slate - more like it..."Unpresidential Address" (at least some in the media get it)

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/03/trump_s_speech_to_congress_was_as_amoral_as_the_man_himself.html

Trump’s speech to Congress was as amoral as the man himself.

By William Saletan

President Trump won praise for his speech to Congress on Tuesday night. “Trump Offers Up a More Hopeful Vision,” said the New York Times. “Surprisingly presidential,” said the Washington Post. CNN’s poll gave him a thumbs-up: “7-in-10 speech-watchers say Trump boosted optimism.” Few seem bothered by what the speech lacked: traditional invocations of altruism, self-restraint, or any other principle. This was an appeal to ruthless tribalism. It’s who Trump is. It’s what we, in applauding him, are becoming.

Trump is so relentlessly amoral that it’s easy to forget what used to count as presidential. One useful measuring stick is the previous Republican president, George W. Bush. You can fault Bush for many things, and I have. But Bush accepted modern ethics. He believed in universal worth, human rights, and a concept of justice that transcended civil law. Trump shares none of these beliefs.

“America has never been united by blood or birth or soil,” Bush declared in his 2001 inaugural address. “We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.” In his first speech to Congress—delivered almost exactly 16 years ago on Feb. 27, 2001—Bush told Americans: “We all came here for a reason. … Juntos podemos. Together, we can.” He called on Congress to make America not just wealthy, but “generous and just.”

As president, Bush failed to fulfill those aspirations. But Trump doesn’t even acknowledge them: In his remarks Tuesday night, Trump spoke not of generosity, justice, or ideals but of blood, birth, background, and soil. “We are one people, with one destiny,” he proclaimed. “We all bleed the same blood. We all salute the same great American flag.” A fascist leader could have uttered the same words. In place of Bush’s plea to welcome immigrants, Trump said refugees should “return home.”


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