And that’s why I’m angry, not bitter, as a few of my readers worry, having expressed concern of late that my writing style and subject matter have taken a more serious, pointed, perhaps bitter turn. I am neither a bitter man, nor inclined toward crude language—though sometimes, to make a point to certain readers, I will employ a phrase not common to my daily scrawl. If my post suggesting Trump supporters were now feeling the effects of Trump relieving himself on them from the Helsinki podium offended anyone, or made some people uncomfortable, that is what some columns based on big emotions like anger do; I can’t retract it, and, frankly, I want to live with this anger and do something with it.
My sense of this administration is formed by more than 30 years in government service, and many years as a journalist for publications large and small. As a public servant and as a journalist, I respected men and women for whom public office was a public trust, and I was never swayed by their political affiliations as long as they were acting out of conscience for the good of the country. And I’ve always voted that way—left, right, and middle.
When I vote, I vote for the person I believe has the greatest grasp on the job at hand, who embraces the broader values of a republican form of democracy, who understands the sacred boundaries of the four-corners of the Constitution and the separation of powers, and the Bill of Rights and Amendments enumerated therein. I vote for someone who I think will reach out to other men and women of even greater intellect and ability to form a team free to debate, without penalty, the big and small issues facing the country. I vote for leaders who seek consensus but who, in the end, make the hard decisions alone after weighing all the facts.
I vote for the person who respects every human being’s abilities and possibilities. I vote for people of vision and love of the highest ideals, who acknowledge their own imperfections, who are accountable and take blame when it is in their court to do so. I vote for people who know how to say, “I’m sorry,” and “I will do better.” I vote for people who, when faced with a crisis, exude confidence but acknowledge the need for help and take it as needed. I vote for the person who, when in a foreign country, shows nothing but respect for his or her hosts, and expresses, honestly, love of, and loyalty to, our country, our people, and our laws. Period. Full Stop.
What I see in Donald Trump is nothing less than a destroyer of that public trust and international goodwill. He is a bully, a liar, a man totally out of touch with the Constitution, a man devoid of decency and compassion for those in need, those who are oppressed, those who are reaching out for help here and abroad. He is inarticulate, marginally educated, blind to history, eschewing any kind of literature, art, music, or other intellectual pursuits that many presidents before him seemed to grasp as important.
He believes in one thing: Donald Trump, and he has done nothing to my knowledge to refute that opinion. My critics will gain no debatable ground with me by comparing Mr. Trump to Mr. Obama or Ms. Clinton; the time for such comparisons is over and done with. Mr. Trump must be considered on his merits as President of the United States, and when any president is away from America’s shores, he (or she) must hold to the time-honored tradition of standing up for our county when in the presence of our allies or our foes. Especially with our foes.
Mr. Trump did not do that today, or over the past week, nor does he seem to do it anytime he travels abroad. He embraces our enemies, insults our friends, aligns himself with despicable tyrants (Duterte, Erdogan, Putin, Xi, and Kim), and demeans the men and women of America’s intelligence services and Justice Department while standing next to a dictator who thinks nothing of ordering the assassinations of his political foes—even when they are living in another country.
My sense of this administration is formed by more than 30 years in government service, and many years as a journalist for publications large and small. As a public servant and as a journalist, I respected men and women for whom public office was a public trust, and I was never swayed by their political affiliations as long as they were acting out of conscience for the good of the country. And I’ve always voted that way—left, right, and middle.
When I vote, I vote for the person I believe has the greatest grasp on the job at hand, who embraces the broader values of a republican form of democracy, who understands the sacred boundaries of the four-corners of the Constitution and the separation of powers, and the Bill of Rights and Amendments enumerated therein. I vote for someone who I think will reach out to other men and women of even greater intellect and ability to form a team free to debate, without penalty, the big and small issues facing the country. I vote for leaders who seek consensus but who, in the end, make the hard decisions alone after weighing all the facts.
I vote for the person who respects every human being’s abilities and possibilities. I vote for people of vision and love of the highest ideals, who acknowledge their own imperfections, who are accountable and take blame when it is in their court to do so. I vote for people who know how to say, “I’m sorry,” and “I will do better.” I vote for people who, when faced with a crisis, exude confidence but acknowledge the need for help and take it as needed. I vote for the person who, when in a foreign country, shows nothing but respect for his or her hosts, and expresses, honestly, love of, and loyalty to, our country, our people, and our laws. Period. Full Stop.
