MADISON – So, why didn’t the Afghan army do a better job defending its country? Cory Booker’s official reason for visiting Madison today was to tour the borough’s flourishing business district, but amid buying bagels, a few toys and some vegan ice cream, the senator briefly addressed that issue.

“We’re all witnessing what is a great and painful disappointment,” Booker said.

“You had so much American effort that went into training and equipping folks who did not have the will to fight to defend their government from the Taliban,” the senator added. “It’s just awful to see. There’s
going to be a lot of analysis and post-mortems on what happened there and how quickly major cities fell.”

The news from Afghanistan is changing quickly, but a lot of it is not good.

“It’s an anguishing situation,”  Booker said. “This has been an awful sort of end to a 20-year war.”

He said the nation must now focus on getting Americans and those who worked for the U.S. out safely and also ensuring that Afghanistan doesn’t become a haven for terrorism, which was the case 20 years ago.

The senator’s foray into real world politics was a stark departure from why he was in the “Rose City” on what turned out to be a sticky summer afternoon.

Booker said he likes visiting “Main Streets” throughout the state, a mission that may be more relevant during a pandemic.

Compared to some other towns, Madison seems to have fared well. Most of the downtown shops are filled and many restaurants with outdoor seating appeared to be doing a good business, especially for a Monday.

Booker did his best to help the town’s economy.

As is often the case when politicians go from store-to-store, they need to buy something at just about every stop.

And so it was with Booker, who, in case you have forgotten, was reelected last fall.

The senator bought olive oil from a purveyor of Italian specialty items and offered a joke in return.

“My ancestors come from a small island south of Italy — it’s called Africa,” he said.

From there, Booker visited a variety of downtown shops and purchased a variety of items – bagels, a Colombian delicacy, a few toys, the aforementioned vegan ice cream and even a pair of patriotic socks.

They were red, white and blue.

Prominent office holders parading through downtown streets often attract attention, some of which can be negative.

But not today. All who recognized the senator and called out to him – those driving by, outdoor diners and the like – were supportive. Just for the record, Booker carried Madison last fall by almost 2,000 votes.

Still, there was one down note.

The senator entered a liquor store looking for a good bottle of New Jersey wine. The store didn’t carry it.

Why not?

The owner said New Jersey wine is not very popular; few people want to buy it.

Ouch.