Tuesday, November 06, 2018

Comey On Americans


James Comey may have played a pivotal role in the election of Donald Trump. But, when Trump fired him, he made an angry enemy of Comey, who has become one of Trump's loudest critics. He writes in today's New York Times:

I feel the giant stirring. The awakening is slow, but it is underway. Torches and death in Charlottesville. Children in cages at the border. The lying, misogyny, racism and attacks on the rule of law from our president. These things poke the giant. It takes time, but the American people are stirring. They always do. And when they awaken, these fevers break very quickly. 

Mr. Comey accepts the essential American myth:

History shows us that America’s progress in fulfilling our aspirations is an upward sloping line. Yes, our present has always fallen short of our values. After all, we were born in original sin — our nation’s founders held inspiring truths to be self-evident while keeping human beings as slaves. But our history is one of continuous progress.

I'm not sure Comey's bedrock faith in the American experiment is justified. But today that faith is being put to the test. Comey believes his faith will be rewarded:

I’ve been traveling around the United States for six months speaking about ethical leadership. Nearly every place I go, I hear some version of this question: “Are we going to be O.K.?” What the questioner means is, given the current leadership of our country and the ugly undercurrent on which it thrives, is America as we know it going to survive? Yes, is the answer I give, without hesitation. We will recover. How long that takes is up to us, but I am optimistic.

Comey is optimistic about the United States, just as Winston Churchill was. I'm not so sure. But I continue to hope -- for the sake of all of us -- that both men are (and were) right.

Image: The New York Times

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr Comey has to remain optimistic in order to survive the consequences of his own original sin - EMAILZ!!!

Cap

Lorne said...

I share your pessimism, Owen. Today's mid-terms will be a real indicator of whether there is any basis for Comey's optimism.

The Mound of Sound said...


I'm leery of Comey and his post-firing Boy Scout routine. Well-intentioned or not, the email stunt he pulled on Hillary in the shadow of voting day two years ago, has left a lasting bruise on Comey's credibility.

Owen Gray said...

I wonder if what he did keeps him awake at night, Cap.

Owen Gray said...

Americans like to think they're on the side of progress, Lorne. But I wouldn't call the last two years progress.

Owen Gray said...

I have to wonder if what Comey writes is an attempt to make amends, Mound. He has a lot to answer for.

Anonymous said...

Workers elected Trump, not Comey.

Back then they took a gamble on Trump because he came across as a con man - at least, that's how he was portrayed in the MSM. But then he destroyed free-trade globalization and replaced it with fair managed trade - which has been the labor position for decades.

Are workers going to abandon Trump after delivering the impossible? I find that hard to believe. My bet is that the polls are just as wrong now as they were 2 years ago.

What are the Democrats running on again? Americans are evil racists? Nancy Pelosi is even more incompetent than HRC!

Let's hope the Democrats rebuild the party from the ashes better than the federal Liberals under Trudeau. Whitewash isn't going to cut it anymore.

-CC

Owen Gray said...

It's true that the Democrats helped to put themselves in their post Trump position, C.C. But Trump Unbound is a very dangerous fellow. He needs to be checked -- something the Republicans aren't willing to do.

Anonymous said...

I would say Trudeau is the dangerous fellow. He wants to export 3-trillion barrels of bitumen to China and then pretend he's a champion of the environment. He supports bad trade deals that bleed wealth and jobs, and make global environmental regulations an impossibility.

Democrats could ratpack Trump with all manner of vile and hysterical political rhetoric in opposition, which no doubt many have fooled themselves into believing. (If they believe in anything.)

But now they can no longer just obstruct. They are now in the government. Now they have to WORK WITH TRUMP and get legislating!

Trump is someone who constantly reinvents himself. He's not in it to go around the country collecting bribes. So if Americans voted for Medicare For All, he can now bring it in the Public Option, which he couldn't pursue with Republican neocons Resisting him. Now they are gone. (Obama promised the Public Option but didn't deliver. He's the one collecting $400k speeches from the HCII.)

So this is an incredible opportunity for Democrats, Trump and Americans – and Canadians. I hope some leader with some sense steps forward in the Democrat party. What they got now is a clown show.

-CC

Owen Gray said...

I think you're way too optimidtic about the Democrats working wwith Trump, CC. If anything, the nation is more divided than it was before the election.