This is a special opinion to the Mirror by Chas Cornweller.
Bob Woodward, a journalist long associated with the Washington Post and of Watergate fame has released a book on the Trump administration. It has created an avalanche of backlash and an earthquake whiplash with both the media and the public. The pictured painted of our present Commander-In-Chief is one of a paranoid, unprepared president who is out of touch with the reality of today’s America. Someone who tape-loops over and over those political points that keep winning him favor with his base. A master at deception only because it is what he knows and has used for his entire life to manipulate the situation for the betterment of his personal gain and position. At any cost. Woodward shows us an administration reacting constantly to a child-man who knows neither the depth or scope of America’s responsibilities, nor has the wherewithal to deal with these responsibilities. It is an administration ramming through policies that enable the very rich and very powerful to maintain and solidify that power while the policies to protect the rest of us are daily eroded away. You have two very capable administrators in White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis having to deal with what they “see” as an ‘unhinged idiot’ (Kelly) with the understanding of ‘a fifth or sixth grader’ (Mattis). Never in the course of American history have White House staff spoken about a sitting president in this manner. Ever.
Whether you choose to read or even believe this book, know one thing, this president has created havoc within our nation. That is an undisputable truth. If you choose to believe it is by design and not by the fact the president is unfit and incapable of being our president, that is your choice. But think about this: IF it is by design, what is this track doing to the prestige of America? Is it, as in the words of Steve Bannon? And I quote (GQ – January 30, 2017) “I’m a Leninist,” Bannon proudly proclaimed.
Shocked, (this reporter) asked him what he meant. “Lenin,” he answered, “wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” Bannon was employing Lenin’s strategy for Tea Party populist goals. He included in that group the Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as the traditional conservative press. End quote. And further, here is a direct quote from Donald J. Trump in 2014 with Fox News. “A lot of people live better without having a job, than with having a job. I’ve had it where you have people and you want to hire them, but they can’t take the job for a period of nine months because they’re doing better now than they would with a job.”
“You know what solves it? When the economy crashes, when the country goes to total hell, and everything is a disaster, then you’ll have riots to go back to where we used to be, when we were great.” End Quote. ‘You’ll have riots to go back to where we used to be…when we were great.’
I can only imagine what some of you would have thought, said or done…had President Obama had uttered those words in his inaugural speech in 2008. I can only imagine.
Tuesday, September 11th, Bob Woodward’s book, “Fear-Trump in the White House” comes out. Unlike an extensive list of disgruntled or hackneyed books like “It’s Even Worse Than You Think” by David Kay Johnston or “Unhinged, An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House” by Omarosa Manigault Newman or Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury”, this book was written by a Washingtonian insider. An insider with credentials. An insider with insider knowledge. An insider who, with an insider small town newspaper, brought down an administration. It is not to be taken lightly. For those of you still holding out hope that this is your guy, I recommend going out on the deck, look up at the stars and enjoy the cool still night. Enjoy the band out there while you’re at it. I understand they play a killer version of ‘Nearer My God To Thee.’