For too long, a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.
That all changes--starting right here, and right now!
--President Donald Trump, Friday
Whether a body thinks Donald J. Trump's speech was a poor one, maybe a nasty one, or whether a body thinks the new president had just the right tone and message at his inauguration, it probably says a lot about the noggin on said body. We all see things through a prism. It's called experience. Without it we'd be like idiots and geese, thinking the world is anew every morning.
Was the speech bombastic and over the top? What did we expect? Humility? And to our friends on the port side of politics, please calm down. Unless a president has just been re-elected, all inauguration addresses promise change. Sometimes hope and change. And new presidents, especially one from a formerly opposing party, critique the outgoing regime. Remember a young president after his oath of office back in 2009 saying his election proved the country chose "unity of purpose over conflict and discord"? And, with his predecessor sitting behind him, told Americans that "we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." This was the same man who said the oceans would recede and the planet would heal upon his election.
And the promise of big changes doesn't just occur when the opposing party takes over. We remember the story of George H.W. Bush promising a kinder and gentler nation.
Supposedly a miffed Nancy Reagan muttered, "Kinder and gentler than whom?"
You have to hand this to President Trump: He doesn't under-promise. That's not his style. And we can all hope that his presidency is a wildly successful one. And all his promises are kept. What a wonderful world it would be.
We find it difficult to believe that, starting Friday, families will stop struggling. But it would help, indeed, if a new adminstration reduced the burden that Washington imposes through regulations, laws and general intrusiveness. And perhaps allows the free market to work not only in business, but education as well. Of all the impressive things Donald J. Trump has done in the last six months (including winning the election) the most impressive may be the Cabinet he's surrounded himself with. Or is trying to. The Senate is still advising and consenting.
We find it difficult to believe, too, that President Trump is going to fix crime in the inner cities. ("This American carnage stops right here and stops right now!") American presidents have been promising to reduce inner-city crime since there were inner cities. But it would do well to have a secretary of education who believes that families--even inner-city families, minority families--should have access to the best education their tax dollars can buy. Yes, charter schools are paid for by tax dollars, too, being public schools. And why should only families with the means to move to better neighborhoods get the better schools? All the best to Betsy DeVos. May her tribe increase.
It would also do a lot for those struggling in our inner cities--and in our rural areas, for that matter--to have a secretary of labor who knows the cost of doing business. And who knows that for every hike in the minimum wage, businesses hire fewer workers. And unemployment goes up for unskilled workers. All the best to Andrew Puzder at Labor, too.
We find it difficult to believe that this will be the first perfect presidency. ("I will never, ever, let you down!") But it would be a nice change to have a Rex Tillerson at State, who knows enough about the world and its players not to be taken in by any of them. Former secretaries of state for this country have had recent successes giving speeches at the United Nations and Brussels, but little real success.
It would be a nice change to have a secretary of defense with two nicknames: Mad Dog and Warrior Monk. And instead of inspiring dread among the elites in Washington, seems to receive universal praise. It would be nice to have an EPA director who has dealt with the EPA's overreach on frequent occasion. It would be nice to have a doctor in charge of Health and Human Services. It would be nice to have a proponent of spending cuts as director of the Office of Management and Budget. It would be nice to have a four-star Marine general in charge of Homeland Security.
President Trump has said all along that he'd surround himself with the best people. That may be the first promise he keeps.
Some of us hope that list keeps growing. For years.
Hail to the chief. And to his right-hand men and women.
Editorial on 01/22/2017