Normally in times of national trouble, we want the president at his desk in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington.
But given events of the last few days, we are inclined to urge a different course. A golf course. For the president. Somewhere he is holding a putter instead of a smartphone. Somewhere he is otherwise occupied. Somewhere the whirlwind of problems he is stirring are stopped.
From national and international security to the stability of the government and economy, this has been a really bad run for the country. And, unfortunately, much of it is traceable straight back to the twittering whims of the president.
Lets review:
The president is removing 2,000 troops from Syria who are the bulwark against Iranian and Russian influence in the entire Middle East as well as the force denying ISIS the ability to re-establish.
The president is removing 7,000 troops from Afghanistan, a move that could hasten the Taliban’s dominance of the country where we have fought so hard to deny terrorists safe haven. Afghanistan is also in the midst of peace negotiations with the Taliban, and we would have thought that the president understood that one way to succeed at negotiating is to look strong throughout. This move only undercuts the democratically elected government of Afghanistan as it seeks to hammer out an agreement that will lead to long-term peace and stability.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the man who has steadied the course of American military power during this administration, has announced his resignation because of differences with the president over Syria. Mattis is not the sort of person one can easily replace.
The president has said he is ready to let the U.S. government partially shut down if he does not get billions of dollars to fund a border wall. Such funding is tough to get in normal circumstances. In this case, he is only strengthening Democrats, who will soon take control of the House, by risking postponing any budget agreement after the start of a new Congress. In any case, after promising to own the shutdown, he now is claiming it will belong to Democrats. Our concern isn’t who “owns” it politically, but what damage a shutdown might do to the American economy.
Markets go up and down, but the story of the American economy, at least as it’s told through Wall Street, is getting uglier. Markets hate turmoil. America is in tumult.
The best thing to do right now might be to suggest a warmer climate to the president.
Wouldn’t a few days at Mar-a-Lago be good medicine? Sunny weather. Green grass. Hey, that course record isn’t going to set itself. And anyway, it’s the holidays. Time for a bit of cheer. Air Force One is ready when you are.
Just sign this spending bill here. That’s it.
Fore!
— The Dallas Morning News
