It’s been three days since the announcement of indictments, and the Gallup Presidential Approval Poll does show an impact:
I suppose the cynical might say this means smoke is as good as fire for some folks. And, to be honest, when we’re talking about our government, this is not an inappropriate attitude to take – our governments should exemplify ethical behavior, not sleaze under the bar. But it’s also indicative of how much time people are willing to put into their evaluation of the government, and this may be a trifle too precipitous for some observer’s taste. And then we could also interpret this as the indictment pushing voters who were doubtful but not certain right off the edge of the cliff.
But it’s worth stepping back and considering just how this is working out for the GOP. After all, they spent 8 years trying to pin scandals on President Obama, and yet most dispassionate observers rate the Obama Administration as one of the cleanest ever run, an accomplishment I put down to the considered temperament of President Obama. He is, after all, a Constitutional scholar who appeared to have a very methodical approach to government, handing out nominations to people who seemed to be the best qualified, and often being right in these difficult matters. It’s said that if you want to be a successful leader, hire people smarter than yourself, and I think he hired experts who he could manage, but not manipulate.
On the other hand, President Trump has … gah, I don’t even know how to state it. Ah, got it – he’s off on the other end of the spectrum. I’ve used words and phrases such amateurish and incurious, and they remain keywords in this trainwreck of a Presidency. With the exception of Secretary Mattis and perhaps Secretary Shulkin, his Cabinet is of dubious quality, with several apparently teetering on the edge of being chased out.
But even worse, it’s not the Democrats who’ve been instrumental in chasing after Trump’s indiscretions, but honorable, if former, Republicans themselves. Oh, not those in Congress responsible for Presidential oversight. I don’t think anyone merits any admiration, although I’m not privy to all the relevant meetings. But former FBI Director James Comey was a Republican before he was an Independent, and he kicked off the entire investigation; his successor, Christopher Wray, is currently a Republican. Finally, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who, for those living under a rock, brought the indictments and news of a guilty please, is a Republican.
All Republicans.
President Trump can squeal about fake news and Democratic intransigence and witch hunts and all that rot, but the plain fact of the matter is that patriotic Republicans are the ones digging up the dirt on President Trump.
Now, given recent Republican Presidential approval ratings of 81%, this doesn’t mean the GOP is turning on Trump. They don’t seem to understand that chronic lying is not an isolated phenomenon, but is indicative of a systemic problem in the Administration. Then again, tribalism makes it easy for an incompetent leader to remain popular and in power. That’s one of the reasons I reject team politics for either party, although I’d give an exemption to the Democrats for the next election, because the Republicans badly need a spanking.
I don’t know if a thorough spanking would remove the blindfolds they seem to favor these days, but it might help jostle them a little. I suppose it would depend on how much the base continues to believe those who continue to feed them their feel-good news, and how many of them are willing to lap it up. The attempt to discredit the mainstream media remains a very disturbing phenomenon, as it seems to have had some impact – but I can’t find the link.
But tomorrow, and the rest of this week, should prove interesting.
