When you're ready to ride Metro, we want you to know we're ready for you. Here are just a few of the people at Metro to tell you how we're doing our part to keep riders safe. We're cleaning like nouble before we half build a great clean You've found hands down of tows of stations, no mask, no Metro need one. We have a few extras at Metro. We're doing our part to keep the DC area moving. Find out more at we Mada dot com, slash doing our part,
the Armstrong and Getty Show. And just a preemptive question, I know it's gonna come up. Are we seeing any widespread fraud? Are we seeing anything that makes us question the outcome of the election? We're not see any widespread regularities. Are not seeing anything widespread where we are investigating any incredible accusation with any real evidence behind it. But let me tell you one thing. When you have a narrow margin,
little small things can make a difference. So everything that had to be investigated to protect the integrity of the vote, our office intends to do that. And like I said, you know, wide margin doesn't matter as much narrow margin it does. We're literally looking at a margin of less than you know, a large high school. That is, uh, what's his title? It's not secret to your state. But it's like the head of elections in Georgia, who is a Republican? The guy run an accountant. That's that. I
believe that is his formal titled. Yes, ah so, but it's over in terms of who wins. Yes, in terms of investigating high jinks, no, which is healthy for everyone, and anybody who's not in favor of that is a bad American. Try to make elections better election by election. But it's over. Joe Biden will be the President of United States. It's it's not even a question anymore, not a joke. Lon each And David and Diane Stephie fellow in American Public Policy Studies at the Whoever Institution joins
us now. Lon He is also host of the most excellent podcast Crossing Lines with laniach and Good morning, sir, How are you well? Good morning? It looks like we might be closer to a result after all. Oh yeah, it's it's it's over. I mean, if if we want to pretend it's not, we can, but listen to the liberal Jack, it's not the result I want and I was wondered, you've you've worked on some high level campaigns that didn't win. What does it feel like when you
realize when it's over, what is it all? What is that? What is that feeling? I mean, it's it's it's horrible. It's it's a sad, sad feeling. And particularly when you've invested a lot of your time and energy and you believe in the cause. Look, everybody who was involved in this campaign, arm on the Trump side, of the Pivate side, who worked on these campaigns, they believed in what they were doing, you know, and you don't invest that kind of time unless you do. Uh. And I've lost a
lot in my time in politics. I've lost a lot more than I've won. And it's it's tough. I mean, that moment when you realize I still remember that time in twelve when I was working, you know, closely with Romney and on election night, you know, when we knew we had no pathway. Uh, it's a very difficult thing to accept, and it takes a lot of grace, It takes a lot of humility to be able to say,
you know what, it's not gonna happen. Because every instinct in your body said you gotta keep fighting, you gotta keep going, and and you know at some point you just can't. There's no pathway. What does it feel like? You know most of us haven't done it. What does it feel like? Is it like when you know a girl you love dumps you? Or what's a feeling? I mean, um, having felt that before too, I could say it's no,
it's um. You know, it's you sort of sit there and you wonder, you know, what could you have done more? I think that for me, at least personally, and by the way, to this day, I still think about that for Romney because you know, I think, um, look, your your listeners are going to have different opinions of Romney. I get it. Um, I have never met someone who is more honorable and who I would have done more
for than him. And so I feel like at this point, even out right eight years later, I still think we're their decisions I made and things that I did on that campaign that contributed to his laws. He should have hired me to give him how to act like a regular guy lesson you know, so Trump might spend the rest of his life thinking gotta fight it just a one more rally in Arizona. You know, one more in
this county in Pennsylvania had have been president. That's interesting, Hey, speaking of that, let me let me let me let me be clear. I don't think that Donald Trump will think that way. I think he. I think there are people on his campaign that will that will question decisions made. That. Having been said, I actually think Trump down the stretch did exactly what he needed to do to keep this
race close. I actually think the Trump campaign, Trump's rallies, all of that, that's what drove turn out in these states. Either you talk about Donald Trump won more vote in and I know it's amazing, it's just that the other side was was all that more energized, and they were all that more voters, and they turned out their people as well. So you have to look at this if you're the Trump campaign, I don't think there's a whole
lot more they could have done. I think those guys completely easy, knowing that they ran a very tough and aggressive campaign down the stretch. Nancy Velosi has stated that the election was a mandate for Democrats commend to please. The only thing that's a mandate for is her leading the Speakership. I mean she was atrocious. Uh And and one of the reasons why the Democrats had lost ground in the House, which no one expected, by the way, is because she completely went off to defend in the
two weeks at the end of the campaign. I mean, I have never seen someone getting more unhinged. Then then I saw her her get unhinged in those last two weeks of the campaign. I mean talking about psychological examinations and the twenty fifth Amendment. And I mean she was one of the reasons why people looked at the House of Representatives in these races and you know what, we ought to send a message. And and voters are smarter, by the way than a lot of these media analysts
give them credit for. Voters. You know, they went and they said, you know what, I'm going to vote for Joe Biden, but I'm also going to vote for a Republican for Congress because i want to make sure someone's got to check on this guy. I really believe that we saw a lot more split ticket voting than at any point in recent American history because American voters knew what they were doing. And I wish we didn't some
credit for it. Interesting Yeah, maybe they couldn't explain it with fancy political science words, but they knew it in their gut. Hey continuing to look forward. Um So, if Joe Biden is the winner, and you know, I'd be willing to bet a lot of money right now that he is. Um. So, Joe Biden Mitch McConnell are really close. You know, I knew they served in the Senate, but I didn't know they were this close. McConnell was the only Senate Republican to attend the funeral for Biden's son
bo Um. He stayed away from attacks on Biden's other son, Hunter And And Biden is interested in the Senate in the way that Obama wasn't. He famously like didn't care to go talk to senators or trying to do anything that done. Biden knows all these people, most of them. So what do you think that relationship will be? Like, Um, I have a contrarian opinion on this. I actually think it's gonna be very productive. It's gonna be very productive.
