TW3

"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive".

The predominant question that the events of this week highlights and reinforces is" Is Donald Trump merely an unrepentant serial liar or is he also seriously and dangerously delusional?" There have been many opinions offered that he is narcissistic and that he suffers from ADD but those are basically clinical conclusions made without proper clinical foundation. But there are comments which can be legitimately made without indulging in faux psychological analysis. First he is extremely petty and obsessed with attacking any statements which purport to diminish his importance and competence. Many of these are unprovoked such as his insistence that is inauguration had the largest crowd in history, that he is been wiretapped and that he would have won the popular vote absent voter fraud. A similar thing is his multiple comments that he was a much better host on the apprentice than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Then there are his outlandish claims of knowledge and confidence such as only he can save America, He knows more about Isis than the general's, he can single-handedly revive moribund industries and he has a health plan that will provide coverage tomorrow Americans add cheaper cost to them and with less deductions, an impossibility unless he would propose a single payer plan which he would not. Then there are his claims of the accomplishments of his administration which are nearly nonexistent. He has signed a lot of the executive orders, many of which are nothing but theater any has a lot of meetings. Those meetings don't seem to result in anything other than photo ops.

There is a general notion, particularly among his supporters that he should quit tweeting. I disagree. Those tweets provide valuable insight into his thinking and limitations. First, they are impulsive and demonstrate his inability to handle criticism or even faint praise. Another thing they demonstrate is that 144 characters are more than sufficient to present his entire analysis of any problem, no matter how complex. Those tweets tell us who and what he is and that is the last thing his supporters want revealed. As Gertrude Stein once said, there is no there there.

One bright spot lately has been the public appearances and comments of  James Clapper. Among all the talking heads and strategists and experts and spokespeople he seems the most knowledgeable /thoughtful and nonpartisan of them all. It is obvious that he is driven by his respect for and concern for our institutions of democracy. He would make a great person to direct the FBI through the next few years. I doubt he will be offered the position and perhaps he would not take it if offered. But it would sure be nice to see him in that position.