To say that we have just survived a tumultuous election season would be an understatement. I won’t recount that here. It makes me weary to even think about it. Indeed, my fingers seem incapable of tapping out any remembrance. It’s as if my fingers are saying to me, “Pah-leezzzzz, oh scribe, don’t wax on about the characters, media, Hollywood dolts, and which polls were accurate, and which ones had the reliability of a Ouija board.” OK fingers, you win. Let’s focus on the future.
The New Administration: President-elect Trump has moved with the speed of a gazelle in selecting cabinet and major administration leaders. In my lifetime, I don’t recall any president-elect moving with such dispatch. By and large, Mr. Trump has picked some very sound people to fill important slots. I won’t list them here because some are well qualified and some less so. Suffice it to say that his selections should be treated fairly yet thoroughly vetted to ensure they have the scope of knowledge and experience to do the job intended for them. I suspect most will be able to secure Senate confirmation, despite the fact that partisanship will be evident. Why? Because those who would vote against the President’s preferred candidates would be inclined to vote against apple pie if Mr. Trump publicly proclaimed his support of that delight. I can hear the protestations now. “Apple pie is the food of fascists!” Yep, sour grapes are the wine of whiners.
However, some will fall short—and should—if they do not withdraw before the Senate digs into their qualifications, merits, and demerits. One has already withdrawn and fortunately been replaced by a superior candidate. Others may also retreat, and some should. This makes me wonder what the President’s transition team was thinking when they picked some candidates known more for their political advocacy than expertise in the core areas that they would orchestrate. Nonetheless, I think the future for President Trump’s selectees, on balance, is very good. We’ll see if Senators—who have a sworn duty to advise and consent—agree.
Foreign Policy: President Trump is being handed a bushel basket filled with foreign policy problems. Without detailing the huge mistakes of the current administration, the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine are no small matters. And they will not be solved within twenty-four hours. Indeed, both conflicts will take considerable effort to set the conditions for serious negotiations on how to rein in the violence and put in place a peace regimen that has the slightest hope of success. Having spent some time in the peacekeeping business, I know that the peace-making that must precede the “keeping” is the hard part. First you have to secure “buy in” for the parties to the conflict. That is about as easy as determining which side of a bitter divorce should get the vacation home on Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaii.
President Trump will need people at his side who understand the layered nature of Middle East conflict. There are no easy solutions. Bravado and threats won’t work. And while being strong and firm with all sides of the conflict is important, progress takes time. There are no light switches to turn off and on. But there is trade space to consider. The people he chooses to conduct negotiations need to have both a historical and cultural understanding of the Middle East to steer the opposing sides to some sort of peace arrangements. Moreover, the President must understand that in the Middle East we will be unlikely to attain peace, but rather blessed to be able to manage it. There’s a big difference that requires continued engagement. There is no neat end point.
The same can be said of the war in Ukraine. The opponents are bitter enemies, made more so by the violence visited on both sides. To be clear, Russia is the indisputable culprit in this conflict. Its leader, a former KGB thug, is a murderer and should not be trusted in anything he says or does. He has yet to live up to any agreement or ceasefire that he has consented to in the past. He is an unreliable partner in anything. He subscribes to the view that “what is mine is mine, and what is yours is negotiable.” Such does not form the basis of any attainable peace, and certainly not in twenty-four hours.
Domestic Policy: Indeed, where to begin? For me, it’s the national debt. Period. It threatens the viability of our economy and polity. It must be fixed. So too the border and strengthening the military. And also, reducing the size of government. All are topics for another missive.
So, there you have it. The future is a busy one. And my fingers are clapping their hands that the election is over.
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