I think I know that the common you know, the common wisdom out there is out is going to be gridlock. I actually don't agree. I think that Biden is a creature of the Senate. He understands the Senate better than probably any other human being on earth because he spent so long there. He knows how the Senate works. He understands the norms and the culture of the Senate, and he knows Miss McConnell. And at the end of the day,
what Biden and McConnell are, they're both dealmakers. They are ruthless political operatives, and I mean that in the in the best positive way. But they also understand the need to get deals done, and they're gonna do deals. They're going to do a deal on coronavirus relief, They're gonna do deals on Biden's nominations. And I think it's going to be a productive relationship and eat for the first you know years, so then then all bets are off
because you get into an election state. Right that first year. I think it's pretty productive. Well, that's interesting. What it reminds me of is reading all the lb J books that I've read. When he got the White House, he was the knew more about the Senate than anybody in America, and he got all those civil rights stuff through because he knew how the Senate worked. Do you expect Lon He that Um Joe Biden will re reveal his true colors as a moderate as president. Now that doesn't have
to please the AOC wing. We'll see. That's why the Republican Senate for him is a beautiful thing, because he doesn't have to take the heat from the progressive left. He can say, look, I got these Republicans to dial it in the Senate, so I gotta focus on getting some things done. We're in the middle of a public health crisis. YadA, YadA, YadA. So in some ways it gives him the defensive mechanisms he needed against all these
progressive lunatics in his party. He's going to be able to basically say, listen, uh, you guys might want to do it, but you and I both know it's not gonna happen. So let's focus on doing some things we can actually do. So I actually think it's going to give him the ability to maneuver a lot more than
if he had a Democratic Senate. If he had a Democratic Senate to be talking about court packing and single payer and Green New Deal, and he'd actually have to give into something that Now he doesn't have to worry about that Wow, how interesting. Lan he chened David and Diane Stephy, fellow in American Public Policy Studies at the Ober Institution. Is podcast Crossing Lines with Lani chen Well worth a listening to you get more of the sort of things you heard just then. He had great to
talk to you. Thanks a bunch, all right, not because of me, but that was the best conversation I've heard on this today. Agreed, that's really interesting. Nobody understands probably because your role. Yes, uh, nobody on the notes. You don't play Sean, and that's what they say. Nobody in the world knows how the Senate works better than Joe Biden, he says, Yeah, and he'll be working with his old close friend Mick McConnell. I'm trying to actually get things done. Yeah,
that would be bi partisan. I'd have to be bipartisan obviously. You know, if there is a dream in Joe Biden's heart, uh, it is a fairly moderate dream by by most standards. I mean, there are things that he will do that I will hate, no question about it, especially with the massive, unjustifiably large administrative state and regulations in the rest of it. But haven't said that. I believe he yeah yeah, Green new Deal, Yeah yeah, all that stuff here, why not? Okay?
And then the minute he gets into office, he's going to be more like he's always been. That's my hope and and and and you know, pray for his health too, because you don't want freaking Kamala Harrison. No, no, oh, no, lord no, do your exercises, Joe Biden, eat your vegetables, get get on the take to take those shots they were giving you. When you're ready to ride Metro. We
want you to know we're ready for you. Here are just a few of the people at Metro to tell you how we're doing our part to keep righters safe. We're cleaning like noble before were half builded greatly. You've found hand sanitizing stations Metro no mask, no Metro need one. We have a few extras at Metro. We're doing our part to keep the DC area moving. Find out more at wilmata dot com slash doing our part