I know that it is absurd to worry over whether I prefer Trump or Pence as president. But I do. Somewhere in the reaches of my mind, I feel a need to hope for something to change, but have felt that Pence was no improvement with his homophobic, antiwoman, etc. etc. history. But two incidents that I learned of this week led me to hope that we soon see President Pence. (Poor consolation, I actually hope we all fall asleep and don't wake until 2021 with a good candidate moving into the presidency, or at least a win in Congress in 2018).
First was the story of Trump willfully defying and not notifying the “adults” in his administration and, on his own or in collusion with Bannon, changing his speech to NATO, eliminating mention of our support for Article 5.
The immensity of this reflects all of the fears we have: a rogue President with no respect for allies, precedent, or even his own advisors, lashing out at essential friends in the world. The tantrums are beyond astonishing. I fear for our country under this man. Of course, I could cite pages of actions that are similar, but this somehow felt like the final straw. Story number one.
The second story is hidden in history but was revived this week. During the campaign, Mike Pence’s plane skidded off the runway at 45 miles an hour after a botched landing. Three flight attendants were checked for back injuries, but noone was seriously hurt. Still, this must have been a frightening experience. The report that just came back from NTSB describes confusion in the cockpit and among occupants, but the CNN report also says:
Once the plane had stopped, Pence came to the back of the aircraft to check on reporters and the Secret Service, asking if everyone was all right.
A little thing, but it shows a measure of humanity that I long for now.
If Mike Pence becomes president, I will oppose most of his policies as strongly as I can. But, this small snippet of a story gives me a chance to see that he can be a caring human. He suffers from the same short sighted lack of empathy that I see in so many Republicans when they are asked to look beyond their circle of contact, but I cannot see Donald Trump going to the back of the plane in concern unless he saw something to gain.
So… proceed with the impeachment, with article 25, or with a brokered resignation. I am ready for a change.
Thank you as always for your thoughts.