Member-only story
“Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
- Anonymous international proverb
The modus operandi of some (think P T Barnum, 1810–1891) recalls hucksterism and showmanship. Such individuals are prone to bluster, puffery, and spinning a yarn, perhaps pulling the wool over the eyes of viewers in the process.
The current occupant of the White House seemed to function reasonably well on THE APPRENTICE, in which he derived apparent perverse delight in firing aspirants with unbridled enthusiasm on the TV show. Some viewers couldn’t get enough of this sort of entertainment. I suspect at least some of them contributed to his getting his current job.
It is perhaps natural to assume that, if a person is proficient in one arena, he may be in another.
But to conflate reality TV, light entertainment, with the running of a country, hardly the stuff of cotton candy, can be a serious mistake.
It has become abundantly clear that the two are not the same. One can have a buffoon for the former. To have a clown for the latter is inimical and a threat to democracy.
But he was elected. Legitimately. To my knowledge, no one has accused him of usurping the throne.
So, what to do?
