Is trump a madman? Certainly, in the hit TV series context, he measures up. Some of his photos convey it. And, most alarmingly, the White House has moved from apprehensive to red alert. We get to the point of saying, yes he must go. If we are sharp, we think through impeachment and say that Mueller could take months or years. What else is there? 25! The twenty-fifth amendment that allows the vice-president and a few others to basically remove the boss, at least temporarily.

The problem has been bared. Who would want Pence to move into the Oval?

Pence

Pence is a Christian fundamentalist of the invasive kind. That is the sort of fundamentalist who has no hesitation fooling with your privacy if your actions conflict with his exegetical opinion. Exegesis is what Biblical criticism mostly is. Pence may be as dangerous as Trump. He may be all the protection Donald needs.

The quest for a solution is hardly resolved.

Quick Switch

Yesterday, Axios was noting Trump's ringmaster qualities, and today, it is admitting to his more insidious intent.

This is dictator stuff, as noxious as anything that came out of the early 1930s.

We forget how benign monsters can seem.

Is it worth it?

I have to conclude that getting Trump out is now something too important and necessary to delay. We must swallow reservations about Pence. Ideally, Mueller will act, at which point, we might sweep both Trump and Pence from office. The needle would then move to Paul Ryan.

The Speaker of the House is third in succession.

Getting rid of Trump is now imperative.

Trump constitutes enough risk and danger in himself to warrant this approach.

It may not do much to solve our worst problems, but it will free the country from a recurrent worry. It might also convince us to forge on with a more reasonable course.

Reminder

Trump is good at changing the narrative and claiming the opposite of what is the case. Here is a reminder of that just a few days ago.

A new beginning

Clearing Trump away is merely a prerequisite for taking a deep national breath and seeing that all our talk of rebuilding is whistling in the wind if we do not agree on some benchmarks for the future. Unfortunately, the country remains as stuck as can be.

We watch the market move and wonder when it will teeter and collapse. It does not seem to help to suggest that we are on the verge of realities that will be more earth-shattering than anything Trump can conjure. They involve ending fantasies about moving backward.

Getting ready for a world to come is where our minds should be, not on believing there was a magic yesterday that we have somehow lost.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED