My favorite editorial offering each week is when conservative columnist David Brooks joins with liberal columnist Mark Shields on PBS Newsour. Each Friday, they say grace over the news events of the week.
Usually facilitated by Judy Woodruff, these two pundits offer context and civil discourse. It is obvious each has profound respect for the other, as even when they disagree, the rationale is supported by good observations.
It should not be a surprise that both are somewhat alarmed and bemused by our President. In fact, Brooks (along with fellow conservatives Michael Gerson, George Will and Charles Krauthammer) has been a recurring critic of the man who became our President.
Earlier in the year, Brooks described the White House under our new President as “equal parts incompetence and chaos.” This was just following the horribly crafted, vetted, communicated and executed travel ban that caused so much negative reaction.
Recently, after yet another week of bizarre statement and actions that the President’s people had to scurry to defend, he made another insulting reference to the President as being “just a man with words.” Taken in the context of the piece, the President is not a man of conviction and will say just about anything, often not with a lot of thought.
And, that is a sad state of affairs. George Will spoke of the unforced errors when the President just says or tweets things. Will said he has made the world more dangerous and hopes that when the 3 am calm comes with a real problem, they just let the President sleep and wake up Genetal Mattis.
Just a man with words. Unfortunately, many of them are not truthful or well thought out.
musingsofanoldfart 
“… when the 3 am calm comes with a real problem, they just let the President sleep and wake up Genetal Mattis…….”
just the thought of that brings tears to a sensitive person’s eyes…
Lisa, I agree. While Mattis is very capable, he is a military man first and there needs to be an equally capable civilian leader. Unfortunately, Mattis will have to play both roles. Keith
There are words and there are words — just as there are those who write (or tweet) and those who write.
Hugh, to your point, our President does not articulate his thoughts very well. He is highly repetitive and overly simplistic. I have always felt he repeats himself because he does not have as much to say. It is embarassing when other leaders come across better than he does using our language when standing side by side. Keith
Worse yet: he speaks in sentence fragments which suggest a fragmented mind.
Very true.
I’m am out of the country so I’ll miss what those two men have to say about the firing of James Comet. Dear God, what’s next?
Janis, the official announcement is he was fired for not following prontocol with the HRC investigation. My wife and I immediately thought that was a cover story. Then, we heard The New York Times reported that Trunp told Sessionx last week to find a reason to fire him. Apparently, Comey was scheduled to testify on Thursday on front of a Senste Committee. Me thinks there is something rotten in Denmark (or the White House). Keith
My dear friend … I was following Gronda’s recommendation of a glass of wine before bed, in hopes of sleeping well and putting a dent in my exhaustion, and reading a few posts by my favourite bloggers. When I read “our President does not articulate his thoughts very well”, I choked on my wine and nearly dropped my cigarette in my lap! You have just exemplified the word “understatement”! 🙂 Then, having recovered from choking and near-immolation, I continued and came across “Me thinks there is something rotten in Denmark (or the White House)” … this time I did not choke, but merely uttered, “ya think?” and chuckled. I love your subtlety!
All joking aside, though. Doesn’t Comey’s termination throw up many red flags? Yes, even before I heard that he had directed Sessions to find a reason to fire Comey, the minute I first heard the news, my first thought was “Comey was getting too close.” So what, I wonder, comes next? We all know what SHOULD come next, but this is the Trump regime and … well, what should happen rarely seems to be what DOES happen. It will be an interesting couple of weeks, and I think that, given enough rope, Trump is scheduled to hang himself by the end of the month, but … in this not-so-brave new world, who knows? I’m glad to have my blogging friends to bounce ideas off of and to help keep me sane, because some days I truly feel as if I have fallen down the rabbit hole. 🙂
Jill, I just read an article from the AP that many in the White House were in the dark on Comey’s firing. It went on to say Trump and his inner circle are stunned that few are defending his decision on the news. This is may not be exactly like Nixon firing Cox, Richardson and Ruckelshaus, but it is in the same ballpark. He just assured that the Russia issue won’t go away, which was his intent. It also means he has something to hide on the Russia issue. Then there is his conflicts of interest issue…Keith
Agreed … it is a bit different from Nixon firing Cox, but still the same principle … firing somebody who is … was … investigating him. Throws up red flags for me. Also, this is the third person he has fired that was involved in an investigation of him and/or his staff. He may well have begun to dig his own grave at this point.
Jill, it is time for some leaders in Congress to be Patriots and not echo a party line. It is interesting that the DOJ is denying that Comey requested unsung for expanding the investigation when several members of Senate committees said he told them he had. Keith
It is interesting … yet another use for those ‘alternative facts’ … it is whatever Trump says it is, and Sessions is nothing more than Trump’s mouthpiece.
A Special Investigator should have been appointed immediately following this episode of “The “President”. If it doesn’t happen today Congress best grow a SPINE and do something to cancel this show.
Agreed. This may enable a few GOP leaders to grow that spine. As this shows something is amiss.
Dear Keith,
The US House of representatives will not be moved to approve an independent commission and special prosecutor without a fire being lit under them.
Yesterday was when DDT found out that a grand jury had issued subpoenas regarding General Flynn’s finances.
The plot thickens.
Hugs, Gronda
Gronda, the plot indeed thickens. Members of Congress need to be reminded for whom their oath was given. It was not the Republican Party, it was the United States of America. The man in the White House has revealed through his actions that something is wrong and needs investigating. Conservative pundits are now piling on. Keith
Can’t wait to read your analysis of the continuing story of our misfortune…
Thanks Susan. Our friends Gronda and Jill is doing some excellent reporting and compiling on the Russia issue. Our President thought he could make this issue go away, but he just assured it would not. This decision may actually hasten his demise, as it is pretty obvious what was done. Keith
If there was anything that demonstrates the oblivious lack of experience and competence in the white house – it’s the Comey firing.
I thought Obama should have fired Comey, but he didn’t because the firestorm that blew up on on Trump would have blown up on him and, more destructively, Clinton.
The inference to Trump’s own corruption was obvious. And then he made that so much worse with the way and timing of the announcement. It’s mind bogglingly bad handling.
Then followed it up with the exclusion of the American Press but invited the Russians in what feels like a petulant 12 year old locking their bedroom door to keep the mean parents away.
He ruined the slim hope that he could pull off firing someone who was investigating him seem like the best choice for the country.
HOWEVER, I am thrilled at this very bad move. Comey, the slimeball, is gone. And he managed to finally get people angry enough and focused on the possible treason surrounding the Russians. If we can just keep up the focus of the mob we can pressure Congress into getting a special investigator.
I just do not understand why this Russian debacle isn’t at the top of the news cycle with at least as much focus as Watergate was. Because it’s WAY WORSE than Watergate. Of course Nixon was corrupt but experienced so his Whitehouse probably didn’t prompt a new circus on a daily basis.
Thanks for your comment. It may be worse, but we need to remember that over 20 people surrounding Nixon went to jail for the Watergate break in and cover up. Also, Nixon’s worst offense was disrupting the peace talks with Vietnam before he took office, so he could take credit later. Many Americans died because of this delay.
This may be Trump’s Waterloo, but I said that earlier when he falsely accused Obama of wiretapping him. We need more than the few Republicans to remember to whom they swore an oath. Keith
Yes. They went to jail because the public and congress cared.
But you are right. They (politicians) don’t seem to get much blow back for their most heinous crimes.
Brooks and Shields are models of what we all could/should be, and what the press once was.
True on both counts.