Cat Doing the Dishes
Stay with me here…I’ve been reading with great glee all of the excerpts of Michael Wolff’s new book, Fire and Fury, Inside the Trump White House, and have so far read nothing that didn’t ring true to me. I mean, come on – Trump is a heavily made-up, feeble minded, thin skinned, narcissistic caricature of what we all understand to be “presidential”. Trump has none of the characteristics of a successful politician (or successful businessman for that matter); he’s volatile; he’s taken to repeating his repetitions; he lies when it’s easier to tell the truth. He’s fake to the core.
I’ve found the firestorm around this book to be highly entertaining and some of the editorial content of the talking heads is just as much fun. One of those is this morning’s piece in the New York Times by Michelle Goldberg titled…wait for it…Everyone in Trumpland Knows He’s an Idiot. She writes of several anecdotes in the book about how Trump went around his handlers and unilaterally fired James Comey over the Russia investigation. She quotes Wolff about that decision, “In presidential annals, the firing of F.B.I. director James Comey may be the most consequential move ever made by a modern president acting entirely on his own.”
But more importantly, she makes the point that Trump is wholly and totally incapable of executing the job of the presidency, and EVERYONE knows it. His failing mind, his obsession with striking back at every perceived slight, no matter how small, and his erratic decision making are all clear evidence of his incompetence. Dozens of staffers have enabled him, assuring themselves and each other that they can manage him, when, in fact, no one can manage him, including himself.
Best line of the piece, though, came in the summation – Goldberg says,
“Trump, Wolff’s reporting shows, has no executive function, no ability to process information or weigh consequences. Expecting him to act in the country’s interest is like demanding that your cat do the dishes.”
Now, THAT is a great bit of wordsmithing, I must say. Oh, and I’m trying to put my hands on a copy of the book today. It should make for great fireside reading this weekend.
I once had a cat who did the dishes. Sort of. I always had to leave a little of whatever I ate on my dish and he licked it all clean. His name was Fubar. Take it for what it’s worth.
1Great read El Jefe. But, have you read Star Parker’s opinion piece in USA Today? From the same publication that stated Trump wasn’t worthy to clean Obama’s toilet comes this effusive display of love and fealty. I read her “thoughts” through a Louisiana paper (I have a subscription), so doubt I can link due to a paywall, but here is a couple of paragraphs.
“So I am optimistic that 2018 will bring more unexpected accomplishments from Trump, as he carries forward promises from his campaign.
That is, to turn the country back to its people, to re-unify the country under its founding ideals, and for all Americans to feel part of the American enterprise.”
The single comment at the end was a laudatory exclamation about Trump’s greatness. There are people that believe this garbage. So, keep up the good work and let us continue to think that Muller will succeed is ridding us of this cancer.
2Michelle Goldberg is somewhat correct. Placing a bowl of ice cream before them pleases both, while neither can be expected to operate a dish washer or perform the task at the sink. Although the cat will lick a plate clean, Donnie expects that to be done for him, preferably by his royal plate scraper. Recall Reince Priebus being summoned to swat a fly. But there end the similarities.
Cats are athletic and smart. Some are quite charming. Even a potted plant has beauty, Donnie not so much. He’d be toxic to a compost heap.
3“for all Americans to feel part of the American enterprise”? Reminds me of a letter in today’s WashPost regarding an article about Pruitt’s destruction of the EPA– Pruitt says he’s finally considering the people who will be living under EPA regulations. The letter-writer reminds him that we ALL live under EPA regulations, and most of us *like* having clean air, water, and soil.
I try to be understanding about people who say they’ve been forgotten, but damn if I’ll stand by when they shove me aside and forget me and act as if they’re the only real Americans.
And Trump is an unqualified idiot. Yeah, we know.
4More anecdotes: Hanging around the nurse’s desk at my mom’s rehab place I overheard an aide talking about her cousin the Wall St banker who knew the orange one back in the 80s and 90s. Said he was totally dumb and full of himself (like we didn’t know) and no one to do business with.
Interesting that several women at the desk then said they were married to Trump fans and they just didn’t get it. Then a young guy walked by and gleefully said Huma Abadin was arrested and Hillary would be soon. I said (under my breath so as not to cause a firestorm to erupt, alarming the inmates) “No she’s not.”
But I gotta ask- my own progressive spouse and the wunnerful male commenters at this here establishment: What makes guys so dumb?
5@dbtexas
RE: USA Today’s op-ed piece, “effusive display of love and fealty” by one Star Parker:
Some newspapers are published merely to generate ad revenue, not to inform nor entertain. It is a secondary benefit of these newspapers that the newsprint serves well to wrap fish entrails and line bird cages.
6lazrgrl:
7My answer is both simplistic and repetitive, as I’ve said much of it in here before. But I still believe it to be true. For decades, the right has dumbed down ideas about what is good, bad, strong and weak. To me, the most effective and far-reaching result is the concept of equating empathy with weakness. And the willingness to attack, degrade, or humiliate as courage, and therefore strength. Because once that is accomplished, their job of selling domination as strength is much easier. That applies to both sexes. But a whole lot of men are conditioned from birth that manhood is about strength, courage, and proving it constantly. According to right-wing ideology, domination and douchebagery do that perfectly. Dominating, demeaning, or just plain bullying someone weaker than themselves has always been manly for some guys. More so recently. They’re just not too welcome in this joint.
P.P., excellent comment!
8@lazrgrl
Nugenix?
9