There are some who see the swiftness of Himself’s descent into full Nixon as a sign that his downfall will come quickly, that we can anticipate a Self-less White House within months, if not weeks. This giddy hope is not only false, in my view, it poses a danger to our prospects of actually succeeding.
First, despite his lack of focus, Himself is a fighting man. He internalized the lessons of his father and his mentor Mr. Cohn, that the only path to success is ceaseless, ruthless combat. This is how he has lived his whole life, from punching out his second-grade teacher to firing the FBI director via television news. What is more, he not only believes in the necessity of constant combat, he enjoys it. He would rather destroy an enemy than bed a woman.
Second, while he may whine that the presidency is harder than he’d anticipated, he will never, repeat never, relinquish the office voluntarily. His fortune and his freedom depend on him keeping the power he’s attained. Whether consciously or not, he knows the phrase John Schindler passed on from an anonymous intelligence officer that he will die in prison is quite possible.
Third, the levers of justice are in the hands of his allies and that will not change quickly. Certainly a Graham or McCain can tut tut at his excesses, but Grahams and McCains do not control HImself’s fate. That is in the hands of men as corrupt (and possibly as Putin-turned) as Himself.
This isn’t a reality show, to be resolved in a half-hour. This is a long, stern chase that requires not just spirit but endurance. I strongly urge my fellow Democrats and others who stand for the Constitution to stop thinking this will be solved in a season. We will be remarkably lucky if this is over before 2020.
Keep fighting. Keep reading. Keep talking. Keep resisting.
But also keep in mind this is a long game.