Wanting for a return to normal ... again
Every living, breathing, thinking American should join me in this simple request ... a return to normal conduct by the president of the United States, his/her Cabinet, the political team that works for the individual in charge and a Congress that doesn't demonize the other side as the spawn of Satan.
I soiught such a return at end of Donald Trump's first term in office. Voters delivered it by elected Joe Biden president of the United States. Biden had spent his entire professional life in public service. He knew how the government works -- or doesn't work, in some cases -- and sought to bring normal behavior back to the White House.
President Biden succeeded famously.
He served one term before the wheels flew off and he got caught in the mental acuity rumor mongering. Trump managed to parlay a weird public desire for weirdness into an electoral victory in 2024 and now we're in the midst of a hostile dismantling of our democratic process.
Trump promised to exact revenge on his foes. He's delivering the goods. All the while he is conducting himself in an amped-up version of his first presidential term. Who in the world knows where this is headed?
With all of that I want to wish out loud once again for a return to normal behavior. A return to what the late John McCain called "regular order." I want spirited debate, but I don't want recrimination and revenge when the lights go out.
The American political system appears to be broken. I do not believe it is beyond repair. Joe Biden managed -- to the extent he could with GOP control of Congress -- to restore a sense of normal behavior during his single term as president. He left the presidency after getting plenty of constructive things done for the country.
Trump is now well into the first year of his final term in office. I want him to succeed, too. I also want there to be a return to normal behavior, decorum, dignity and grace among opponents. With this guy in charge of the executive branch -- and his penchant for surrounding himself with sycophants -- my hope is fleeting.
However, I will keep the faith.