ANALYSIS: Pres. Trump's abrupt shift away from his recent threatening rhetoric toward Iran fits a pattern: pulling back from the brink of crises largely of his own making. https://t.co/H4WppyGb9N— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 11, 2020
or a believer in "fate," but this outcome was all but pre-ordained.
Trump is a bully who's afraid of his own shadow. The louder he talks, bragging about his ability to unleash violence and the "size" of the military under his authority, the emptier his threats. Teddy was right: "Speak softly, and carry a big stick." Trump is the dead opposite of that; always has been, always will be. Iran never wanted to go to war against the U.S.; but that doesn't mean the "war" is over, or that the U.S. is not now even more of a paper tiger than ever.
And yeah, Mitch McConnell knows the public doesn't give a wet snap about rules and process in D.C., so all they know about impeachment now is Pelosi is holding it up, and nobody is going to vote in November on McConnell's refusal to hold a vote on the rules of the trial before the articles are sent over.
But McConnell is going to have to hold a public trial, and how that is handled will be remembered. If it's a farce, a "verdict first, trial whenever" fiasco, that will be noted. If witnesses testify, it won't be Hunter Biden and Rudy Giuliani asking the questions, and there will be fights over witnesses with the Chief Justice deciding who should testify and who shouldn't. And senators voting to tell the Chief Justice to take a hike? It won't be Perry Mason forcing a tearful confession; but it will reveal how government works now, and who it works for. McConnell won't be able to hide that ugly truth by counting on the short memory of the American public.
There is no win/win scenario here. But the wins and losses don't really matter; what matters is the perception of how Washington works, and who should be there doing the work.
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