Editorial

On Trump and his opponents

Friday, June 16, 2017

It’s been almost five months since Donald Trump assumed the presidency. Well let’s see, how can I put it – it has been a bit topsy turvy since then. I make no bones about the fact that I’m a life-long Republican and a Trump supporter. I came to the Trump party after he won the nomination. Before then, I reluctantly supported Ted Cruz. It was reluctant as I didn’t see him as one who could defeat Hillary. I didn’t see Trump as one who could defeat her either, but she proved the worst person the Democrats could run for America’s top job, and she shot herself in the foot on more than one occasion, losing the election in the bottom of the ninth. No matter how much she blames others; it’s her fault and hers alone that she is not President Clinton 2.

I’m frustrated that we can’t move on from November and January 20. Donald Trump is the president of the United States. I know there are still people who don’t want to hear that, but he is. I don’t want to hear that the Cubs are World Champs either, but they are. They will be at least until fall. Chances are very good he will be president at least until January 20, 2021. Now Democrats, you get a chance to defeat him in four years. Until then, we just need to go about the business of dealing with other things. By the way, Russia never told me how to vote, in case anyone was wondering.

This prefaces my ponderings about our president and his opponents. I have a few, probably more than I can work into this column. In no particular order, here we go.

One – If I were the president I would use tweets differently. Now the fact that he uses Twitter should stop bothering everyone. Good grief the Twitter cow is long out of the barn. I wouldn’t use Twitter, however, to goad or to inflame; I would use it in the same way FDR used radio – to encourage the nation and to forward my agenda.

Two – If I were the president I would get a new press secretary. Sean Spicer may be a nice guy, but listening to him makes me want to vote for a Democrat (only kidding). I would cut my losses today and find someone who can be a fresh start with the press.

Three – I would like to see more of the “address before Congress Donald Trump.” That night he showed he had the ability to not just be “presidential,” whatever that means; he showed that if given the chance, he could unite the nation. I think if we see that Trump more often, it would force the haters to back off somewhat.

Fourth – I would like to see the vehement, unrelenting, at times insane opposition to turn down enough notches to allow us all to see whether the man can govern. I can’t blame Trump for many of his responses to all this. In fact, I’ve said to others that he has a lot more restraint than I would ever be able to muster – I might get on nationwide TV and go on a tirade that would make Coach Jim Mora look like a little girl. “Playoffs? Playoffs?” You sports people will get that. My point is that I don’t think I could sit and take it. I’m not wired that way. I think the president has shown more restraint than I would ever be able to demonstrate.

Fifth – The last three presidents, each two-termers, had to grow into the job. It took time for Clinton, Bush, and Obama to get a handle on the presidency. As a matter of fact, since 1980 only one man has been able to just walk into the Oval Office and know what the heck he was doing. George H.W. Bush had served our country as a lawmaker, ambassador, and CIA director (among other things) prior to becoming VP under Reagan. He walked into the White House on day one with a good grasp of what it was all about. Our current leader needs the same latitude we gave to Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama. He needs to be given a chance to grow into the job.

If he shows he can do the job, and I think he has shown flashes of just that, doesn’t that help us all in the long run?

Finally – An old preacher I knew was fond of saying, “Clean off your own backdoor step before you start sweeping mine.” Instead of spending your time throwing Trump bombs, Democrats, work to get your party back in touch with the regular folks. The party of FDR and Truman is long gone. I’m not sure where it went, but it disappeared. You were taken to the woodshed in the last election – not just nationally but statewide as well. Learn the lessons of the punishment and get your act together. You’ll get another chance. Everything is cyclical. Until you move more to the center, however, you’re going to get hammered more often than not.

Until next week . . .

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