January 6, would undoubtedly make a fine homeland security secretary.  Under the leadership of current secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, untold millions of illegal aliens from across the planet — and maybe other planets, given Mayorkas's leadership — have entered this country, which will result in major U.S. problems, such as higher crime rates, for decades.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a successful businesswoman before her election to Congress, would undoubtedly be a fine spokeswoman and White House press secretary for a competent, talented president such as Trump — certainly an improvement over the inept Karine Jean-Pierre and her immediate bumbling predecessor and now MSNBC hire, Jen Psaki, tasked with the near impossible of covering for the...uhm...mentally problematic Biden.

So from Tom Friedman's frenzied brain to the voters of the USA (with some apologies to the Beatles):

Imagine all the people,
Voting for a Trump administration in 2024.
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us
And the USA will be as one.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.