The very image of an action buddy...
The very image of an action buddy... Minerva Studio/shutterstock.com

Jesus walking on water could not have generated as much press as this business about Trump's threat to cancel an order for upgraded Air Force One planes. It looks like something is being done, but actually nothing or very little is going on. The same is true for those 1,000 jobs saved in Indiana. These are what I call "action buddy stories." What is an action buddy? You may have worked with or hired this kind of person. They put a lot of talk into the job they're doing: fixing a kitchen sink, climbing a ladder, carrying a box. They make an action scene out of the mundane. You just want your sink unclogged, but you must hear all of this hot air about the energy and focus being put into it. Almost always this chatty work has poor results. It's like how those Chinese or French restaurants that are loud about what Borges once called "local color" (the plucking of a ruan or images of the Eiffel Tower) invariably serve vapid food. This is the action buddy, this is our next president.