Wow, is this the most entertaining administration ever, or what? I mean, too bad about the republic and all, but at least there’s never a dull moment!
What a week! After a health care bill nearly dies due to Capital malfeasance and White House neglect, Donald Trump finally discovers his inner president and bully pulpits the Keystone Kongress back to work. A (let’s face it) dying Senator John McCain — a man who seems to love the image of himself on a white horse more than he likes actually winning stuff — gets on his white horse and rides to rescue the vote, then votes the wrong way because something something something.
Trump, meanwhile, after demonstrating that he actually does have the skilz to do his job, stops doing his job and surrenders to his gigantic inner demon. Rushing into the White House phone booth to turn into his alter ego, Max Chaos, he proceeds to humiliate one of his best appointments and staunchest allies, Jeff Sessions, then quickly turns to wrong-footing the Pentagon with some surprise tweets about guy soldiers who want to be girl soldiers. At the same time, he alienates his steadfast pugilistic pal Sean Spicer by appointing Anthony Scaramucci, who quickly proves himself to be the only New York Italian nicknamed “Mooch” who is too disorganized for organized crime.
Mooch then calls a lefty reporter and tells him on-the-record that Steve Bannon is attempting a self-contained sexual position previously deemed impossible — so at least someone in the administration is working on something useful! And while Reince Priebus is wondering what all this means for his position, his position becomes “Out on the Street,” and an ex-general becomes chief of staff.
With all the military guys and Trump family members in place, the administration is beginning to have a faintly South American flavor to it. So I guess we can all look forward to better empanadas and also the collapse of Western civilization.
You know what’s the funniest thing about all this? The funniest thing is that it’s still better than having the Democrats in power! Like, a lot better. We now know the Obama administration was spying on just about everybody. The Hillary gang seem to have been the ones really colluding with Putin. The Senate minority leader has given up on capitalism. And the former head of the DNC has been doing God-knows-what with a Pakistani IT guy who just got arrested trying to blow the country!
So while the stupid party is reaching Ultimate Stupid, the evil party has been pushing the needle toward Satanic.
Now you may be asking: What the hell happened to the greatest country on earth — and also, why is this Klavan guy laughing? I will answer both questions.
What happened? I think Barack Obama traumatized this country, and I don’t think the left or the intellectuals on the right really understand how much. I think Obama was an anti-American leftist who hated the freedom the Founders stood for, and despised the ordinary Gun-and-Bible folks who keep that idea of freedom alive. I think the news media, Hollywood, and academia created an echo chamber for that hatred, and I think the folks felt the scorn and derision every single day for eight years. Finally, given a chance, they unleashed the orange beast of their anger in response.
The anti-Trump right can sniff at that. They can and should talk about ideas and policy and governance, which are all important. But it’s the culture that sets the tone of the country — and the right has let the culture go. CNN and the news networks and the late-night comics and the Hollywood stars and the Ivy League and the feminist Nazis sowed this wind by spitting on our people and their values day after day after day. Welcome to the whirlwind.
So why am I laughing? I’m laughing because, while no one knows the future, my genuine belief is that we’ll be okay. Our institutions are strong. Our people are great. The Obama Trauma will pass. The Trump Reaction will end. Time and the usual crises of life will bring us back to ourselves in a new consensus.
Meanwhile, I root for Trump and the GOP to do whatever good they can. Please God they can do a whole helluva lot better than they did this sad and hilarious week.
For more commentary, listen to my podcast Monday through Thursday.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member