David J. Goldstein

Will there be a point when Pompeo and Bolton assess the chaos & danger Trump has created-the looming vaccuum in Syria; the threat to Israel; the distrust among allies, from Europe to S.Korea to S.America; the market turmoil-and follow Mattis out the door?

The shutdown is an expected end to two years of an unmoored president and a subservient GOP Congress. Sacrificing gov’t workers & the public on the altar of an airy, hot-button campaign pledge shows how all responsible choose politics as their first priority for solving problems.

Considering the decisions Trump has made and the chaos he has created, will Republicans rethink their opposition to protecting Mueller, and what else he might do as his situation narrows and what else he might do.

If the Russians’ plan was to elect Trump and sow chaos, could they have scripted this any better? Longtime friends mistrust us. Our internat’l leadership has shriveled. We’re receding from a key strategic region and betraying allies. Markets tank. Congress remains feckless.

This bears repeating over and over until it sinks in: the president listens to foreign leaders like Erdogan and adversaries like Putin over his own national security and foreign policy experts. The result is chaos - in the gov’t, the markets and the body politic.

The sudden possibility that a government shutdown is looming is the most recent and best example of the political tribalism that has frozen lawmaking and placed ideological purity aimed at an errant president and his narrow base at the expense of realpolitik and public good.

Given the nat’l security implications of Trump’s Syrian pullout, the fact that Putin is cheering it, while lawmakers from both parties, defense and foreign policy experts are condemning it should send an unmistakable message.

Two things to consider in light of the president’s Syrian pullout: it’s yet one more bow to Putin, and another effort at deflection and distraction when the special counsel investigation tightens on his circle and dominates the headlines.

For those keeping score at home: prosecutors are looking into the president’s campaign, inaugural committee, super PAC, business and foundation. The enormity of that, both legally and politically, is pretty stunning.

If you’re in the middle of watching “The Handmaid’s Tale,” as I am, this will get your attention.https://twitter.com/NoahShachtman/status/1071959742896054272 …

No matter how you might feel about President George H.W. Bush, or any of his successors at his memorial service, it’s a tonic to see the camaraderie between them in the midst of so much unrelenting political turmoil.

Consider recent events: The president sent troops to the border. They fired tear gas on women and children. He then said they can use lethal force. He also attacked the courts and challenged the Chief Justice. And Republicans remain mute.

This is like the finale of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - going out with guns blazing, and as Butch says, “Oh good. For a moment there, I thought we were in trouble”https://twitter.com/benjaminwittes/status/1065640036966768640 …

With his tacit approval of Saudi Arabia’s ghastly murder of a journalist - and U.S. resident - the president has made their lives significantly more dangerous.

Has any other modem president restricted the rules governing how reporters can ask questions? Think about what types of leaders from what countries make efforts to muzzle the press. They are not democracies. As Sen. Dole said in 1996, “Where’s the outrage?”