Guest Post by Paul Craig Roberts
What do they mean?
Before I give an explanation, let’s be sure we all know what an explanation is. An explanation is not a justification. The collapse of education in the US is so severe that many Americans, especially younger ones, cannot tell the difference between an explanation and a defense, justification, or apology for what they regard as a guilty person or party. If an explanation is not damning or sufficiently damning of what they want damned, the explanation is interpreted as an excuse for the object of their scorn. In America, reason and objective analysis have taken a backseat to emotion.
We do not know what the appointments mean except, as Trump discovered once he confronted the task of forming a government, that there is no one but insiders to appoint. For the most part that is correct. Outsiders are a poor match for insiders who tend to eat them alive. Ronald Reagan’s California crew were a poor match for George H.W. Bush’s insiders. The Reagan part of the government had a hell of a time delivering results that Reagan wanted.
Another limit on a president’s ability to form a government is Senate confirmation of presidential appointees. Whereas Congress is in Republican hands, Congress remains in the hands of special interests who will protect their agendas from hostile potential appointees. Therefore, although Trump does not face partisan opposition from Congress, he faces the power of special interests that fund congressional political campaigns.
When the White House announced my appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Republican Senator Bob Dole put a hold on my appointment. Why? Dole had presidential ambitions, and he saw the rising star of Republican Representative Jack Kemp as a potential obstacle. As I had written the Kemp-Roth bill that had become Reagan’s economic policy, Dole regarded me in the Treasury as a one-up for Kemp. So, you see, all sorts of motives can plague a president’s ability to form a government.
With Trump under heavy attack prior to his inauguration, he cannot afford drawn out confirmation fights and defeats.
Does Trump’s choice of Steve Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary mean that Goldman Sachs will again be in charge of US economic policy? Possibly, but we do not know. We will have to wait and see. Mnuchin left Goldman Sachs 14 years ago. He has been making movies in Hollywood and started his own investment firm. Many people have worked for Goldman Sachs and the New York Banks who have become devastating critics of the banks. Read Nomi Prins’ books and visit Pam Martens website, Wall Street on Parade ( http://wallstreetonparade.com ). My sometimes coauthor Dave Kranzler is a former Wall Streeter.
Commentators are jumping to conclusions based on appointees past associations. Mnuchin was an early Trump supporter and chairman of Trump’s finance campaign. He has Wall Street and investment experience. He should be an easy confirmation. For a president-elect under attack this is important.
Will Mnuchin suppport Trump’s goal of bringing middle class jobs back to America? Is Trump himself sincere? We do not know.
What we do know is that Trump attacked the fake “free trade” agreements that have stripped America of middle class jobs just as did Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot. We know that the Clintons made their fortune as agents of the One Percent, the only ones who have profited from the offshoring of American jobs. Trump’s fortune is not based on jobs offshoring.
Not every billionaire is an oligarch. Trump’s relation to the financial sector is one as a debtor. No doubt Trump and the banks have had unsatisfactory relationships. And Trump says he is a person who enjoys revenge.
What about the hot-headed generals announced as National Security Advisor and Secretary of Defense? Both seem to be death on Iran, which is stupid and unfortunate. However, keep in mind that Gen. Flynn is the one who blew the whistle on the Obama regime for rejecting the advice of the DIA and sending ISIS to overthrow Assad. Flynn said that ISIS was a “willful decision” of the Obama administration, not some unexpected event.
And keep in mind that Gen. Mattis is the one who told Trump that torture does not work, which caused Trump to back off his endorsement of torture.
So both of these generals, as bad as they may be, are an improvement on what came before. Both have shown independence from the neoconservative line that supports ISIS and torture.
Keep in mind also that there are two kinds of insiders. Some represent the agendas of special interests; others go with the flow because they enjoy participating in the affairs of the nation. Those who don’t go with the flow are eliminated from participating.
Goldman Sachs is a good place to get rich. That Mnuchin left 14 years ago could mean that he was not a good match for Goldman Sachs, that they did not like him or he did not like them. That Flynn and Mattis have taken independent positions on ISIS and torture suggests that they are mavericks. All three of these appointees seem to be strong and confident individuals who know the terrain, which is the kind of people a president needs if he is to accomplish anything.
The problem with beating up on an administration before it exists and has a record is that the result can be that the administration becomes deaf to all criticism. It is much better to give the new president a chance and to hold his feet to the fire on the main issues.
Trump alone among all the presidential candidates said that he saw no point in fomenting conflict with Russia. Trump alone questioned NATO’s continued existence 25 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Trump alone said that he would work to bring middle class jobs back to America.
And Trump said that he would enforce immigration laws. Is this racism or is this a defense of citizenship? How is the US a country if there is no difference between illegal aliens and citizens?
Commentators of all stripes are making a mistake to damn in advance the only government that campaigned on peace with Russia, restoring middle class jobs, and respect for the country’s borders. We should seize on these promises and hold the Trump administration to them. We should also work to make Trump aware of the serious adverse consequences of environmental degradation.
Who is blowing these opportunities? Trump? Mnuchin? Flynn? Mattis?
Or us?
The more Trump is criticized, the easier it is for the neoconservatives to offer their support and enter the administration. To date he has not appointed one, but you can bet your life that Israel is lobbying hard for the neocons. The neocons still reign in the media, the think tanks, university departments of foreign affairs, and the foreign policy community. They are an ever present danger.
Trump’s personality means that he is likely to see more reward in being the president who reverses American decline than in using the presidency to augment his personal fortune. Therefore, there is some hope for change occuring from the top rather than originating in the streets of bloody revolution. By the time Americans reach the revolutionary stage of awareness the police state is likely to be too strong for them.
So let’s give the Trump administration a chance. We can turn on him after he sells us out.
Great article. Thank you Admin.
PCR is right. We must give Trump a chance. Hell, we don’t have a choice, he is our President.
At the end of the day, no matter how bad he might be, if he makes nice with Russia and brings some jobs back, he is far better than Hillary.
To tell the truth, the Supreme court is what matters to me above all else, anything and everything else is just icing on the cake.
And I can guarantee that his worst choices for Supreme Court will be far better than the best Hillary would have made.
Expect much resistance to anyone he proposes from the Democrats.
100 days = April 10th
200 days = July 19th
300 days = October 26th
Good assessment and I would be 100% on board – IF – it wasn’t for Trump’s reversal on prosecuting Hillary Clinton. You can have one or the other – but not both – in my opinion.
In other words, sure, maybe have some questionable appointments in the Trump administration, and this might deserve a “pass”. For now. But – (and please take notice of my big “but”) – closing the door on the special prosecutor for Hillary Clinton’s misdeeds is just plain wrong. This is one bridge too far. Trump telegraphed the special prosecutor in the 2nd presidential debate and made it a theme of his campaign afterwards. The size of his balls on this prospective action sealed the deal for a lot of voters. Now it looks like just another “bait and switch” lie by a typical politician.
QUESTIONS: How can you drain the swamp in Washington D.C. by refusing to shine the light on the Clinton Foundation? How can there be legitimacy in a Trump Administration if the Clinton’s escape justice for their crimes? Even worse, how can Trump now call them “good people”?
Yes, I am glad Trump won and would have been sick if Hillary was the current President Elect.
However, there was no need that I can see to back off the special prosecutor in order to unify the nation or make a back room deal to spare the Clintons. Either one. Instead, these measures only caused unnecessary additional concern and division in the Trump camp while the unrepentant bitch Hillary moves “Forward” with her support of the recount effort, etc. Has the Harpy attempted to unify the nation? Fuck no! And, therefore, I call BULLSHIT.
Tell me what I am missing. Am I being to “pure” for a political game that is not? Am I too much of an idealist? Am I overly disappointed because I have been fooled so many times before? All of the above? If so, it is no wonder. I got fooled again and too bad for our kids, because half measures at this point ain’t gonna cut it.
We either surrender or fight like it’s our last chance. Because it is our last chance. Unfortunately, we are past the point of compromise and getting this close only to see defeat snatched from the jaws of victory is disheartening. I say either win, or tear it all down and paint it black. Go big or go home. I need Trump to be like Bluto in Animal House and terrorize the parade. I’m sick of parades anyway. But that’s just me.
Again, tell me where I am wrong.
I just don’t want the bitch in the headlines for the many years that her lawyers would draw out any prosecution effort. Doesn’t serve Trump in anyway good. Besides, she could get an O.J. jury from the D.C. slums who would acquit her. Just let her go away and drink herself to death.
@ Vodka
I see what you’re sayin’ and don’t totally disagree. But for me, it’s kind of like cleaning out an old storage shed. You take everything out, get rid of all the cobwebs, seal up any openings in the walls, roof or floor, sweep up the crap, throw away the junk and then line everything up again back into it’s place. The pain is short lived and afterwards you’re glad it’s done.
Otherwise, if you don’t take care of it, a rabid critter might later nip at your (or your loved one’s) ankles then you (or they) could die a very painful death while foaming at the mouth.
On another note, I was never was much one for Vodka. More a whiskey dude myself. Laid off all booze about 8 months ago now and feel better overall. I do enjoy imbibing your comments tho.
Good on ya, for quittin’ the sauce. Can be tough to do because there’s increasingly always something to drink about. Now you’re Unsinkable.
Hey, Unleashed has sworn off the gin wagon. Great!
By the time I decided to quit, I kept waking up in the middle of the night heaving as if to throw up.
The First Shirt was recalling a time when one of his airmen died and he had to go to his dorm room, he said he found vomit where he’d never seen vomit before, up in the ceiling.
Somebody later said that projectile vomiting is a sign of a heart in distress. That was what my body was trying to do in those last months.
I wasn’t religious to the point that I knew nothing of God or salvation or original sin, nothing. Still, I got a donation request from the St Jude Chapel in Chicago. They said I could put in a prayer request. So I did. I said I wanted to quit drinking.
