What Are We Waiting For? January 6, 2019January 6, 2019 I promised “a different kind of progress” Friday (so stay tuned for dazzling tech stuff), but then Mel sent me this (thanks, Mel!) . . . . . . and many of you sent me David Leonhardt’s piece: Demonstrably Unfit — What Are We Waiting For? I think the Democratic leadership is right to be cautious about impeachment. Especially with the Mueller report likely just weeks away, they should wait to see what it shows. But everyone should consider what Leonhardt has to say. He begins: The presidential oath of office contains 35 words and one core promise: to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Since virtually the moment Donald J. Trump took that oath two years ago, he has been violating it. He has repeatedly put his own interests above those of the country. He has used the presidency to promote his businesses. He has accepted financial gifts from foreign countries. He has lied to the American people about his relationship with a hostile foreign government. He has tolerated cabinet officials who use their position to enrich themselves. To shield himself from accountability for all of this — and for his unscrupulous presidential campaign — he has set out to undermine the American system of checks and balances. He has called for the prosecution of his political enemies and the protection of his allies. He has attempted to obstruct justice. He has tried to shake the public’s confidence in one democratic institution after another, including the press, federal law enforcement and the federal judiciary. The unrelenting chaos that Trump creates can sometimes obscure the big picture. But the big picture is simple: The United States has never had a president as demonstrably unfit for the office as Trump. And it’s becoming clear that 2019 is likely to be dominated by a single question: What are we going to do about it? . . . Read his answer. Not least because (as argued here), Trump is More Dangerous Than Ever. Indeed, if you want to spend your whole day on this (and I realize most of you don’t), read, too, Professor Sonnenfeld’s Citizen Trump And The Boulevard Of Bedlam in Chief Executive magazine. Scary what Trump’s two favorite movies are. A powerful minority are so emotionally invested in Trump that he literally could walk down Fifth Avenue shooting people and not lose their support. Forcible removal would drive them crazy. Better would be a deal for resignation, a la the deals made with Agnew and Nixon. The precedent is surely there. Failing that, we may soon have to decide whether it’s true that in America, no one is above the law. Or whether, instead, we go the route of nations over which elected, journalist-murdering autocrats preside. Like Putin, Erdogan, Duterte, and Kim Jong-Un (elected with 100% of the vote). And have presided, like Saddam (elected with 99.99%), Mussolini . . . et al. The latter is impossible. This is America. Right?