On Being Presidential 

                Earlier this week Trump gave his first presidential address.  Even sober-minded pundits were quick to give him credit for being ‘presidential,’ and the conservative media were euphoric in their praise.  They said he “reset” the tone of his presidency and calmed the fears of Americans across the political spectrum.  Really? 

                All I saw was a slow talking, almost drugged looking, recitation off a teleprompter.  It was a speech that still peddled fear of immigrants and shamelessly traded on the grief of a widow who lost her husband in a raid he still refuses to take responsibility for as President.  To ‘trump’ (pun intended) that he lied about the outcome of the raid.  He babbled through a list of platitudes and generalities that lacked specifics and often any grounding in reality.  After smearing almost everyone in the room for months, he had the gall to call for national unity and said we could rally around him.  There was no accountability for any of the mistakes he’s made or the lies he’s told, and, worst of all in my opinion, he completely ignored the greatest existential threat to our society - climate change.              

                I understand how badly political commentators want to wake up one day and find that things have returned to the same old political gridlock we’ve enjoyed for a decade.  How much we all want to see a news clip of the President of the United States and not feel like stealing a bottle of anti-depressants out of someone’s medical cabinet.  I would be over joyed to see him do anything that resonated with competence or intelligence or even just a little human dignity.  Good Luck!

                Less than two months into the Kali Yuga we call the Trump Presidency, it should be clear it is never going to get better.  We’ve seen his best moves, and I’m afraid we’ve only seen a hint of how bad it can be when he really starts to unravel.  It would be funny, a 21^st century version of the great Dadaist farce King Ebu, if it weren’t so dangerous and depressing.  

                While Trump and his minions swoon over a presentation that would get a C-, at best, in any Public Speaking class, people are suffering the real consequences of his incompetence.  People are going to lose their health care and die.  We’re going to restart a nuclear arms race while gutting regulations that protect our air and water.  In a couple of years none of us will be able to draw water from a public utility and be sure it is safe to drink.  Public education will be degraded to the point that only those rich enough to pay tuition to a private school will be educated.  The list goes on and on.

                If, in the meantime, you’re looking for something “presidential” and can’t find an old news clip of what it looked like when we insisted presidents were at least somewhat qualified, I have suggestion.  Go buy a ticket to Disney World and visit the Hall of Presidents.  Every machine there is more articulate, more intelligent, and more “presidential” than Donald J. Trump.