Uncle Ed wrote:Outward appearances do mislead. I am going by acts, not the noise. And I have a reserved hope that he will perform "prodigies" (especially considering that he is, possibly, the most resisted President in history).
In this case, they really don't. Nor have you supplied us any evidence that they do. Everything Trump is doing points to his corruption, incompetence, ignorance, bullying, and selfishness. If he had been anything other than that, he might have accomplished more with GOP control of the government. As it is, he is doing immense damage, not only to the Executive Branch in chasing out committed, experienced career civil servants, but also the Judicial Branch, in nominating unqualified judges to the bench.
But the biggest issue for me is Trump's utter contempt for the rule of law, one of the most precious and important traditions of Western civilization. Consider Herodotus' account of Demaratus' words to King Xerxes I before the Battle of Thermopylae:
The same goes for the Spartans. One-against-one, they are as good as anyone in the world. But when they fight in a body, they are the best of all. For though they are free men, they are not entirely free. They accept Law as their master. And they respect this master more than your subjects respect you. Whatever he commands, they do. And his command never changes: It forbids them to flee in battle, whatever the number of their foes. He requires them to stand firm -- to conquer or die.
Our popular culture runs counter to this way of thinking, to be sure. But our government is full of people who have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. They take that responsibility seriously, and, unlike Trump, they understand what that means. These are the very people that Trump attacks when they disagree with him and try to hold him accountable for his wrongdoing.
We will be very lucky if Mueller lasts out the FBI investigation into Trump's almost certain crimes involving the Russian government and Russian organized crime (practically one in the same thing). The Right's propaganda machine is working very hard in its transparent and malicious attempts to discredit one of the most upright people in American government to protect the venal interests of those who want to exploit one of the very worst men in American government (Donald J. Trump). It is an effort so vile and dishonorable that it boggles the mind that anyone would attempt it, and yet Fox News, Breitbart, GOP congresspeople, and the White House have thrown all scruples out the window, and they will happily march down to hell with the Donald for a few extra shekels in their bursting coffers.
Any one with any sense or moral probity knows this is true, and you are doing yourself no favors in either ignoring or denying it.