Power Play

   The Fourth Estate is in full voice against the abuses -- some say thuggery -- of the current president and his senior staffers, and key Republican members of the Senate are joining in the chorus.
   This, after the president escalated his shame game attack on his own attorney general, trying to force the resignation of Jeff Sessions, one of his earliest and most ardent supporters, who recused himself from the investigation into possible wrongdoing connected to "the Russia thing."
   Sessions'  former colleagues in the Senate are nearly unanimous in their defense of the attorney general's integrity, qualifications and ability.
   The president, however, has insisted that the attorney general's first loyalty is the him, rather than to the law.
   Meanwhile, the game of threats continues. President Trump delegated his Interior secretary to warn the two senators from Alaska that their state may lose federal aid if they fail to support the health care bill currently stumbling its way through the Senate.
   And leading Republican senators, including Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona, have demanded a guarantee from the House of Representatives that there will be a compromise panel of members from both bodies to iron out wrinkles in any health care bill approved by the Senate before it is forwarded to the president.
   But.
   What if the Senate does approve a health care bill and the House does not keep its promise?

   On another front, the newly named communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, was quoted at great length, including various gross obscenities and vulgarities, talking about his erstwhile supervisor, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. In the recorded interview with a writer for The New Yorker magazine, Scaramucci vows to get Priebus fired for allegedly "leaking" supposedly private financial information about him, calling it a felony.
   Oddly, the information was readily available to anyone asking for it, citing the Freedom of Information Act.
   Even more oddly, Scaramucci is not yet officially on his new job in the White House, since he has not yet divested himself of certain investments that would be a conflict of interest.
   Time was, journalists would routinely "clean up" the grammar when quoting politicians, and leave out any occasional naughty bits that might slip into casual talk.
   But with some political leaders today, their grammar and speaking style so often borders on and even steps over the line of incomprehensibility, and foul language, obscenities and vulgarities so overwhelming as to embarrass an inner city street kid, journalists quote the verbal trespasser in full as they follow their obligation to describe to the public what kind of a person the official is.
   And this is best accomplished by quoting the official in full.