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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDeath in Las Vegas: The diminished president responds - By Jennifer Rubin
By Jennifer Rubin October 2 at 11:28 AM
Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective.
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Most Republicans will finger-wag, admonishing Democrats not to politicize the incident, which itself is a preemptive attempt to cut off discussion about gun legislation. One fears that reasoned discussion about a holistic approach that might, for example, include restrictions on numbers of guns that can be purchased, mental-health resources and public-safety measures is beyond our capacity. Our political leaders and their hyper-partisans seem utterly incapable of rational problem-solving that goes beyond thread bare talking points. If the shootings of children (in Newtown, Conn.), nightclub-goers (in Orlando) and a congressman (in Alexandria) did not provoke sober debate and concrete results, we doubt the result here will be any different.
President Trump spoke appropriately in expressing sadness, shock and grief. He dubbed the shooting as an act of evil and praised the speed of the response by police and first responders as miraculous. His appeals to unity and the ties of community were aptly chosen and soberly delivered. And yet, his reputation as a provocateur and angry accuser now colors how many of us absorb his response. His frequent resort to race-baiting and contrived controversy lessens his effectiveness, and his erratic personality virtually ensures that in hours or days he will be back to his old stunts. His sincerity about unifying the country is immediately called into question.
Trump lacks the emotional stability to reduce emotions over the long haul. He lacks the intellectual sobriety to grapple with complicated, contentious issues. And we suspect hell soon return to senseless tweets and outbursts about the mayor of Puerto Rico, the press, Muslim immigrants, the NFL and the American flag, mention of which in remarks following a shooting would be unremarkable for any other president but sound like a dig at his adversaries coming from him.
Wed be remiss if we ignored how misdirected his prescriptions have been to various challenges and threats throughout his presidency. He focuses on foreigners, regardless of the actual threat they pose, as purveyors of crime and terrorism. He encourages cultural divisions as a way of cleaving to his base. A president who continually casts blame in the direction of politically convenient targets, rather than focus on the actual causes of our deep-seeded problems, soon loses his moral authority and political influence. We are grateful he got through the remarks today without calamity, but we know the countrys calamitous plunge into irrationality, rancor and political dysfunction under this president will not end anytime soon.
Full article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/10/02/death-in-las-vegas-the-diminished-president-responds/?utm_term=.714f2a1ca3f5
orangecrush
(19,677 posts)And his eyes and voice were dead and heartless.
NastyRiffraff
(12,448 posts)and which was written by someone else. Wait for his tweets on the issue to see how he really feels.
uppityperson
(115,681 posts)NastyRiffraff
(12,448 posts)He is tone-deaf, but still cue the "today Donald Trump became a president" remarks.
Skittles
(153,316 posts)He is so unfit for the job. People need to stop saying GIVE HIM A CHANCE - he has had his chance and he has UTTERLY FUCKING FAILED.
fierywoman
(7,709 posts)where he would still be able to talk. He sounded like a zombie. His eyes, his voice, were lifeless, soul-less, heartless.
DarleenMB
(408 posts)and teleprompter. Any idiot could have given that speech and done a better job. Let's not forget who he really is.