Not the Hero We Want, But Perhaps the Hero We Deserve

I have a confession to make... years ago, I watched a good bit of season one of The Apprentice- I was living in a house with a bunch of old friends, a sort of beach house without an ocean, and we often watched the show to see what a train wreck it was. Also, one of the contestants was a local girl, the daughter of the owners of a nearby pizzeria. Back then, I suspected that Omarosa was an actress, a 'ringer' who was hired to stir the pot and cause conflict in order to boost ratings. It was actually a pretty good role, especially for an African-American woman, an elegant, intelligent, and ruthless go-getter who was far from both the servile mammy or sexualized Jezebel stereotypes. She was a 'heel', maybe even a villainess, but she wasn't a stereotype. I'm still sort of shocked that there never was a 'reveal' in which she whipped out her SAG card and proclaimed it all an act.

The act took on a new, surreal nature when Donald Trump hired her to work in the White House... here was a live-action version of a Disney villainess spilling out into what passes for the real world. She was the perfect embodiment of the draining of the swamp (wetlands being vital ecosystems) and the installation of a cesspool- though she was always a minor villain compared to monsters like Pruitt, Bannon, Miller, and the like. Her firing seemed like yet another reality TV drama- no doubt she'd be rehired in time to boost the Sweeps Week ratings.

The revelation that she has recorded numerous conversations during her tenure in the White House (including her recording of John Kelly in the supposedly secure Situation Room) comes as a shock, but not a surprise. She is as familiar with Donald Trump as anyone outside his family could be, and she must know much of what ended up on the cutting room floor when The Apprentice was edited. She's the shifty, grifty conniver who knows exactly how to handle other shifty, grifty connivers. I sure hope she has a bunch of recordings secreted away with an attorney as a life insurance policy.

As much as I can't stand Omarosa, she has emerged as a genuine anti-hero with these recordings. She's unsympathetic, but she's not the sort of individual who wants sympathy, and she has managed to rattle her even more unsympathetic ex-boss like nobody before her. If her actions result in the downfall of PotUS Dotus, then she will have served her nation well. It's hard to root for her, but she's a damn sight better than her newfound enemies.

At any rate, this administration has been little more than a WEE style soap opera, and it seems like Omarosa may have done a major heel-face turn. Well, here's a little limerick inspired by this development:


A crafty gal named Omarosa
Recorded some things said sub-rosa.
She kept the 'receipts'
Eliciting tweets,
From Donald, the moron who chose her.