I increasingly feel like the frustrated Powderpuff Girls in this classic commercial skit for Cartoon Network:
Like Mojo, Trump just seems to be - rambling. From 'this time Iran will really be sorry' to his multiple weeks of 'in just two weeks' a month or so ago, I wonder if he even hears himself.
Obviously the Iran attack did not go as planned. That much is clear. I'm not going to break down whether or not it measures up to a Just War or not. Though I am a bit confused why people are saying in our age of weapons that are capable of mass destruction we can no longer have a Just War. I'd think in an age where weapons could kill thousands, or even tens of thousands, of people in an instant, there is no better time for justifiable use of arms. But that's me. No moral theologian here.
Nonetheless, I try to give President Trump a lot of latitude, and credit where it's due. But as of now, there just isn't any for Iran. He definitely has a tiger by the tail. Iran pulled a few haymakers that President Trump just didn't see coming. And not only is the conflict itself anyone's game, but the economic disaster that is hitting as a result will only add fuel to the GOP bonfire in November. Remember, many millions already had their finances shattered during the Covid-Biden period. Now, when the economy goes over the falls, there is little left for so many of those people to grab onto.
Just how we'll get out of this I don't know. Even if I cling to the thought that President Trump's Mojo impersonation is a cover for his real plans, I can't imagine what those plans could be. Right now, at least, I'm just looking for the tunnel, let alone any light of the end of it.
I've been listening to Fr. Stephen DeYoung's bible study going through numbers and maybe it's just the way of things, but I can't help but think about how familiar the nation of Israel at that time is sounding. "We don't want to be slaves, but we don't want to cross the desert to the get to the promised land."
ReplyDeleteThe only thing people will complain about more than the problem, is the solution. I'm not even saying this as in favor of striking Iran or not. I'm saying it more as a sigh for people to make up their minds. Do you want to do something about Iran? About Russia? About China? Like actually solve the problem, or just write some strongly worded letters?
And yeah, the Administration could do a lot better trying to explain everything too. But then part of me wonders would it make a difference if he did? The Word of God Himself showed up in Person and only like 12 guys listened to Him.
Sometimes you just go read the Old Testament and it hits you, "a few thousand years and we haven't really changed at all, have we?"
I don't mind not having every duck in a row. I do wonder about the benefit of a war to stop Iran from ever doing anything, since what's to keep Iran from doing it after Trump? Consider Putin and Ukraine the minute Trump was out of office the first time around after the Afghanistan debacle. But clearly Iran has outflanked him regarding its willingness to sledgehammer the global economy, and it just seems he doesn't know where he's going with this. I feel he was a bit like Bush in the 2nd Gulf War. We'll go in, the people will rise up, it will be just like the Allies being embraced in France. And especially given the collapse under Bush, I can't imagine why Trump would make that mistake. Or whatever mistake in planning he has made.
DeleteI think strategy is still at play and I'm still okay with letting the guy work. Why should he show us any of his cards currently? The one thing we always say we want is for politicians to fix things, but we aren't (at large) willing to feel short term pain for any long term gain, so they always go for the short term fix that just kicks the can down the road. If this ends well enough and Iran is neutralized for a generation or two, and China is hobbled a bit, we'll be praising the president easily in 20 years thinking that was the obvious thing to do and of course we all supported it! It's a gamble of course, and the jury is still out, but it's hard to do the hard and right thing in the moment, especially when everyone is against you.
ReplyDeleteThere's also a lot economically that has to be undone, even more important on that front than Iran. I think there's been a lot of good happening, but it's hard to find in the news anywhere. And it'll take awhile for things to kick in. Honestly, I'm even a little surprised there's not more outrage at all the fraud being uncovered than what is happening on the Iran front. Look at the vast amounts of utter waste in our own backyard! That has to be highly inflationary in and of itself.
There has been good happening, though this time around it seems almost haphazard at times. Despite being overwhelmed by the left's full out assaults his first term, he seemed to have at least a clear idea of where he was going and how to get there. And in many cases the results spoke for themselves. But this time, despite having several advantages born of his experience the first time around, this seems like he was caught completely off guard. Which has been the case more than once. I'm not trying to say his first term was perfect or anything. But by the end going into 2020, things clearly had improved across the board. But this time? Just like this. How many times did he say 'in two weeks' it will be done, and now we're heading into months. That says right there he dropped the ball. And when it comes to things like war or the economy, you just can't do that too often and get a pass.
DeleteIn fairness, this Republican congress has been almost entirely useless, and that's been the hang up, IMO. Also, the last administration set up policies that put us all WAY farther behind than we were previously. Clawing out is more difficult. Before, I don't think Trump understood the depth of the rot, but he did this time because he went after USAID and money laundering NGOs right away. Yet, the Republican congress, especially the Senate, is completely obstructionist. They won't even vote for DOGE cuts! This is why R's are losing their primaries.
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