A regular Wednesday feature that takes a summary look at hot news issues surrounding Trump during the past week
Last week was last week, this week the scene changes. Last week, the flying monkey left seemed assured they had their man. This week the target moved on to his first extensive trip abroad. An article in the WSJ, ‘Anti-Trump Democrats Invite Chaos’ provides the most balanced comprehensive long-term overview of the situation. Read it. Major media continues to play jury and judge and declare their foregone conclusions. One would be wise to ignore these. The news cycle moves on, here is a snap shot:
Where Trump’s initiatives should succeed:
Middle East Peace | Middle East Peace is the rocky shoal that has wrecked every President that tried to fix it. The war against ISIS is being used as a rally point for the many Islamic nations. The foundation of this peace effort is to do a 180 on the Obama plan of appeasement toward Iran and accommodate a larger coalition of Arab nations. I don’t know if this will get Trump any further than all the prior Presidents that went down this path but I do feel confident that it is a far better chance than the Obama doctrine. The contrast is not unlike Neville Chamberlin vs. Winston Churchill.
Buck up NATO | On to Europe, Trump has previously demanded that NATO start carrying more weight for its own defense. He has apparently backed off on rhetoric about the abolition of NATO (good). This is now a balanced effort.
Where we should take a wait and see approach to Trump’s initiatives before we get the pitchforks:
Budget | We cannot borrow an unlimited amount of money forever. Some say you can but you can’t. The gig will eventually end. Trump’s budget seems to recognize this. I don’t agree with all the cuts or where all the savings go. I do know this budget is already being demagogued down to each line item. This happens with every budget but this one will be more so. If your favorite program is being cut, get on the horn and find new funding. There’s still a lot of wealth being generated by this nation. A lot of these individuals and corporations are going to need to open their pockets. The press will present this as a zero-sum game, mostly take from the poor and give it to the rich. It is in fact a restructuring. Keep in mind that the rich got much much richer and the poor got poorer, like always, under Obama. I’m willing to give Trump’s approach a try.
Special Council Mueller | The moment Mueller was appointed, even close veteran pol allies were pessimistic. I’m not sure that was justified. Trump will be investigated for the rest of his Presidency, maybe even the rest of his life. That is a fact, deal with it. At least now, there is an ‘adult’ that can act as a buffer between the rabid left and the befuddled administration. Let the chips fall where they may. Be aware, there is more to unearth than Trump dirt. This could get interesting.
Where Trump’s initiatives should be reversed:
Dictators | It was revealed that Trump made quite nice to Philippine President [dictator] Duterte. I believe this reflects on Trump’s stupidity, not his values. Sure, you have to work with unsavory characters on the world stage but knowing what we know now, I think this is a good place to draw the line.
Commentary by Lee Jones