Andy Meets Sally Yates

Andy Griffith’s early career is largely defined by unflattering portrayals of simple country folk.  His legendary monologue “What it Was Was Football,” in which he acts as a backwoods preacher experiencing football for the first time, is delightfully hilarious but there’s no question that Griffith intentionally played the character as wildly ignorant.  In the episode of Make Room for Daddy that served as a backdoor pilot for The Andy Griffith Show Andy Taylor was by and large depicted as less intelligent and moral than the show’s star Danny Thomas.  He revealed a good heart towards the end but still came off as buffoonish.  The second episode of The Andy Griffith Show might be one of the first examples of a running theme in Griffith’s career; that quaint rural folk have more to offer than it might seem to city big shots, if not an inherent superiority.

The episode opens with Andy and Opie fishing.  Andy impresses his son with the successful idea to put a piece of ham on the line instead of more traditional bait.  After evacuating the pond due to a leak in their rowboat Deputy Barney Fife arrives to inform Andy of an escaped convict who has made his way to Mayberry and the state police who are on their way.  Barney is thrilled to be part of such a big event and Andy gets a bit swept up in the idea himself.  They are naturally disappointed when a drove of state police takes over their small sheriff’s office, leaving Mayberry’s finest in the dust.  Opie is doubly surprised to find that not everyone is in awe of his father’s greatness, as if they aren’t aware of his innovative ham-bait fishing technique.

Andy and Barney are determined to take part in the investigation whether the captain of the state police wants their help or not.  They split up to guard the small roads that the state ignored in favor of the major highways.  Barney successfully locates the escapee but he’s no match of the hardened criminal who evades capture and hogties the brave lawman.  Andy releases Barney from his captivity and realizes the escapee is probably holed up in the home of a little old lady named Emma Brand, lured there by a pie on the windowsill.  They visit Emma and inform her, and by extension her captor, of the Taylors’ fishing boat by the pond.  The fugitive takes the bait and the state police arrive in time to see their target swimming to shore from the sinking ship.  The state police make their exit with their captor, offering Andy their undying respect as they leave Mayberry in the rear view mirror.

Sidenotes

• This is the first appearance of town drunk Otis.  No one knows for sure what happened to town drunk Will, who appeared in the backdoor pilot, although Andy says that Will inherited the title from his father.  Perhaps Otis is the next descendant in line.
• Andy straps on a gun belt in case of conflict with the criminal, but he is usually unarmed.  Barney, however, carries a gun often but only has one bullet that he keeps in his pocket.  “The Manhunt” is the first appearance of the pocket bullet and the first occasion of Don Knotts’ slapstick struggles with his side arm.

Modern Mayberry

The Andy Griffith Show has contributed a lot to the idea that small towns are inherently better than cities, but it’s wrong to think that’s the belief of this particular episode.  The state police are obviously prepared for and capable of the task.  They have the appropriate tools (maps and magnets) and much more experience and training than Andy and Barney.  Andy manages to show them up by being especially clever and knowledgeable of the terrain and his neighbors.  The message here is not of one person’s superiority but of the importance of cooperation and counsel.

Those elements are especially pivotal for someone who becomes the leader of a massive government without any prior experience in public service, say the President for example.  Let’s assume that every member of President Trump’s staff and cabinet is qualified for their respective positions.  Let’s assume that Jared Kushner is entirely capable of bringing peace to the middle east.  There is still reason to doubt that the President will take their expert opinions seriously.  He doesn’t seem to think he needs counsel considering he’s “like, a smart person” and knows “more about ISIS than the generals.”

To Trump’s credit, he has shown a willingness at times since his inauguration to listen to counsel.  For instance, his controversial executive order temporarily banning immigration from seven countries was approved by the Department of Justice for “form and legality,” according to Curtis Gannon, head of the Office of Legal Counsel.  Then again, a Department of Justice spokesperson also said “As is generally the case under the Office’s longstanding practice, however, [the review] does not identify or contain substantive analysis of issues that were evaluated in the course of the review.”  It’s also worth noting that Gannon was appointed by Trump.  The President maybe should have asked for more details or perhaps a second opinion from the Attorney General at the time, Sally Yates.  Yates gave her opinion soon enough, saying that the order was perhaps not lawful and ordering the Department of Justice to not defend the order in court.  Yates was fired soon after.  Yates has now been replaced by Trump’s pick for the job, Jeff Sessions, but it’s worth noting that the President has not been as quick to fill other positions in his administration.  Near the 100 day mark 85 percent of top positions in the executive branch are filled by temporary stopgaps who have not been approved by the Senate.

What would Andy do?

The basis of this project is that Andy Taylor is an inherently moral character.  He is also clever and knowledgeable, and despite all of those stellar qualities he is endlessly humble.  I would go so far as to say that humility is one of the defining themes of The Andy Griffith Show.  Certainly, Andy would never have claimed to know more about the escapee than the experts in the state police and in fact he is excited at the idea of working alongside them.  Likewise, we can assume that if Andy Taylor were to become President (a man can dream) he would be more than happy to accept counsel from the best and brightest in their fields and never put them down to raise his own profile.  I think we can also assume that his cabinet would be made up of the townspeople of Mayberry.  I, for one, would love to see Gomer Pyle as Secretary of Defense.

What do you think Andy would do?  Do you think he responded appropriately to the police chief’s condescending attitude?  Do you think President Trump is doing enough to collaborate with the people around him?