Serial Sleaze

  In one of the latest revelations about groping by Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for President, a writer for People magazine says Trump forced himself on her during an interview marking the first anniversary of his marriage to his current wife, Melania, who was pregnant at the time and in another room of the Trump home. The writer says Trump pushed her against a wall, and despite her objections, kissed her and pushed his tongue into her mouth.
   Trump's defense? Why wasn't it in the story?
   It was a beautiful story, he now says, but nothing was in it alleging the supposed misbehavior. The implication, therefore, is that it never happened, and the writer must be lying.
   Here are several possible reasons why the young woman journalist did not put it in the story:
   -- The assignment was about the first anniversary of a prominent New York real estate developer's third marriage. By leaving out the bit about being molested, the writer gave him a break.
   -- More important, perhaps, she gave his pregnant wife Melania a break from the embarrassment of a public report of a philandering husband.
   -- The writer was young, and unsure about how to handle such an episode.
   -- The writer was unsure how such a claim would be dealt with by her editors.
   -- Since there were only two people in the room, Trump and the writer, it would be an unprovable she-said, he-said incident.
   -- She may have been on a free-lance assignment, which meant she would not be paid if she did not write a story.
   -- She may have been unsure how such a charge would affect her employment status.

   Now, however, more than a dozen women have come forward with reports of being sexually harassed by Trump. His response is to charge a media conspiracy controlled by the Clinton family, enlisting so many women to lie, with fabricated, fictional stories meant to damage his reputation.
   Such as it is.

   Nevertheless, the parade of testimony has done nothing to influence the full faith of the True Believers at Trump campaign rallies. They are all liars, they insist, and only their Fearless Leader speaks true.
   But could it be that Fearless Leader is being disingenuous? Could that explain why the Republican Party is disintegrating, as many senior leaders of the GOP abandon the nominee, with some calling on him to step down?
   Could it be that the American people do not want a serial sleaze to be President of the United States of America?
   That's warning enough, but the truly frightening aspect of the current Presidential campaign is that Trump has been increasing his warnings that the system is "rigged" against him, that the only way he can lose will be from massive vote stealing, and suggesting that if the vote goes against him, there will be open rebellion by his supporters.
   Meanwhile, there are reports that computer hackers working for a foreign power are probing ways to stuff the electronic computer ballot boxes to make sure Trump is elected President.
   It can't happen here, you say? Read the book of the same title, written by Sinclair Lewis.