Mug Shot

 Of the things Trumpists have said about Trump’s mug shot, I think the dumbest is the claim that having to face the hombre behind that stern, tough guy visage would put the fear in Putin, Xi, and other bad actors in the world and make them straighten up. The United States does not need a blustering bullyboy in the White House to deal with its enemies. Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan were two old men with sunny public dispositions, one of them a cripple. They directed the destruction of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (though in each case the final victory happened under a successor). The things needed are competence, knowledge, courage, steadfastness, vision, ability to inspire, decisiveness, and capacity for strategic thought. Trump lacks all of them. I would guess that Putin and the rest would be fine with having him back in power.