Written by Dan Rather. April 11,2017. (Facebook)

[Heartstrings]

It is with sadness that I do not know where to begin. Today in a briefing, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer issued a statement that is so far beyond the pale, so tone deaf and blind to history and our precarious moment in world affairs, that it is with only a heavy heart that I even bring attention to it. There can be no joy in such incompetence.

In trying to make the case for the Administration's policy in Syria and vis a vis Russia which is confused to be generous, and wildly chaotic to be more precise, Mr. Spicer said, “We didn’t use chemical weapons in World War II. You know, you had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.” He continued, “So you have to, if you are Russia, ask yourself: Is this a country and a regime that you want to align yourself with?” When asked to clarify, Mr. Spicer said, "“I think when you come to sarin gas, he (Hitler) was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing.” Mr. Spicer went on to mention "Holocaust centers," in an apparent reference to the Nazi concentration camps.

This line of rhetoric is so unhinged, so amateurish, so lacking in the context and perspective necessary for statesmanship and diplomacy that I do not see how Mr. Spicer can be allowed to continue in his current position. But in the end, this is less about him and more about an Administration that is inserting itself in a civil war and now is plunging into a drastic reformulation of American foreign policy without any clear sense that they have a plan. When you try to explain such a situation, it is understandable that your words don't make sense.

A bar, already set low, continues to drop.

[gratuitous]

1. Taking Spicer and the Trump administration at their word

Let's indulge the training-wheel President and his amateur hour toadies: Okay, Assad is worse than Hitler, or just as bad but in a different way. What are you going to do about it?

When faced with the real Hitler, the United States went on a total war footing, every aspect and asset of our society was dedicated and geared to defeating him. Is President Trump saying that's what we need to do against Assad, who is worse than Hitler? Is he going to bring back the draft? Mobilize and (in effect) nationalize American industry to crank out munitions to the exclusion of amenities for the home front? Will he demand that the American people start planting Victory Gardens again? Gas ration coupons?

We should neither quail nor blanch at any sacrifice this noble war demands of us, should we? Assad is worse than Hitler, remember. Are we going to start rounding up Americans of dubious or suspicious ancestry into detention camps, their personal property seized and sold?

What are you going to do about it, President Trump? The nation awaits.