I've been thinking about the decision by Arizona senator Jeff Flake not to run for re-election. It seems to me that this is a consequence of the politics of Obama in which statements and style matter much more than actual conduct. Think about it. Here are two key facts:
1. Senator Flake has voted with the Trump position 92% of the time. There has not be a single important issue in which the senate voted this year where Flake contested the position supported by Trump.
2. Flake's criticisms of Trump have all been about style. Flake doesn't like the way Trump tweets. Flake doesn't like the statements Trump has made about other Republicans. Flake doesn't like Trump's combative demeanor. Flake takes issue with Trump's failure to act "presidential" in the way Flake thinks "presidential" ought to be.
Put these together, and you have in the President and senator Flake two men who agree nearly always on policy but who disagree most strongly about style.
In other words, we have in Flake a senator who is measuring President Trump by the standards Democrats used and encouraged with Obama. Many times Obama announced policies with smooth style but with no substance. For example, Obama announced that use of chemical weapons by Assad in Syria would cross a "red line" of the USA. Obama repeated that pronouncement on many occasions. Then, Assad started to use chemical weapons in Syria. Obama did nothing. In fact, after sixteen documented uses of chemical weapons by Assad, Obama did nothing other than to repeat his red line statement and say that the USA did not have proof that Assad had used chemical weapons. For months, Obama spoke about chemical weapons in a very stylish way but did nothing aside from denying having proof that these weapons had been used. Even when the UK and the UN said that the chemical weapons had been used, Obama kept us his very stylish word game about Syria and the chemical weapons. Finally, video of hundreds of people dying from chemical weapons was smuggled out of Syria and Obama couldn't deny the truth anymore. He then moved on to doing nothing while dithering in public about whether or not to take action. There was no shouting or insults, no tweeting or anger. Ultimately, Obama made a deal with the Russians under which Assad supposedly gave up all his chemical weapons. We had a very stylish president with a weak and useless policy who did nothing but talk.
Of course, once Trump took office, Assad tried again to use chemical weapons, the same chemical weapons that Obama had supposedly gotten him to give up. It took three days after those weapons were used, then President Trump sent cruise missiles to Syria which wiped out the airbase from which the chemical attack had been launched and also took out about 20% of the Syrian air force. There were no stylish speeches, no soothing words or "presidential" moments. Instead, there was strong and swift action by the President of the USA which ended all use of chemical weapons in Syria since that time.
My point is that with Obama the media and much of Washington got used to a stylish president who actually accomplished next to nothing. When Trump flipped the protocol for presidential behavior, many of these people couldn't deal with it. Flake seems to have become one of those people after his years in the proverbial swamp. Instead of rejoicing in the return to actual accomplishments at the White House rather than soothing words, Flake lamented the loss of the phony style of an Obama.
It's a good thing that Flake has decided to go. America needs leaders who accomplish good things for the country; the style used in those efforts is nowhere near as important as the ends achieved.
1. Senator Flake has voted with the Trump position 92% of the time. There has not be a single important issue in which the senate voted this year where Flake contested the position supported by Trump.
2. Flake's criticisms of Trump have all been about style. Flake doesn't like the way Trump tweets. Flake doesn't like the statements Trump has made about other Republicans. Flake doesn't like Trump's combative demeanor. Flake takes issue with Trump's failure to act "presidential" in the way Flake thinks "presidential" ought to be.
Put these together, and you have in the President and senator Flake two men who agree nearly always on policy but who disagree most strongly about style.
In other words, we have in Flake a senator who is measuring President Trump by the standards Democrats used and encouraged with Obama. Many times Obama announced policies with smooth style but with no substance. For example, Obama announced that use of chemical weapons by Assad in Syria would cross a "red line" of the USA. Obama repeated that pronouncement on many occasions. Then, Assad started to use chemical weapons in Syria. Obama did nothing. In fact, after sixteen documented uses of chemical weapons by Assad, Obama did nothing other than to repeat his red line statement and say that the USA did not have proof that Assad had used chemical weapons. For months, Obama spoke about chemical weapons in a very stylish way but did nothing aside from denying having proof that these weapons had been used. Even when the UK and the UN said that the chemical weapons had been used, Obama kept us his very stylish word game about Syria and the chemical weapons. Finally, video of hundreds of people dying from chemical weapons was smuggled out of Syria and Obama couldn't deny the truth anymore. He then moved on to doing nothing while dithering in public about whether or not to take action. There was no shouting or insults, no tweeting or anger. Ultimately, Obama made a deal with the Russians under which Assad supposedly gave up all his chemical weapons. We had a very stylish president with a weak and useless policy who did nothing but talk.
Of course, once Trump took office, Assad tried again to use chemical weapons, the same chemical weapons that Obama had supposedly gotten him to give up. It took three days after those weapons were used, then President Trump sent cruise missiles to Syria which wiped out the airbase from which the chemical attack had been launched and also took out about 20% of the Syrian air force. There were no stylish speeches, no soothing words or "presidential" moments. Instead, there was strong and swift action by the President of the USA which ended all use of chemical weapons in Syria since that time.
My point is that with Obama the media and much of Washington got used to a stylish president who actually accomplished next to nothing. When Trump flipped the protocol for presidential behavior, many of these people couldn't deal with it. Flake seems to have become one of those people after his years in the proverbial swamp. Instead of rejoicing in the return to actual accomplishments at the White House rather than soothing words, Flake lamented the loss of the phony style of an Obama.
It's a good thing that Flake has decided to go. America needs leaders who accomplish good things for the country; the style used in those efforts is nowhere near as important as the ends achieved.
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