Straight Up!

"How does your women's club feel about him?
"We can't ignore the masses he's attracting."
"Straight up.  And your use of the word 'masses' instead of 'crowds' is interesting."
" 'Masses' connotes something firmer, stronger, relates to 'revolution'."
"Straight up.  He uses that word, too."
"Those were the days . . . it was on lips in big city USA, small town USA, Europe, Latin America, Afrika, Asia, the Middle East."
"It was thunder and lightening, victory or death throughout the world."
"When he says it I always think of a circus, a clown, tents folding . . ."

"Straight up.  And young ones love a clown."
"He gets away with it from them and leftovers from those days . . . he loves their cheering, applauding, yelling, fists pushing above their heads -- their revolutionary weapons, their cannons, bombs, bullets, dynamite . . ."
"Who in the hell laughs in a revolution?  Neither the rebels nor those repelling them."
" 'Education is gonna be free for everybody, no more poor and homeless people, all our problems are Wall Streets' fault, this is a revolution against Wall Street!' he's constantly hawking.

"Brainwashing the young romanticists.  If some one said to him:  'Put America first' and 'Make America great again,' he'd just sputter another old, dead slogan."
"Like an old balloon, doesn't have the strong air to shoot straight up in a dangerous, new atmosphere but just enough air to wobble crazily, disappearing in nonsensical debris fettered by podiums."