Mixed Up Signs

[H2O Man]

There are times I wish I were a “fly on the wall” in the White House. Today would not be one of them, because I think the stench of decay is attracting hundreds of real flies ….the type that insert maggots into decomposing organic materials. I am willing to wager that when the autopsy of the Trump administration is completed, sections will remind readers of the 1961 novel by Leonard Kessler – considered the greatest Greek tragedy of an era – “Mr. Pine's Mixed-Up Signs.”

Who could have predicted that Rick Gates would grow a beard? J. Edgar Hoover. He hated beards. They reminded him of communism. No FBI agent was allowed to wear a beard, unless they were infiltrating suspected commie front groups. If only Trump had a man of Hoover's character to warn him that Gates was surely a potential pawn of Russia.

In the recent past, White House spokespersons Kelly Ann Conway and Sarah Huckabee Sanders swore that Gates and Manafort played but minor roles in the Trump campaign. Temporary hires, they were. Yet Gates was #2 right through the campaign, and played an important role in the transition. And Manafort was attempting to trade a White House position to a banker for a $16 million “loan.” It must have been a Russian temp-agency that sent them to Trump. Maybe its local office was in Manafort's space in Trump Towers.

In more recent weeks, Kelly Ann and Sarah were unhappily trying to avoid questions about two other administration members: Jared Kushner and Rob Porter. They lied when asked, of course, which they agreed to do for cash and career. But they got tired of being laughing stocks. Sarah wanted General Kelly to face the press – which he was scheduled to do on Valentine's Day, until what someone in the White House called a “reprieve” – and take the blame for Trump's decision to allow Porter to work closely with him, without being able to pass his background check.

No one in the White House grasps the connections between domestic violence and gun violence. Hence, while Kelly was willing to take the blame for Trump's decision publicly, in private he did not want to be forced to resign. He felt a responsibility to stay put and protect the abusers in the White House. He reminds me of a snapping turtle, though I am admittedly unaware of any other snapping turtle with moral rabies.

Kelly also reminds me of Perry, in the book/movie “In Cold Blood.” Perry was an angry man, who hooked up with Dick, a sociopath. Dick groomed Perry's violent streak. Kelly's bottled hostility is being released by Trump, in much the same manner. Which is curious, since the Constitution intended for civilian control of the military, but not in that sense. More, some of us hoped Kelly would actually protect the nation from Trump's insanity.

Like you, I was shocked to learn that Team Mueller was focused on Jared's finances. Shocked, I tell you! Here this divine profit was but inches away from achieving peace in the Middle East. Still, he will look good in orange. Might inspire a new clothing line for his wife. And I look forward to Sarah telling the media that Jared had little-to-nothing to do with the Trump campaign.

Attorney Alex Van Der Zwaan pleaded guilty earlier this week, though his lawyer made an effort to note this did not mean he was cooperating with Mr. Mueller. Considering that his father-in-law is a Russian mobster, it was necessary to announce that, although the lawyer did not say that Alex is definitely not considering making a deal. One suspects that Paul Manafort is hesitating to roll over, largely because he knows he will be safer in federal prison, than if he gets out soon. Still, steps are being taken to assure he does not enter the Russian embassy, seeking asylum.

But perhaps the most toxic mix-up came when Donald Trump said that had he been near the high school when the mass murder was taking place, even if unarmed, he'd have rushed in to assure a different outcome. This from a coward who doesn't dare cross Putin. A punk who doesn't dare to answer questions posed by Mr. Mueller, even with his legal team seated next to him. But in his fantasy, he is Clint Eastwood, growling, “Go ahead, make my day.”

Think about that. Even in the case of a tragic national event, in his warped mind, it's all about him. It always is, unless it involves the Trump-Russian scandal.