By Edwin Cooney
A week or so ago, I read a commentary strongly suggesting that President Trump would really be dangerous if he were “smart.”
That observation reminds me of several presidential self-assessments.
FDR used to say that he never let his right hand know what his left hand was doing. Richard Nixon thoroughly enjoyed the possibility that North Vietnamese and other Communist leaders might well consider him unpredictable or even “mad.” President Carter reveled in his reputation as “a political outsider” but it was ultimately to his political disadvantage. Finally, President Reagan willingly encouraged supporters to publicly proclaim his loose management style — which ultimately led to Iran-Contra-gate.
Of course, presidential assets (intelligence, intellectual prowess, integrity, and patriotism) and presidential liabilities (dishonesty, ill temperament, indecisiveness, and incompetence) have traditionally been the way Americans measure presidential conduct.
As for presidential “smartness,” that’s quite another matter! This particular commentator suggests that if President Trump were “smart,” he would be more thoughtful and thorough in his thinking. In other words, he would be more ideological and predictable thus insuring the likelihood of a smoother legislative process with Congress. A smoother legislative process would have enabled a Republican President and a Republican Congress to actually eliminate “Obamacare” last year rather than to merely cripple it. Beyond that, this critic insists that President Trump would be much more successful in his efforts to “drain the swamp” if he were a more serious student of American political and social history.
This criticism, as I see it, is more to the point. Donald Trump has serious flaws as a communicator and as a moral leader. He preaches morality even as documented evidence points to a lack of “traditional morality” in his personal behavior. He preaches loyalty but practices very little himself either to our traditional allies or even to his Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He implies that Americans are traditionally suspicious of Russia, but so far shows little concern regarding the obvious threat of Vladimir Putin’s anti-democratic imperial foreign policy toward the people of a free Ukraine or a free Syria.
Then, beyond the questions of legitimacy or loyalty, there’s the reality that good people have no monopoly on “smarts.” Adolf Hitler was, in the assessment of most people, an “evil genius” - if not merely a sick one! One of the most constant threads in American history is our increasing tendency to grant all favorable attributes to our social and political friends and allies and assess our political opponents as having almost a monopoly on all things stupid, mean, and/or evil. Both of these tendencies are extreme and unrealistic.
What’s most disturbing about President Trump is his personal conduct in office. There’s his inconsistency in political negotiating, be the subject DACA or his promises to the National Riffle Association when he’s under pressure. Finally, and most sadly, his apparent incapacity to grant political opponents any degree of logical, political or social legitimacy makes it almost impossible for men and women of conscience to reach common ground when it comes to responsible governing.
Back in November 2016, millions of Americans convinced themselves that their choice was between a hardened and corrupt politician — Hillary Clinton — and a tough but realistic businessman named Donald Trump. Their assessment of budgeting was the business budget (the goal of which is not to spend more than it takes in) versus a civic budget (much of which is about investment in human affairs). In the popular mind, politicians primarily wheel and deal at the taxpayers’ expense. The businessman or woman on the other hand invests profits in business expansion which creates jobs at nobody’s expense. What this popular assessment leaves out are two vital realities. Number one, over expenditures by business results in increased costs to consumers. Number two, competition among business entities can be extremely fierce. Businessmen and women often succeed by destroying the competition when they are allowed. Thus, we have Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is a bully both by training and, even worse, personal instinct. (Obviously, not all business people are bullies!) However, since Mr. Trump entered politics, he has functioned as an autocratic businessman rather than as an effective and conscientious public servant. It’s his way or the highway! His social strategy calls for political and legal dominance over opponents, conditions and circumstances.
Whether or not President Trump is perceived as smart or stupid depends on the outcome of his presidency. If business deregulation, business tax cuts, and protective tariffs bring about Trump’s promised prosperity, he could be a cinch for re-election in spite of his permanent state of petulance.
Try this conclusion on: success will be President Donald John Trump’s triumph. Failure will be our fault — not his! How could it possibly be otherwise?!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
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