Getting away with what? The over-the-top lie to divert attention from a prior over-the-top lie and screw up that is exposing him for what he is … a real and present danger to the USA and the World.
Compare Trump with his predecessor, Barack Obama.
OBAMA has said in various interviews that he viewed his role as President as similar to that of a long-distance runner in a relay race. His job was to take the baton from his predecessor and hand it off to his successor eight years later with the country in better shape as a result of his efforts.
It wasn’t about “glory” or “legacy” with Obama. It was about duty and responsibility. It wasn’t about winning news cycles. It was about long game … running the race as best he could for the eight years he was given. It involved study, effort, and time … making thoughtful decisions (and not doing “stupid stuff”) day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.
Based on the facts that he is the only President since Eisenhower to win over 51% of the popular vote twice, and that on his last full day in office he had a job approval rating of 59%, the American people think he succeeded.
TRUMP … where do you start with this guy? Can anyone say with a straight face that he is a deep thinker who has studied history and world events? Can anyone say that he is a thoughtful individual … that if he says something happened, it actually did happen? The answer is a resounding no.
Can anyone say that he is an honorable person? Is he the kind of person who, if he makes an allegation that reflects poorly on someone’s character, he stands behind the charge and presents evidence to support the charge?
Well, let’s take a look at the most recent Trump Tweet charge:
“Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory.”
“How low has President Obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!”
And then, what does he do? He hides. He becomes unavailable for logical follow-up questions. He panics. He has his staff concoct an out for him. “We’re going to ask the Intelligence Committees to investigate. Since they will be looking into this matter, we will have nothing further to say.”
Is that the conduct of an honorable man? Is that the conduct of a courageous man? Hell no. It’s somewhat akin to the conduct of a little boy trying to impress his peers by throwing a rock through a window, then, when found out, ratting them all out, saying, “They made me do it.”
In Trump’s case, he knows that nothing rallies his base like vile garbage about Obama. (Remember Rendell’s Rule: Hate is a far stronger motivator in politics than love.)
Plus, he had a couple of outs. He heard it from Mark Levin on his radio show and he knew that he could smother the story with the release of a new executive order on immigration and movement on repeal of the Affordable Care Act. And he had a sure-fire ace in the hole … the short attention span of the Press.
CONCLUSION
We’re 47 days into this clown show and, so far, Trump is playing the Press like a fiddle. The Sean Spicer Press Briefing three days after Trump’s attack on Obama was a total win for Trump.
First, they took all the energy out of the room by starting with a briefing (“lullaby”) from some completely boring nebbish masquerading as the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare that went on for 45 minutes discussing the Republican plan for health care.
Second, when the nebbish left, the questions on Trump’s ugly charge against Obama began. Nobody pointed out the absurdity of the President, who has 200,000 or so intelligence people working for him, relying instead on a radio talk show host for information. Likewise, nobody pointed out the further absurdity of determining whether there was any truth in Trump’s charge by referring the matter to a committee who gets all of their information from the people who work for Trump.
Third, this is the question that should have been asked:
“President Trump made a contemptible accusation against former President Obama. The President has in his employ all the people in the US Government who produce original intelligence. Rather than document publically the basis of his charge, he refuses to respond to questions and requests that Congressional Committees determine whether the charge has merit. What do you say to American citizens that say that President Trump’s behavior on this matter is cowardly and dishonorable?”
I will post again on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 or before if the news flow dictates.
Comments are welcome at tomc[at]wednesdayswars[dot]com. Comments will be addressed in subsequent posts.