The elephant in the room

Well, this is liable to get me in trouble among my conservative friends. Perhaps even among my liberal friends. But what the hell. If I may say, you couldn't get in trouble with a better group of people.

We need a clearer perspective on President Trump. True, he was a better President than I expected him to be. I believe most of you are with me on that. Be honest: in November 2016 we were holding our hats and hoping for the best. He came through on a great many things; as a voter for the SCOTUS, I am very happy with what he did there. And he did it with the help of Mitch McConnell and the 'RINOS' if I may say. We should remember that when we're pronouncing the results of our litmus tests.

He strengthened American resolve and was not a toady to the world. I liked that. We don't owe anyone an apology for being American.

Still, he was, to be somewhat kind, a boor. I have to think that that alone may have cost us the Senate: it is fair to consider how many fewer problems we may face today with just one of those Georgia seats. It leaves me to wonder what Trump might have accomplished with a modest amount of decorum. You can draw a line in the sand and be nice about it. Ronald Reagan was, and look at what he did.

I am reminded of a line from the play 1776. John Adams was being reprimanded by Benjamin Franklin about his inability to concede anything to his opponents: 'These are proud, accomplished men, the cream of their colonies, not ribbon clerks to be bossed around'. While that surely doesn't hold as true today where far too many politicians are concerned, it is not terrible advice. Besides, it's virtually impossible to boss those you can't control anyway. But my main point here is that it gets tiresome to hear folks being bullied, especially for the 20% in the middle whom we must appeal to if we are going to sway public opinion. Say what you like about whatever election shenanigans which are out there, how many legitimate votes did Trump (and the Republicans by extension) lose due to the former President's bluster? It's a question we need to ask - and answer - honestly.

In short, a healthy distancing from Donald Trump would not be a bad thing. We got what we could from him, indeed better, far better, than we had a right to expect. Let the Democrats wave their magic wands and create discord and want. Let them show their true colors. It will offer enough ammunition on its own to fight the good fight. 

My son has remarked to me that we could have had the same thing as Trump with Ted Cruz in 2016 yet without the animosity. I think he is right. We need to consider whether that is true. Or even, perhaps, whether it would have been better.