I was just reading up on Paul Manafort’s various confessions:
Before he was Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort embraced extreme tactics in his lobbying efforts: He schemed “to plant some stink” and spread stories that a jailed Ukrainian politician was a murderer.
He enlisted a foreign politician who was secretly on his payroll to deliver a message to President Barack Obama in the Oval Office.
And he gleefully fueled allegations that an Obama Cabinet member who had spoken out against his Ukrainian client was an anti-Semite, according to court papers.
With his guilty plea Friday, Manafort admitted the lengths to which he went to manipulate the American political system and the media for massive profit, exposing how he thrived in the Washington swamp that Trump railed against during his campaign. [WaPo]
And more. And more. And more.
This all in pursuit of massive pecuniary profits. It becomes quite clear that any moral system Manafort might have probably only extends to his own family – and even that might be an exaggeration. Clearly, treating people fairly was of inferior priority to gaining profits.
Which leads to the question of the moment, Why would President Trump expect Manafort to hold up under the pressure? I mean, I’m amazed Manafort didn’t fold his cards the day the trial started. He must have felt that he could win at trial. But now that it’s clear he cannot, and Trump doesn’t appear to be riding to his rescue, he’s simply following his age old pattern:
Do what you have to in order to advance your own cause.
Why would Trump think Manafort would do anything else? He’s as morality-free as the President himself. I suppose Trump thinks of himself as the master manipulator, the one who can put something over on anyone, but, given Manafort’s apparent mindset, that’s one vulnerability he doesn’t have. Once you discard a moral system which says you must treat others fairly, which can lead to self-deception when it clashes with self-interest opportunities, you aren’t quite so easily manipulated.
You may not understand why your tactics eventually lead you to the jail cell, but at least you can see clearly what’s happening in the short-term.
