Acquittal Equals Approval

   Acquittal equals approval.
  That's the conclusion of the Trumpistas, so not only will the president continue what he has been doing, but is likely to accelerate what he says and does in governing the country.
   Moreover, it will mean that he alone governs the nation, and Congress has sublimated itself to a secondary role and is bound to do what he says.
   Strict Constitutionalists will disagree, of course, and that will be a core issue in the upcoming presidential election, which is only nine months away.
   Unlike other court proceedings, where a "not guilty" verdict means the accusations were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and does not translate to "innocent," Republican supporters of the president admit that he did in fact say and do the things listed in the articles of impeachment, but they insist it doesn't matter.
   He is the president, they say, and is allowed a broader range of behavior than other citizens.
   Or, the president himself has said, "I can do whatever I want."
   This contrasts with the Democrats' argument, voiced many times in recent weeks, that no one is above the law. And major media outlets have increasingly compared his attitude to that of King Louis XIV of France: "I am the state." Or, as used by The New Yorker magazine: "L'Etat, c'est Trump."
   This week will fill news pages easily. The president recorded an interview with Fox commentator and Trump supporter Sean Hannity, being broadcast the same day as the professional football Super Bowl game.
   Monday will see closing arguments about impeachment in the Senate, as Iowans caucus to express the presidential preferences, Tuesday the president is scheduled to deliver his state of the union address, and on Wednesday, the Senate is scheduled for a final vote on impeachment.
   Wonder what the president will say about his trial during his speech?
   By the way, what does it say about a man who always mocks his opponents about their height? The latest is Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg. What's more important, a person's intelligence and abilities or the size of his ... whatever?