Mental Health at the White House

A couple of days ago, the cast of the TV sitcom Ted Lasso visited 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, ostensibly to discuss the importance of mental health. I wondered who, exactly, in the White House has rich wisdom to dispense on that complicated subject? Surely not Joe Biden, he's addle-brained. Was it Dr. Rachel Levine, the former pediatrician who transitioned from male to female in 2011, divorced his wife of 25 years two years later, and was appointed by our demented president to be the Assistant Secretary for Health, whatever that means? Could it have been VP Kamala Harris, who squeals and giggles over almost everything, especially yellow school buses that she just loves? Dr. Jill, a doctor because of her PhD in English? As for anyone in the cast of Ted Lasso, I assumed they had come seeking advice.

Compounding my confusion, the actors lined up behind White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, a.k.a. Buckwheat from Our Gang (see photo), while she emceed the daily circus/press conference as legitimate reporters tried to ask serious questions about war, bank failures and the Chinese who are busy testing new missiles. In the middle of all that, another actor from the Lasso cast who plays a reporter in the series popped up and asked a question of leading man Jason Sudeikis, who suddenly was behind the microphone.

Was this a dream, I wondered? It was all so cringey that I ate two chocolate-chip cookies just to get through it, and they were not that good. (The cookies.) The next night when I watched Ted Lasso, my enjoyment was tainted with the memory as I half-expected Joe Biden or KJP to wander into a scene.

I wish politicians and entertainers would understand that what they do for a living, or at least what we all want them to do, are two different things. As for discussing mental health, if there had been a couple of shrinks in the bunch we all could have benefited from watching a televised group therapy session.