Cheers and Jeers - 2020 Edition

December 30, 2020

Welcome to David Gershwin Consulting's 2020 Edition of Cheers & Jeers – our perspective on the best (and the worst) of government, politics, policy, media, sports, and culture this past year. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with our assessments, we want you to have a successful, happy, and healthy 2021.

As we close out one of the most tumultuous years in a lifetime, we want to wish all our loyal readers a hearty round of CHEERS (and no Jeers)! 

?GOVERNMENT

Cheers: to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for acting swiftly and necessarily to approve safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines on a rapid timetable unimaginable before. 

Jeers: to the Trump administration for, let's see: not taking COVID-19 seriously, failing to invoke the Defense Production Act to manufacture PPE when it was in short supply in the pandemic's early stages, being the poster child for super-spreader events, and...sorry, I have to stop, because otherwise, I'd be here all day.

2020 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Cheers: to the Democratic National Committee for running the 2020 Democratic National Convention extraordinarily well, all while observing social distancing protocols. The roll call of the states with delegates speaking directly from each of those states may very well stay with us post-pandemic.

Jeers: to the Disruptor-in-Chief for securing a place in history as the rudest, most uncouth, most unhinged participant in any Presidential Debate.  

HOUSING

Cheers: to Facebook (yes, Facebook) for committing $1 billion to address California's affordable housing crisis.

Jeers: to the California State Legislature for once again failing to take the necessary steps to address the State's housing shortage, letting meaningful legislation wither on the vine.

TRANSPORTATION

Cheers: to Southwest Airlines for extending the time in which one may use your unspent travel dollars in the wake of the pandemic.

Jeers: to the United States for neglecting its public transportation systems by failing to upgrade and modernize aging infrastructure - and when it does, it's often at a cost six times greater than similar investments by our European counterparts.

HEALTH

Cheers: to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who gave us the template for what it's like to deliver clear and honest medical expertise, all while being an excellent, level-headed communicator. A nation is grateful.

Jeers: to anti-maskers for reviving a 102-year-old tradition of obstinance and ignorance, all while wrapping themselves in a metaphorical banner of "freedom." Does this make Huntington Beach the new San Francisco?

TRADITIONAL MEDIA

Cheers: to news outlets for adapting to a socially distanced world and perfecting videoconference interviews with better lighting, better cameras, and better audio. It all made for a much more enjoyable experience than watching the awkward Skype interviews we were used to. (Follow Room Rater on Twitter to see the best of the best)

Jeers: to the many otherwise respectable media outlets that consistently failed to correct lies and falsehoods from Trump and his administration in real-time, often succumbing to both-sides-ism. One notable exception was Axios' Jonathan Swan, whose look of incredulity throughout his interview with Trump was appropriately meme-worthy.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Cheers: to the Steak-Umm Twitter account, for bringing brutal honesty, high-level engagement, and yes, humor to the Twitterverse, giving the company a unique voice that cuts through the usual noise and bombast.

Jeers: to Facebook, for being accused of anti-trust violations, for not sufficiently flagging false or misleading information from conservative sources, and for not turning around its shoddy track record on privacy. 

BASEBALL

Cheers: to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Why? For winning the NL West title for the eighth straight year, and, oh, one more thing, winning the WORLD SERIES for the first time since 1988. And let's be clear: they are the only team to win it in a pandemic-shortened season.

Jeers: I usually reserve this space to gripe about the Dodgers, but I don't have much to gripe about, other than chastising third baseman Justin Turner for coming onto the field, mask-less, just after having been diagnosed with COVID-19.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Cheers: to Vanderbilt University kicker Sarah Fuller, who became the first woman to score in a Power 5 conference football game.

Jeers: to the College Football Playoff committee for once again demonstrating how imperfect their system is, leaving a strong, undefeated, Division I team, the Cincinnati Bearcats, out of the playoff picture.

PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Cheers: to the Washington Football Team for its long-overdue name change from their previous moniker that was offensive to Native Americans. 

Jeers: to the leadership of the National Football League for belatedly adopting sensible COVID-19 protocols, which still fell far short of the robust efforts made by the National Basketball Association in the Orlando, Florida bubble.

PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL

Cheers: to the Los Angeles Lakers for winning a well-deserved championship, and to LeBron James for making his case for being the G.O.A.T. (don't @me, Michael Jordan fans)

Jeers: to the Los Angeles Clippers, for out-Clippering themselves in a playoff meltdown in their series with the Denver Nuggets. It was bad enough they lost three games straight - but they lost each of those games after having double-digit leads. Clippers gonna Clip.

MUSIC

Cheers: to Fiona Apple, for releasing the remarkable Fetch the Bolt Cutters, an outstanding, raw, innovative album recorded at her Venice Beach home, where everyday items lying around the house wound up being percussive instruments. She even gave musical credits to her dogs, and what's wrong with that?

Jeers: to Van Morrison, for being an outspoken opponent of public health measures to contain COVID-19 and writing a horrific song, "No More Lockdown," ensuring that he permanently loses some of his most devoted fans. At least we still have Astral Weeks.

FILM AND TELEVISION

Cheers: to Disney+ for streaming a live-action film of the musical Hamilton - a wonderful production and a great distraction that was a welcome respite early in our safer-at-home world.

Jeers: to Netflix's Tiger King, which, once you got past the initial shock value, amounted to a time-consuming, multi-part series on lousy people, made with often lousy video footage, that ultimately made us feel even lousier in this lousiest of years.

And finally, we leave you with a brief list of just SOME of the many souls who died this year and who will be greatly missed:

Charley Pride, Chadwick Boseman, John Prine, Olivia de Havilland, Sean Connery, Kirk Douglas, Shirley Douglas, Kobe Bryant, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, George Floyd, John Lewis, Helen Reddy, Fred Willard, Toots Hibbert, Ennio Morricone, Jerry Stiller, Ann Reinking, Chuck Yeager, Neill Peart, Regis Philbin, Pierre Cardin, Carol Sutton, Larry Kramer, David Dinkins, David Stern, Rhonda Fleming, Curly Neal, Wilfred Brimley, David Lander, Lucille Bridges, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Diego Maradona, Bill Withers, Alex Trebek, Spencer Davis, Mac Davis, Bonnie Pointer, Eddie Van Halen, Little Richard, Rafer Johnson

About David Gershwin Consulting

We know that 2021 will be better than 2020 (it must be, right?). It will be a time for all of us to work on improving our game. Whether that means being a stronger advocate for your cause, being a more effective communicator, or simply knocking that next Zoom presentation out of the park, we can help you fight the good fight. Find out more at www.davidgershwin.com or drop us a line at [email protected]