Donald Trump will not be impeached. Nancy Pelosi acknowledged that fact awhile ago. After the release of William Barr's four page letter, it's clear he won't be charged with conspiracy or obstruction of justice. Richard Cohen goes back to three presidents to put Trump's presidency in perspective:
Robert Dallek begins a section of his superb biography of John F. Kennedy, “An Unfinished Life,” with three quotes. The first is President Theodore Roosevelt’s famous one about the “bully pulpit.” Trump uses his to belittle his critics and spread misinformation.
The second quote is from Franklin D. Roosevelt: “The presidency . . . is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership.” Who can claim Trump as a moral leader? Not even the infinitely adaptable Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) can say that.
And the third quote is from President Harry S. Truman: “On my desk I have a motto which says ‘The buck stops here.’ ” With Trump, the buck never stops. He is forever blaming others for his own shortcomings. Taken together, the three quotes encapsulate the obligations and responsibilities of the modern presidency. Trump whiffs on all three.
It's clear, Cohen writes, that Trump and his real colluders -- the Republicans -- have to go. But Cohen doesn't have faith in the Democrats:
The Democratic Party, a mob of the unready, has set off to alienate the vast middle of the American electorate. It talks of socialism, as though the voters are clamoring for the government to take over General Motors. It suggests breaking up megacompanies such as Amazon, as though its customers feel abused by low prices and Shazam-fast delivery. (Amazon founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos also owns The Post.) The Democratic Party has presidential candidates who endorse universal Medicare without acknowledging its cost or what it would do to private insurance. It has candidates who support reparations for the descendants of slaves — a morally correct impracticality and, I would imagine, a hard sell in the sad areas of the country that Trump carried. Try making the argument to an out-of-work coal miner.
However, it's precisely the vast middle that has to repudiate Trump. One wonders if they're smart enough to do it.
Image: Quora
