Hate him or love him, we will most likely miss the Donald Trump effect in the presidency when he has gone.
I say this as someone who has never considered voting for the man. I rarely watched him on television, having found his personality more abrasive than entertaining. (Actually, I turned away from him after his deceptive treatment of Merv Griffin in a real estate deal many years ago. Always liked Merv, especially his acceptance of responsibility for being conned by the Trumpster, while The Donald gloated over what he had done to him.) Never the less, after all the water under the bridge, I, like, almost all late night comedy, will miss him as the president when he's gone.
Because Donald Trump, with all of his flaws, and they are considerable, brought forth a form of honesty within the presidency that has not been seen for many years. He is the exposed, underside of Clinton, the bombastic privilege of Shrub and the egoic crush of Obama. He proudly plays the lone gunman at the NRA convention.
And he most certainly rocks the boat, most all boats.
The Republicans don't know what to do with him. He's unable to accept or tolerate their constructive correction in keeping the behind the scenes power-mongering hidden. He or his chosen representatives blurt out the most inappropriate secrets at the most inappropriate times. He believes that letting others see him control and manipulate what mostly has been backroom politics is not only manageable by him, but accentuates the brilliancy of his game.
So lying, incivility, deception, insensitivity, brash ignorance, bullying, etc. etc. etc.,—all staples of Washington politics now become visible, decipherable, almost comical theater through his lead.
The Dems of which I long entertained membership within, find his behavior atrocious, even though behind the scenes they thrive within the same degradation, only hidden. Are we to believe that from his obvious character flaws, they are moved to remove him in service to the people?
I don't buy that for an instant. The people who go into Washingtonian politics aren't there for their humanitarian qualities. They are there because they are skilled and experienced in garnering power and if anything, they want Trump gone so Washington can return as nearly as it can to the status quo where behind the scenes, safe and discreet manipulation of the nation can be accomplished. Both parties want this. Think about it. No one goes to Washington to work with the Dali Lama. They side up to Citizen Kane.
So when Trump leaves, it will be interesting to see who fills the void next. What his chaos has brought out is how deep and great our divisions are, how fervently we deny them and how uncivil we are with each other when forced to face it. And BTW, I suspect he has no idea he's doing this. My hunch is he's way too busy congratulating himself as to his "winner" ways. No matter.
The next election might require a candidate who can simultaneously expose and sweep under the rug the issues we struggle with. He/she will have to be able to court those who are radically biased, both those prejudiced as to the rights of appearance and lifestyle but those who are equally intolerant of others rights to believe what they want to believe. After all, more and more passionate voters are showing up in all camps.
It will be interesting, no doubt, but after Trump and all that he has stirred up, will America ever be able to sleep so serenely upon its differences again? I know the Dems and GOP hope so, but maybe the Trump presidency is just the beginning of the shit show.
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