What I see in Donald Trump is nothing less than a destroyer of that public trust and international goodwill. He is a bully, a liar, a man totally out of touch with the Constitution, a man devoid of decency and compassion for those in need, those who are oppressed, those who are reaching out for help here and abroad. He is inarticulate, marginally educated, blind to history, eschewing any kind of literature, art, music, or other intellectual pursuits that many presidents before him seemed to grasp as important.
He believes in one thing: Donald Trump, and he has done nothing to my knowledge to refute that opinion. My critics will gain no debatable ground with me by comparing Mr. Trump to Mr. Obama or Ms. Clinton; the time for such comparisons is over and done with. Mr. Trump must be considered on his merits as President of the United States, and when any president is away from America’s shores, he (or she) must hold to the time-honored tradition of standing up for our county when in the presence of our allies or our foes. Especially with our foes.
Mr. Trump did not do that today, or over the past week, nor does he seem to do it anytime he travels abroad. He embraces our enemies, insults our friends, aligns himself with despicable tyrants (Duterte, Erdogan, Putin, Xi, and Kim), and demeans the men and women of America’s intelligence services and Justice Department while standing next to a dictator who thinks nothing of ordering the assassinations of his political foes—even when they are living in another country.
Trump meets in private with men like Kim and Putin, and then tells the world everything is fine and dandy, that’s he’s ended the Korean conflict and denuclearized the peninsula or brought Russia closer as a friend because, Lord knows, Angela, Theresa, and Emmanuel aren't capable of knowing the true Putin. And he never reveals, fully (or truthfully) what discussions he had, what secrets he shared, or what revulsion he has for the common American and ally.
Trump turns away from friends who, like France, gave their treasure and lifeblood in our Revolution; allies like the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia and other Commonwealth nations who have stood with us in the worst of times, the most hellish of battles, and in the hour of our hostage citizens’ greatest need; allies like NATO which, despite Trump’s constant badgering, represents a (so far) patient bulwark of freedom and justice against the forces of authoritarianism and tyranny.
I am not bitter about Trump. I am angry at the Republican party’s gutless 2016 primary contenders who one by one peeled away from the campaign podiums in deference to, or fear of, Donald Trump’s bombasts, insults, lies, and stupidity. I am angry at the fringe voters—otherwise smart men and women who, though they couldn’t stomach Hillary, did not have the vision to see what a fool Trump was and would be, and voted for him.
I was in Canberra, Australia, on the day Trump was elected. I’d voted by absentee ballot before I left the U.S., and I was looking forward to sharing a few pints in a happy confab with my Aussie family and friends as the election results were tallied. Well, the confab got drunk and left the pub. As Trump’s victory became clear, one Canberran after another came up to me, patted me on the back, or hugged me, or just stared in confused sorrow as the unthinkable unfolded in front of our eyes. To a person, they were gobsmacked. “How could Americans do this to themselves?” was the question that I heard most. “Why would Americans do this to themselves?” was the second most asked question. Such reasonable queries made me angry…not at the Aussies…but at the malodorously-baited trap of the Electoral Collage which vouchsafed the Trump victory.
I am angry at a president who daily demeans my former news profession and seeks to turn the American public against men and women journalists I know well…have known or watched or read for years…and who are good, hard-working, truth-seeking photographers, writers, anchors, and editors. I am angry at a president who has no idea how many journalists die covering wars and other tragedies of inhumane scope.
I am angry at a president who, so far, after 700+ days in office, has not once visited troops overseas to thank them and their families for their service; he has not spent Thanksgiving in a soup kitchen, he has not visited VA trauma centers; he has not reached out to most vulnerable of Americans in pockets of poverty and desperation—whose votes he gained by lies and hyperbole, whose trust he abused, and whose dire straits he flew, drove, and putted away from. He is a user of the vilest degree, a builder of flimsy facades, and his Putin-promoted Potemkin village of a presidency, constructed of lies, hubris, and deceit, is all going to collapse on top of the people who voted for him, and on the rest of us as well. Unless we stay angry.
What we saw in Helsinki has been described as traitorous. Well, that word rolls out of the angered mind and off the torrid tongue too easily. It was beyond traitorous; it was pure Russian kompromat opera, right from the KGB songbook of how to turn a fool like Trump into a Russian stooge. While Putin conducted, Trump sang the fool’s libretto to the world. So far, the world sees the fool for who he is. The world sees what John McCain sees, and no one described it better than the Senator did today:
If we do not get angry about this, if we let the fool continue in this farcical theater, it is we—the citizens of the United States—who will become the fools in the eyes of the world. I, for one, am too angry to let that happen to the county so many Americans have died for, who have, like John McCain, sacrificed for. I'm not about to sit back and let the fool tear asunder the country to which so many good people devote daily their hearts and minds and energies to raise up, improve, and prepare the next generation for an uncertain global future.
