Charles M. Blow: Failing All Tests of the Presidency

[babylonsister]

The Opinion Pages | Op-Ed Columnist
Failing All Tests of the Presidency

Charles M. Blow AUG. 21, 2017




We are leaderless. America doesn’t have a president. America has a man in the White House holding the spot, and wreaking havoc as he waits for the day when a real president arrives to replace him.

Donald Trump is many things — most of them despicable — but the leader of a nation he is not. He is not a great man. Hell, he isn’t even a good man.

Donald Trump is a man of flawed character and a moral cavity. He cannot offer moral guidance because he has no moral compass. He is too small to see over his inflated ego.

Trump has personalized the presidency in unprecedented ways — making every battle and every war about his personal feelings. Did the person across the street or around the world say good or bad things about him? Does the media treat him fairly? Is someone in his coterie of corruption outshining him or casting negative light on him?

His interests center on the self; country be damned.

What some have always known about Trump, others are slowly coming to realize, and with great shock and horror. The presidency is revealing the essence of the man and that essence is dark.

more...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/opinion/donald-trump-leadership-failing-presidency.html

[livetohike]

1. We need more voices like this because "some are slow to

realize". Trump is one person and there are millions of us. Surely we can do something about the evil incompetent sitting in the White House.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Trump is a weak person's idea of a strong-man.

A poor person's idea of a rich man.
A stupid person's idea of a smart man.

[joshdawg]

4. You are correct, sir.

[jayschool2013]

7. So. Much. This.

Yep.

[joshdawg]

3. If and when trump leaves office before his term ends,

he will not be replaced by a real president; he will be replaced by pence.

[cwydro]

5. Charles Blow is one of my favorites.

Excellent read.

K and r.

[L. Coyote]

6. New York Times, no less. This is a huge moment in the history of journalism abnd politics.

The political eclipse of 2017 is happening. Darkness has overcome us all. Thanks Russia.

[pat_k]

8. We are not "leaderless."

Every firestorm DT sets alight with his verbal diarrhea (please forgive the mixed metaphors) distracts from the systematic destruction of hard won regulatory protections and vital programs designed to make inroads against social and economic injustice. His words, and the hate-groups his words embolden, cannot go unchallenged, but at the same time, we need to "keep our eye on the ball."

We are not "leaderless." The narrative that DT hasn't accomplished much of anything because there have been few legislative advances on "his agenda" serves DT (and the reactionary right and private interests he serves) VERY well.

His words are outrageous. They grab headlines -- rightfully so. But they also draw our attention away from the destruction being wrought by the people he's put in control of the levers of power within the executive branch (people who are at best incompetent, at worst the embodiment of evil).

The legislative branch is our voice; our will. The executive branch implements our will. The destruction of executive functions is the destruction of our power to make our will manifest. Even with the dysfunctional electoral system, we have been able to make our voices heard. DT has not been able to make legislative advances. But they are dismantling essential executive functions, and in so doing, they thwart our will and render us impotent to do anything about it. We need to focus on figuring out ways to stop or slow what they are doing. We can't do that if we are too distracted by the "Trump show."

DT's maladministration is accomplishing precisely what the radical, reactionary right, has been dreaming about for decades.
He is leading a juggernaut. DT the man may appear to be melting down and drawing disapproval from all sides, but the DT juggernaut rolls on.

Whether his bizarre behavior is intended to disrupt and distract, or is simply the result of his psychopathic narcissism, we need to recognize the effect: misdirection.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=9494766