Something about Anthony Scaramucci in the role of White House Communications Director smacks of Winston Wolfe in the 1994 Tarantino film, Pulp Fiction. While watching Scaramucci at the podium today, I kept hearing in my head, “I am Winston Wolfe. I solve problems.”
In the film, Mr. Wolfe enters the story after two thugs visit the suburban home of a fellow thug and accidentally blow his brains out. The thug buddies are freaking out when Wolfe, played by the accomplished and perfectly cast Harvey Keitel, is sent in to help. Wolfe is as cool, calm, and collected as if he were the concerned parent of two young sons who got caught egging their elderly neighbor’s house. Wolfe carefully commands the attention of both of the thugs and instructs them on what they need to do to fix their problem. They dutifully follow orders and are able to walk away from the scene as if nothing ever happened.
Scaramucci, however, has something a little messier than splattered brains to wash away. And, if history is any indication, he is unlikely to get the cooperative and collaborative response Mr. Wolfe got from the thugs, Vince and Jules (played by John Travolta and Samual L. Jackson.)
So far as we can tell, Scaramucci brings outstanding sales and presentation skills. We already know he will be outwardly focused and appear on every talk show that will book him in the coming weeks. Yet, there's still the matter of cleaning. He most assuredly has never cleaned away a mess such as this one. It may be mildly amusing to watch him spin new messages while the mess behind him keeps growing. And it inevitably will grow. It is clear this administration thinks they are above serving, can say and do anything they like, and are putting abundant energy into serving themselves. We’ve never seen anything like it.
All said, the Federal Government of the United States still consists of three branches, it is still founded on the U.S. Constitution, and it still demands service and transparency — and we, the people, will continue to pursue it.
So, smooth-talking, opportunist, Scaramucci has his job cut out for him. He’s feeling pretty good right now and his ego is on fire. He’s likely up for a short term that should secure a fortune for his children in the long run. When you sell your soul, there’s no refund, so he won’t give up easily. In fact, he made it clear he thinks of this as a ticket to great fortune. His parting words to Spicer were summed up with “…and I hope he goes on to make a tremendous amount of money.” Well, it does appear that this Administration represents a gravy train. Still, one can't help but wonder if all the spinning while scrubbing might make even Mr. Scarmucci dizzy to the point of falling down.
Regardless, even if Mr. Scaramucci sprouts wings before our very eyes, it’s vitally more important to stay focused on the President, his Cabinet, and his supporters in Congress. We’ll simply make sure the likes of Mr. Wolfe… um, Scaramucci, are taxed fairly when the time comes. Agreed?