Limping Back an Awkward Truth: My Story

One evening, long ago, my husband and I hosted a party at our home for some summer associates at his law firm. I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out why one of the young women looked so familiar, until I finally had my "eureka" moment, and shared it with her. I won't go into the details, but it involved my prefacing my revelation by saying something really nasty about her doppelganger -- and being very specific about why I knew her -- only to find out that this young woman indeed had a twin, one who would have been exactly where I said she was when I knew her.

My misstep (and I'm being generous here) was horrifying enough, to me, my husband, and the smattering of others who overheard the conversation. My "walk back," which was instantaneous and seemed brilliant to me, at the time, was worse. "Oh yes, I knew her, but that's not who I was thinking about." Color drained from faces, eyes popped. One friend burst out laughing.

I felt vindicated, years later, when I found out the twin was just as bad as the one I had known, and was eventually fired. Vindicated, that is, about my assessment. As to my "walk back," I remain horrified -- even if it is kind of funny. A lot funnier, say, than treason. I have tried, since then, to to be more truthful, certainly to not assume people are that stupid. I've had some slip-ups, of course, but it's never worked out well.

There are lots of bad things to say about 45's, um, Helsinki "misstep," which I view as both unsurprising and, like all his absurdities, immune to consequences. So, too, is his "walk back." But what is truly telling about his "walk back" is his utter disdain and lack of respect for his audience which, I assume, is Republican lawmakers. And, truth be told, they have earned it.

I don't get what motivates them, other than this mystical "base" that supposedly justifies condoning repeated departures from democratic norms. For this, they are willing to accept something as absurd as the no, the person I thought looked just like you was a person other than your identical twin who happened to be someone I knew. Whether it's stupidity or abject whorishness remains to be seen. Maybe, one day, there will be a price to pay.