Turn on any cable news network, listen to any talk radio station, attend any think tank briefing, and what you get is wall-to-wall coverage of this year’s midterm election horse race. While we’ve all heard what the break down might be between Republicans and Democrats in House, Senate, and even Gubernatorial races, little, if any, attention has been devoted to the potential consequences of the election’s outcome.
In the comedy classic, Caddyshack, there is a scene where Judge Smails (Ted Knight) finds out that Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) does not keep score on the golf course. The Judge asks Ty, “Well, how do you measure yourself with other golfers?” Webb’s deadpan response is, “By height.” Although there may be a certain degree of futility in comparing oneself to other golfers, the same cannot be said of corporations, which constantly measure themselves against peers and competitors.
We’ve all played the children’s game “telephone,” or “dengon” in Japan. The game starts when a difficult word or phrase is whispered into the ear of the next person in line; this person whispers whatever he/she heard to the next person; and the game continues until the last person in line receives the phrase.
This week I had lunch with a Washington-based government affairs colleague from another Japanese subsidiary. It was great to catch up with him in person for the first time since Covid, and we discussed family, vacations, and the NFL. Knowing that his daughter works for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and that we both work in public policy, as expected, the discussion ultimately turned to politics and the upcoming elections.