Never Assume

Never assume, lest you put an ass before u and me. -- Pug Mahoney

   Our nominee for the most heroic assumption of the century is the current president, who speaks regularly of his eight years in the Oval Office. That is, of course, if he is re-elected to a second term.
   At the annual St. Patrick's Day luncheon in Washington, he said, "I'm looking forward to having this lunch six more times."
   He filed for re-election the same day he was inaugurated more than a year ago.
   His personal aide, who was unceremoniously escorted out of the White House after his security clearance failed to be approved, immediately joined the re-election campaign.
   He praised China for enabling its leader to become president for life, and said, "Maybe we should give it a shot."
   This defies the convention set by George Washington, America's first president, and made part of the Constitution in 1951 as Amendment 22. This amendment specifically limits a president to two elected terms, plus a maximum of two years of the unexpired term of a predecessor who leaves early. In no case can a president serve more than ten years.
   This president does not read much, relying largely on his "instinct" for nearly every issue. It would be of little use, then, to send him a copy of the Constitution, since he likely would not read it, nor would he listen to advisors who have.

   Meanwhile, the exodus of senior, experienced Cabinet officials and advisors from the administration continues. And the reaction from international news media to his actions and comments is increasingly negative.
   For example, a report on France 24 noted that the president appeared "reluctant to criticize" Russian president Vladimir Putin, and he showed a "lukewarm reaction" to Britain's sanctions against Russia after the poisoning of a former spy living in England. Instead, the latest U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia related to the Kremlin's meddling in last year's election.
   In fact, the president had no direct comment on Britain's accusations of Russian culpability in the poisoning incident, instead leaving that to aides.

   Separately, special counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly subpoenaed business records of the Trump Organization that deal with Russia, thus crossing the "red line" that the president warned against.
   So much for threatening a senior government lawyer heading an independent investigation.