Remember that I said I had asked Captain Reese, How did you quit drinking? He only stared at me. Maybe he thought the answer involved too many personal details.
I went through some scary stuff with the alcohol. One time I was driving in the rain and I saw a guy coming up on me real fast, I decided to move out of his lane into the slow lane. People in this valley have traditionally used the right lane as a passing lane. For years this has been so and it is still religiously observed. When he didn’t pass me by I looked in my rear view and couldn’t see him so I stopped. It turns out he was across the street facing the opposite direction. He walked up to me and asked me to step out, I almost did but when I saw him lining up to kick a field goal with my nuts, I sat back down and closed the door.
My buddy Dallas said a guy pulled a similar stunt on him, Dallas rolled his window down, the guy was about to lay into Dallas when he stuck a gun in the guys open mouth and the guy passed out.
Anyway, I stopped drinking but the devil wants you back. I kept having nightmares. I can attribute them to a lower blood sugar since the alcohol my body was used to was now missing. I had so many nightmares. I had read somewhere that alcohol ads used a lot of subliminal messages in their ads. I looked closely in the photo of a glass full of liquid, it had some weird almost demonic images. I checked out an ad for the Navy. It was attempting to entice female recruits. I could see images of poontang. Crazy that a poster for women would entice them with poon pics.
Anyway, as if the dreams weren’t enough, my buddy John heard that I quit drinking. Out of the blue and for no reason, he invited me to his house, his old lady had left. She was one of a series that left the bozo. I never liked any of his girlfriends because they were always too skinny. The one girl I admired because she had some feminine features; boobs and hips, was not to his liking. He said she was weird too, she woke him up one night because she was sipping beer from his belly button. He liked women he couldn’t have, women who ran away to another town to visit somebody and kinda never returned. One particular chick gave him an ulcer with her lies.
Anyway, my buddy John hands me a glass of juice, he says taste this. I say what is it, he says, juice. I take a drink, I tasted the alcohol and spit it out. I said, John, this has alcohol. He asks, does it? I tell you, the devil has his minions. I suppose he thought I’d drink it and go back on the gin wagon. There is no re-start with social drinking. Once you quit and re-start, it’s back to the level you were before. The shit starts again where you left off, the wife ready to whack your dick off, the in-laws disgusted with you and the cops cruising by your place nightly. The nightmares come back and the devil will make sure you don’t get away again.
why do you think Attorney General Sessions won’t appoint a special prosecutor, after all that is HIS job, not Trump’s
It could happen. We will find out soon to what extent the swamp shall be drained.
https://www.ft.com/content/725fa690-b8ab-11e6-961e-a1acd97f622d
The most likely reason Hiliary will not be prosecuted is because criminals do not prosecute themselves, in Washington D.C. almost every single member of House, Senate, Supreme Court, appointees, are criminals. Second reason Hiliary will not be prosecuted, because she has the goods on everyone else, and can blackmail any of the other criminals(NSA spied on congress confirmed). Its two parties against the American people, the uniparty, when you think of it this way in light of their actions against us it makes sense.
Read Tragedy and Hope by Carroll Quigley, he was an insider in NWO and wrote about the history of the New World Order including their future goals before they likely murdered him for writing that book. Its all a plan 100 years old or older beginning with Cecil Rhodes I believe (Debeers Diamonds family) and resulted in the anti-America Council on Foreign Relations in D.C.
@UN
1st, the Clinton Foundation is not a dead issue.
2nd, Trump has much more important tasks now and in his first 100 days as Pres.
Cut some slack.
Agree Kokoda, people need to chill. He won’t be President for 47 more days. Yes, he said he would appoint a special prosecutor for the Hildebeast, and now has convinced most everyone that he won’t and has spoken of how he doesn’t want to hurt her. Wait and see what happens after Barry is out of office and can no longer issue any type of pardon or anything else to save her fat, sorry ass. He changed his mind once on this, he can change it again, and like millions of others I hope he does.
OK, OK…
“Patience and fortitude conquer all things”
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
and
“Things can always get worse.”
(John Podesta)
Unco, you’re right and you’re wrong. The bitch needs to fry. We all know that. Kokoda nails it. This ain’t over. Patience, grasshopper
There’s been a number of Quotes from The Art of War over the last two days, people should pay attention to them.
They are principals that apply equally to politics as well legal action.
2 quick points–on appointments,Mnuchin has come out 4 selling Fannie & Freddie—that is great to (mostly)get the govt out of the lending business.
Hillary–if it was just corruption it would be worth letting her skate.We have an unwritten rule in this country that we do not go after ex Presidents or candidates.If this were just about corruption I would agree with it.However,it is not just about corruption.
Hillary’s email set up almost certainly got foreign agents & sources killed.The uranium deal was treason.
He can say what he wants to now but if he does not go after her,or does not quietly have Congress do it & then they refer it to the Justice Dept,he will lose mucho credibility.