It's possible that Donald Trump expects to lose the coming election, so he can use his allegation of falsity to justify his takeover by force.
That was the apparent plan eight years ago, when he talked so much about a "rigged" election.
Even before any votes were counted.
But after a series of challenges that went all the way to a Supreme Court referee, Trump took the presidency.
So who did the rigging?
Now we hear similar warnings, and again they come from Trump himself, but now the warning is of a "dictatorship."
That's the word he used himself, even as he added the claim that it would be "only on day one."
But where is the guarantee that day one would be the only day?
Promises, promises.
Meanwhile, time is passing. Election day is nearing. Candidates are expanding the volume and number of their claims, both how good they are and how their opponents behave.
Plus, they warn of how bad things will become if their opponent takes office.
So what else is new? said the resident cynic.
Of the main guidelines for journalism -- Who, What, Where, When and Why -- the first four are relatively easy to gather. The final W, however, can be difficult, so it is left out of daily news reports, leaving it to opinion writers or weekly analysts.
It comes down to this: Why do politicians do what they choose to do?
Some will say they had no choice; they were forced by circumstances beyond their control.
Or some will blame it on an evil spirit. "The devil made me do it," they insist.
Others will say there is always a choice, and they should follow the dictates of their conscience, or of their religious teaching to help resist temptation.
But is following someone else's dictates really a choice? Where is personal responsibility?
As for the first option -- "forced by circumstances beyond their control" -- what happened to personal responsibility?
Politicians repeat this claim, but this time the personal responsibility is on someone else.
You can't have it both ways.
That was the apparent plan eight years ago, when he talked so much about a "rigged" election.
Even before any votes were counted.
But after a series of challenges that went all the way to a Supreme Court referee, Trump took the presidency.
So who did the rigging?
Now we hear similar warnings, and again they come from Trump himself, but now the warning is of a "dictatorship."
That's the word he used himself, even as he added the claim that it would be "only on day one."
But where is the guarantee that day one would be the only day?
Promises, promises.
Meanwhile, time is passing. Election day is nearing. Candidates are expanding the volume and number of their claims, both how good they are and how their opponents behave.
Plus, they warn of how bad things will become if their opponent takes office.
So what else is new? said the resident cynic.
Of the main guidelines for journalism -- Who, What, Where, When and Why -- the first four are relatively easy to gather. The final W, however, can be difficult, so it is left out of daily news reports, leaving it to opinion writers or weekly analysts.
It comes down to this: Why do politicians do what they choose to do?
Some will say they had no choice; they were forced by circumstances beyond their control.
Or some will blame it on an evil spirit. "The devil made me do it," they insist.
Others will say there is always a choice, and they should follow the dictates of their conscience, or of their religious teaching to help resist temptation.
But is following someone else's dictates really a choice? Where is personal responsibility?
As for the first option -- "forced by circumstances beyond their control" -- what happened to personal responsibility?
Politicians repeat this claim, but this time the personal responsibility is on someone else.
You can't have it both ways.
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