Both Sides Now

There's a Red Skelton movie called A Southern Yankee in which he plays a spy who goes back and forth between being a soldier for the North and a soldier for the South. At one point, he has to walk the battlefield between the warring factions and he gets cheers from both armies because he's wearing a uniform that is half-and-half — a Yankee costume on one side, a Rebel costume on the other, plus he's carrying a flag that is North on one side, South on the other. So each army sees him as a patriot for their team. It's a great joke, one that is often attributed to Buster Keaton, who was employed as a gagman on this and other Skelton films.

And I keep thinking of it as I hear Donald Trump attempting to walk the line on Immigration, trying to convince one side he'll throw "criminal illegal immigrants" outta the U.S. within an hour of being sworn in as prez but also trying to convince folks who are against mass deportations that he is, as well. It didn't work for Skelton and it won't work for Trump.