Was Michelle Obama Wrong?

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In 2016, Michelle Obama left attendees at the Democratic National Convention in awe after finishing her speech in support of Hillary Clinton’s bid for President. A speech that will surely be remembered for decades was highlighted by her now famous moto that has probably been echoed and repeated more than a billion times since…

“When they go low, we go high!” 

In reference to not stooping to the level of a figurative bully, how could anyone regardless of their socioeconomic background or political beliefs disagree? It’s a perfect example to set for our children and followers alike. It’s also a courageous and impressive thing to say regarding an opposition who has taken shots at the legitimacy of your husband’s citizenship and faith, who’s been accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women, and who’s incited violence at his protests… to say the least. I don’t think anyone on the left would’ve faulted Michelle for stooping low. But she didn’t, she stayed high just as she informed and directed millions of people do to that evening in Philadelphia, PA.

Except, there’s one problem.

In reference to the 2016 election, she was wrong… dead wrong. Candidate and soon to be President Donald Trump went low, extremely low… and won. Hillary and Democrats tried to go high, much higher than Trump and his surrogates, and they lost. How did this happen?

Did Hillary run a bad campaign? Maybe

Did FBI Director Comey’s announcement about her emails hurt her campaign? Maybe

We could go on and on about who and what potentially impacted the election. But in the game of politics, can Democrats continue to go high when their opposition is willing to do whatever it takes to win?

Regarding our moral compass, the ramifications of going high have and will continue to cost Dems and their constituents a lot. Countless criminal justice reforms have been rolled back, LGBT protections have been reversed, environmental regulations have been cut, we’ve imposed tariffs on our allies, the Courts upheld his travel ban which could last for decades, he’ll get to nominate another Supreme Court Justice (Kennedy’s resigned – 6/27/18), and Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling which legalized abortion, will likely be on the table in the near future. It hasn’t even been 2 years, and that’s just a few of the going high costs that will hurt Dems for years to come.

So looking back, and looking forward, was going high worth it… when going so low paid off?

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Despite Crazy News Cycle… We Should Remain Focused On Mueller

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The media buzz around Meuller…

Two weeks ago as the President began to ratchet up his rhetoric against the Russia investigation, the press spent four days trying to drum up a narrative that Mueller was about to be fired, setting off a constitutional crisis. The basis was that the President was frustrated, attacking Mueller directly (which hadn’t happened before) and his past firing of Comey made it at least plausible that he might do something irrational. In supporting the narrative, CNN spent the weekend asking every GOP senator they could find whether they would support firing Mueller. As anyone could imagine, they were not supportive, and their solicited statements served to further whip up urgency that Mueller’s days were numbered. I truly don’t believe that anyone in the media thought that was really on the table; instead, a narrative to fill a slow news cycle on a Sunday.

Far more plausible is that the President ratcheted up his rhetoric because he had been promised by his lawyers the probe was going to wrap up soon. Against the President’s instincts, John Dowd had been promising him that compliance (not bravado) would carry the day. That’s not the President’s natural way, but he relented. The result was a probe that continued, and when his lawyers brought him the news that he was about to be asked to testify, he blew up at both his counsel (who he promptly dismissed), and without trust in their guidance, lashed out again in frustration. While that is petulant, childish and wholly unpresidential, that’s been no different from most of his tweets over the past year. It’s equally likely that a president who never seemed to collude with his Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, OMB chief or House and Senate leaders, also never took the time to collude with anyone on his staff talking to Russia (albeit more out of ADD than any principled stand), and is frustrated that his job is to put out a message, and yet Russia (and Stormy Daniels) have been the message over and over.

If the President didn’t understand with Comey, he understands now that the end of Mueller is the end of his administration. I can’t imagine any responsible person on either side of (or even 50 miles from) the aisle that wants any part of a president who actively colluded with an enemy nation to win his election. If that’s proven, all agree that he’s done. Further, if Mueller is fired before completing his work, the best possible outcome for the White House would be a re-start with a far more difficult prosecutor with far more reason to dig. The president firing Mueller is most likely the dream scenario for those starkly opposed to this president. Far more likely is that it drags on for another year, hangs shade over all of Washington for years to come, further pulls all of America toward the far right and far left, and we all spend the next 3 (to 7?) years reading what Jimmy Kimmel used to call “mean tweets.” These days that seemed like an antiquated characterization… These days, they’re just tweets.

Priebus Resigns, Kelly Named New Chief of Staff

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After 6 months, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus resigned yesterday. He left just days after the well-publicized squabble with new White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci. Trump tweeted that Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly would replace Priebus immediately.

Amidst rumors surfacing about Priebus being a leaker, it’s surprising that this news did not make it to the press within the past 24 hours. Understandably, the White House did not want to make such an announcement during the healthcare debate and vote last night.

Comey out… Spicer out… Scaramucci in… Priebus out… Kelly in… Sessions heavily criticized… That’s a lot of turnover in 6 months… Should the American people be worried?