Trump turns away from friends who, like France, gave their treasure and lifeblood in our Revolution; allies like the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia and other Commonwealth nations who have stood with us in the worst of times, the most hellish of battles, and in the hour of our hostage citizens’ greatest need; allies like NATO which, despite Trump’s constant badgering, represents a (so far) patient bulwark of freedom and justice against the forces of authoritarianism and tyranny.
I am not bitter about Trump. I am angry at the Republican party’s gutless 2016 primary contenders who one by one peeled away from the campaign podiums in deference to, or fear of, Donald Trump’s bombasts, insults, lies, and stupidity. I am angry at the fringe voters—otherwise smart men and women who, though they couldn’t stomach Hillary, did not have the vision to see what a fool Trump was and would be, and voted for him.
I was in Canberra, Australia, on the day Trump was elected. I’d voted by absentee ballot before I left the U.S., and I was looking forward to sharing a few pints in a happy confab with my Aussie family and friends as the election results were tallied. Well, the confab got drunk and left the pub. As Trump’s victory became clear, one Canberran after another came up to me, patted me on the back, or hugged me, or just stared in confused sorrow as the unthinkable unfolded in front of our eyes. To a person, they were gobsmacked. “How could Americans do this to themselves?” was the question that I heard most. “Why would Americans do this to themselves?” was the second most asked question. Such reasonable queries made me angry…not at the Aussies…but at the malodorously-baited trap of the Electoral Collage which vouchsafed the Trump victory.
I am angry at a president who daily demeans my former news profession and seeks to turn the American public against men and women journalists I know well…have known or watched or read for years…and who are good, hard-working, truth-seeking photographers, writers, anchors, and editors. I am angry at a president who has no idea how many journalists die covering wars and other tragedies of inhumane scope.
I am angry at a president who, so far, after 700+ days in office, has not once visited troops overseas to thank them and their families for their service; he has not spent Thanksgiving in a soup kitchen, he has not visited VA trauma centers; he has not reached out to most vulnerable of Americans in pockets of poverty and desperation—whose votes he gained by lies and hyperbole, whose trust he abused, and whose dire straits he flew, drove, and putted away from. He is a user of the vilest degree, a builder of flimsy facades, and his Putin-promoted Potemkin village of a presidency, constructed of lies, hubris, and deceit, is all going to collapse on top of the people who voted for him, and on the rest of us as well. Unless we stay angry.
What we saw in Helsinki has been described as traitorous. Well, that word rolls out of the angered mind and off the torrid tongue too easily. It was beyond traitorous; it was pure Russian kompromat opera, right from the KGB songbook of how to turn a fool like Trump into a Russian stooge. While Putin conducted, Trump sang the fool’s libretto to the world. So far, the world sees the fool for who he is. The world sees what John McCain sees, and no one described it better than the Senator did today:
“Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.
“President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world.
“It is tempting to describe the press conference as a pathetic rout – as an illustration of the perils of under-preparation and inexperience. But these were not the errant tweets of a novice politician. These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putin’s regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule, his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violation of international treaties, and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.
“Coming close on the heels of President Trump’s bombastic and erratic conduct towards our closest friends and allies in Brussels and Britain, today’s press conference marks a recent low point in the history of the American Presidency. That the president was attended in Helsinki by a team of competent and patriotic advisors makes his blunders and capitulations all the more painful and inexplicable.
“No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are—a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. American presidents must be the champions of that cause if it is to succeed. Americans are waiting and hoping for President Trump to embrace that sacred responsibility. One can only hope they are not waiting totally in vain.”
If we do not get angry about this, if we let the fool continue in this farcical theater, it is we—the citizens of the United States—who will become the fools in the eyes of the world. I, for one, am too angry to let that happen to the county so many Americans have died for, who have, like John McCain, sacrificed for. I'm not about to sit back and let the fool tear asunder the country to which so many good people devote daily their hearts and minds and energies to raise up, improve, and prepare the next generation for an uncertain global future.
The Founders gave us the tools to tear down the Potemkin presidency a fool like Trump and his supporters built, and those same Founders gave us the tools to build anew an American presidency of substance, honor, and dignity.
Let us be angry, we have every right to be; but let us also channel that anger into change for the sake of our children, change for the sake of our country.
Let us be angry, we have every right to be; but let us also channel that anger into change for the sake of our children, change for the sake of our country.
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