The power of nasty ...

In the surreal world of the 2016 presidential election campaign, Donald Trump made women feel warm and fuzzy about Hillary Clinton when he leaned into his debate microphone Wednesday night, shook his head and said, "such a nasty woman."

Women across the country perked up. Finally, they could relate. Those who have been called names, bullied or disrespected at some time, felt a kinship with the 68-year-old woman being heckled while trying to talk seriously about Social Security.

Women reclaimed Trump's words as a phrase of empowerment, whipping up T-shirts and pins to sell online and hitting social media with the hashtag #ImANASTYWOMAN." Janet Jackson's 1986 hit "Nasty" spiked on Spotify, and someone created a domain name that declares "nasty women" get stuff done, and redirected it to hillaryclinton.com.

The line was underscored by Trump's comment moments earlier that, "Nobody has more respect for women than I do," which got a burst of laughter from the debate audience in Las Vegas.

Trump is funny in a way that makes you feel bad after you've laughed. That's the real definition of nasty.

... and funny

At Thursday's Alfred E. Smith charity dinner in New York, devoted to political fun-poking, Donald Trump momentarily appeared to have set the debate rancor aside and scored the best joke of the evening. He launched into his normal laundry list of complaints about unfair treatment by the media. He noted how Michelle Obama can give a speech, and everybody cheers. "My wife, Melania, gives the exact same speech," he deadpanned, "and people get on her case! And I don't get it! I don't know why!"

It was one of his few attempts at self-deprecation for Melania Trump's speech at the Republican National Convention in which she used verbatim quotes from a Michelle Obama speech and presented them as her own thoughts and experiences. Had Donald Trump stuck with that line of humor throughout his remarks at the white-tie, bipartisan charity event, he would have been the hit of the evening. Unfortunately, he drew boos and jeers for allowing himself to slide into blunt and distasteful attacks on opponent Hillary Clinton, who was sitting just a few feet away next to New York's archbishop, Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

We choose to celebrate Trump's rarely seen funny side. It made him seem, albeit for a fleeting moment, like a real human.

A friend indeed

Election-weary Americans were heartened this week by our plucky, plaid-wearing, 'eh-saying, cheese-curds-and-gravy-eating neighbors to the north.

The Garden, a Toronto-based advertising agency, launched a project called, "Let's Tell America It's Great Again," encouraging Canadians to take to social media and tell us what they like about us.

"As their closest friends and neighbors, we thought it was important for us to do something to cut through the negativity and help remind them that no matter how bad things might seem, there are a lot of reasons to believe that America is still pretty great," the agency explained.

The old joke about Canadians being so darned nice appears to be true. Under the Twitter hashtag #tellamericaitsgreat, Canadians told us they liked our TV, our music and our public policies. Among their likes: NASA, the Declaration of Independence and eradication of polio.

"The Golden Girls" won praise alongside scientific discovery and ending the Cold War. So did the McRib sandwich, "Star Trek," national parks and cherry Coke. And "OMG, the food is to die for!"

O, Canada! With glowing hearts we see thee rise. Thank you. For hockey, eh?

Sheriff Joe's Waterloo

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., may finally be getting the comeuppance he deserves. After six terms in office serving the Phoenix area, countless acts of brutality and defiance of civil rights, the self-proclaimed "America's toughest sheriff" is heading for a double defeat. Not only is he trailing badly in his race for a seventh term, he's facing federal charges of contempt of court for ignoring orders to stop profiling Latino residents.

If convicted, Arpaio, 84, could face up to six months behind bars. If the feds pursue obstruction of justice charges, it could be even longer. That Arpaio has survived so long is testament to Maricopa County's conservative voters and the volatile issue of undocumented immigration. Arpaio has long treated Latinos with special harshness, but he's been nasty to prisoners of every race, color and creed. Not exactly a poster child for the concept of mercy in sentencing.

Top cop takes a big step

At the other end of the law enforcement spectrum is Police Chief Terrence Cunningham of Wellesley, Mass., president of the 23,000-member International Association of Chiefs of Police. At the group's convention in San Diego this week, Cunningham received a standing ovation when he said:

"Events over the past several years have caused many to question the actions of our officers and has tragically undermined the trust that the public must and should have in their police departments. ... The history of the law enforcement profession is replete with examples of bravery, self-sacrifice, and service to the community. At its core, policing is a noble profession."

But he added that history "has created a multigenerational — almost inherited — mistrust between many communities of color and their law enforcement agencies. ... While we obviously cannot change the past, it is clear that we must change the future."

With that, he apologized for "the actions of the past and the role that our profession has played in society's historical mistreatment of communities of color."

The first step in solving a problem is to acknowledge that it exists.

REPRINTED FROM THE ST LOUIS POST DISPATCH