Here are my observations and opinions on items in the news.
I COULDN’T HELP BUT RECALL all of the concerns we heard about President Trump being a war monger with access to the nuclear button. “He’s going to take us into war,” a fellow golfer told me on the driving range after his election.
His tweets about Kim Jung Un being “Little Rocket Man,” and “my nuclear button is bigger and better than yours” was not helpful for a diplomatic solution on the Korean peninsula, many said.
Well, guess who blinked and informed the president he wanted to meet with him to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula?
And what about those two surgical strikes he has directed on chemical weapons facilities in Syria?
The lead headline in Monday’s Wall Street Journal says it all – “Trump Bowed to Pentagon Restraint.” The article said, “President Donald Trump deferred to his Pentagon chief’s caution and tempered his preference for a more robust attack on Syria.”
“The outcome was a sign of the sizable influence of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis still wields in the reorganized national security team,” according to the Journal. Mattis had proposed several options, some that were deemed more muscular. A more involved option called for the strike on Russian defenses, but as it turns out they were useless against our missiles.
And remember the concern many Congressmen and network talking heads had over the addition of the hawkish John Bolton as National Security Advisor. Bolton, the Journal reports, realized that a more robust option might drag the U.S. more deeply into the conflict, and deferred to Mattis’ choice. UN Ambassador Nikki Haley also favored a more punishing strike according to the Journal.
COINCIDENTALLY, as I was writing this, I received an e-mail from a close friend and reader, who was concerned about who was influencing the president, and believed the president should have chosen a larger strike.
He isn’t alone in his assessment, and the president may just have to go back again, but despite the criticism it was “mission accomplished.”
JAMES COMEY, the disgraced former FBI director, who was unceremoniously fired by President Trump, has published his tell-all (his version) in which he has established himself as the exclusive keeper of the moral compass in Washington.
“I actually believe he’s morally unfit to be president,” Comey told USA Today. By inserting the word “morally” he avoids any reference to the president’s mental capacity or dementia.
Although much has been written about the cozy relationship between Comey and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, I have to believe Mueller will not look at the book favorably, primarily because Comey disregards the integrity, ethics and pride of the FBI.
The there’s DOJ IG Michael Horowitz’s report due to be released soon. I’m optimistic that he will cite Comey’s self-appointment as the prosecutor in the Hillary Clinton e-mail “matter,” and his failure to uphold the standards of the agency.
THEN THERE’S THIS – Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch has fired back at Comey over allegations he made about her in the book.
“I have known James Comey almost 30 years. Throughout his time as director we spoke regularly about some of the most sensitive issues in law enforcement and national security. If he had any concern regarding the email investigation, classified or not, he had ample opportunities to raise them with me both privately and in meetings. He never did,” Lynch said.
THOSE OF YOU OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY may not be aware that Comey has few friends in Washington government circles. You will recall how Republicans came down on him when he failed to bring charges against Hillary Clinton in his infamous July 2016 statement. When he reopened the investigation just days before the election, Democrats turned on him, claiming he caused Clinton to lose the election.
But, as a point of reference, I have learned that prior to the 2016 presidential campaign, Comey was actually once feared by both elected officials and bureaucrats; the well-dressed Comey, with his 6-foot 8-inch frame was considered to be imposing when he entered a room.
While a number of fellow FBI agents expressed admiration for Comey prior to his July 2016 public statement exonerating Clinton, that decision and the developing revelation of the politicization of agents under him (McCabe, Strzok, and Page), has brought discredit and embarrassment to this once vaunted agency.
The restoration of the FBI’s integrity will depend on the willingness of current FBI Director Christopher Wray’s to aggressively clean house following the release of the DOJ IG report.
INDEPENDENT WOMEN’S VOICE, a non-partisan, non-profit organization, recently asked women to share on social media how tax reform had affected them, and many women did. Hadley Heath Manning, director of health policy with the Independent Women’s Forum, shared some of their responses in “Women Talk About How Tax Cuts are Already Improving Their Lives,” in The Federalist.
Rebecca, who had reservations about President Trump, was nevertheless excited that tax reform will benefit her family significantly. Brianna said she’s getting $234 more in each paycheck for a total of $2,808 per year. Debra revealed that she’s keeping $300 more of her money in each paycheck for a total of $3,600 per year. Laura estimates her annual savings to be $4,500. A number of women also spoke about bonuses they received.
The Voice insists that these are not cherry-picked stories; in fact, they reflect a trend.
I WONDER, will these women remember in November that it was the Republican party that executed this tax cut bill, without a single Democrat vote, and that Democrat party leadership is already promising to repeal the tax cut.
