Add another name to the revolving-door cast that occupies the West Wing of the White House, however briefly, in this Trumped-up, all-aswirl administration. As of press time and subject to change at any minute, Anthony (The Mooch) Scaramucci is out as communications director and a far more reputable and stable leader and organizer, retired General John Kelly, is in as White House chief of staff. Let's see how long the general lasts, for this president may be allergic to anything as simple and basic as stability--in his administration or even in himself.
It's hard to keep up with the names of senior staffers who've come and gone in The Hon. Donald Trump's entourage. The list of formers has grown far too swiftly for ordinary mortals to keep up with:
There was Mike Flynn, the former national-security adviser who quit when he was caught making statements about his contacts with Russian officials that didn't add up even before he was sworn in. There was Katie Walsh, former deputy chief of staff who wisely chose to leave her job to join America First Policies, an independent outfit that's supposed to support this president's agenda, whatever it may be at any given moment. There was James Comey, a showboat of an FBI director, who was forced out of office. The reasons for it change, but not the need. There was Mike Dubke, who was obliged to resign as White House communications director for this White House, explaining that the "reasons for my departure are personal." Like preferring to quit before he was fired? At any rate, he's well out of this job. There was Sean Spicer, who was said to have quit as White House press secretary rather than serve under Mr. Scaramucci. There was Reince Priebus, who by now has been replaced by General Kelly as White House chief of staff.
Suffice it to say that this tottering house of cards called the Trump Administration may go wobbling until it or the poor reporters and editors trying to keep up with it go quite mad. Despite any number of scorecards, there's scarcely any following this ballgame as the players hustle in and out of their respective dug-outs.
Happily, certain of the still new president's appointments can scarcely be called back, like his choice of Neil Gorsuch as the newest justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, which Mr. Trump rightly called his greatest accomplishment and, over the years, may prove just that. A few more retirements at the Supreme Court, and this president might have a lasting impact, all right. But for the better.
According to the great German statesman Otto von Bismarck, God looks after fools, drunkards and the United States of America. Yes, and He must have a delicious sense of humor, too, to have set the stage for this less than divine comedy, this theater of the absurd. And what a show it is.
Our president points to all the signs that happy days, not to mention zany ones, are here again. He looks on his works and proclaims them good: "Over all," he says, "I think we're doing incredibly well . . . ." As for whether that's because or despite his leadership, there's no need go into detail. He noted that "the unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in 17 years" and businesses' confidence in the economy (if not in the president) remains high. "We have a tremendous base," he says. "The country is optimistic." The next day, the papers say income growth in June was the weakest in seven months. Whadaya gonna do? It's the business cycle.
Anyway, there's a simple solution to at least one complicated challenge facing this administration: how to reconcile all those off-the-record statements that its various spokespersons have made on its behalf. Answer: Just don't go off the record. The whole administration should try it. It would like the results.
There aren't any questions that simple candor would not resolve in an instant. Like mama said, if you always tell the truth, you don't have to remember what you said yesterday.
That's our considered opinion and, yes, it's on the record.
Editorial on 08/04/2017