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Richard Cohen, WaPo op-ed writer: Trump has ushered in America's darkest hour
Opinions
Trump has ushered in America’s darkest hour
By Richard Cohen Opinion writer November 27 at 7:11 PM
If every senator looks into the mirror and sees a future president, then every president looks into that same mirror and sees himself on Mount Rushmore . President Trump, a mess of a man but brimming with self-regard, probably already sees himself up there with Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln. It won’t happen. Instead, he’d be lucky if he can get his face on a mug in the gift shop.
It just so happens that we have a gauge of what constitutes a great president. It was compiled years ago (1962) by the historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr., who surveyed 75 of his fellow historians on the subject of presidential greatness. They came up with eight categories. Suffice it to say that Trump whiffs every one, the last being the requirement that he “possessed a profound sense of history.” Next president, please.
....
To fully understand how grandly Trump has failed as president, it is useful to see the thrilling new film about Winston Churchill, “Darkest Hour.” ... The contrast to Trump is stark. (Yes, I know, no one’s a Churchill.) But Trump has made us a meaner, smaller people. He tweets the language of the schoolyard. It is full of resentment and bravado. He asks nothing of us. Instead, he validates meanness, opportunism and prejudice. At the moment, for instance, he asks us to disbelieve the many women who have accused Roy Moore of sexual harassment or what amounts to pedophilia. It is a squalid effort — just plain dirty.
There are no metrics to gauge this sort of thing. A moral gloom, as thick as the London fog in Churchill’s time, has settled over America. It cannot be measured. Only names can be counted — the people who supported Trump and now the ones who say nothing. Moral principle has been replaced by political cowardice. This is our darkest hour.
Richard Cohen writes a weekly political column for The Washington Post.
Trump has ushered in America’s darkest hour
By Richard Cohen Opinion writer November 27 at 7:11 PM
If every senator looks into the mirror and sees a future president, then every president looks into that same mirror and sees himself on Mount Rushmore . President Trump, a mess of a man but brimming with self-regard, probably already sees himself up there with Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln. It won’t happen. Instead, he’d be lucky if he can get his face on a mug in the gift shop.
It just so happens that we have a gauge of what constitutes a great president. It was compiled years ago (1962) by the historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr., who surveyed 75 of his fellow historians on the subject of presidential greatness. They came up with eight categories. Suffice it to say that Trump whiffs every one, the last being the requirement that he “possessed a profound sense of history.” Next president, please.
....
To fully understand how grandly Trump has failed as president, it is useful to see the thrilling new film about Winston Churchill, “Darkest Hour.” ... The contrast to Trump is stark. (Yes, I know, no one’s a Churchill.) But Trump has made us a meaner, smaller people. He tweets the language of the schoolyard. It is full of resentment and bravado. He asks nothing of us. Instead, he validates meanness, opportunism and prejudice. At the moment, for instance, he asks us to disbelieve the many women who have accused Roy Moore of sexual harassment or what amounts to pedophilia. It is a squalid effort — just plain dirty.
There are no metrics to gauge this sort of thing. A moral gloom, as thick as the London fog in Churchill’s time, has settled over America. It cannot be measured. Only names can be counted — the people who supported Trump and now the ones who say nothing. Moral principle has been replaced by political cowardice. This is our darkest hour.
Richard Cohen writes a weekly political column for The Washington Post.