Bob Woodward's new book FEAR

[GMDino]

(09-05-2018, 07:00 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I'm guessing the timing of this is not coincidental: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html


What do y'all think of this?

I know that many will cheer at this, if true, because according to this senior official they are keeping us away from disaster. I admit, the fact that our country maintains a steady path is one that I am happy with. However, I take issue with non-elected officials subverting the will of the elected one. Whether you voted for Trump or not, whether you like him, or whether you think he is a loathsome toad, this is an undermining of our democracy. It is not the responsibility of the bureaucrats to serve this function. It is the responsibility of Congress and the judiciary to check the Executive when they go off the rails.

I mentioned in the Kavanaugh thread that policy gets made up and down the ladder, which is 100% true. But those policies are created to carry out the policies of the elected officials. When the bureaucrats are creating policy that is counter to what the elected official orders, we are in a constitutional crisis.

I put this here because this op-ed piece says some of the same things that come out in the book, and this is a big issue.

As to some of the things said about Trump's behavior:

Trump is described..."as unprincipled and "amoral," the author wrote: "Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back."


When he speaks public (off script) that is exactly Trump.


As to Matt's take on it:  


I'd bet that every admin has people within it that do the same.  Trying to steer the POTUS is directions away from their own predilections when those may be unwise.


And as usual I can see both sides of this argument.


Is that "right"?  I don't think so.  I think the POTUS should be allowed to fail or succeed on their own.  But then I also think that the POTUS should surround themself with people who understand the things that they do not to HELP guide them.


This president has shown no effort to learn things he does not know.  Anyone trying to tell him he's wrong is probably quickly rebuffed.