To characterize some of Trump’s recent appointments as bizarre might be an understatement; others have stated the case more strongly and called them reckless. Matt Gaetz, accused of dalliances with under-aged women and drug abuse, for Attorney General. Tulsi Gabbard, Fox News and RT (Russia Today) contributor and Putin apologist, for Director of National Intelligence. Pete Hegseth, veteran and Fox News Weekend Host, to be Secretary of Defense. Kristi Noem, Governor of South Dakota and confessed dog killer, for Homeland Security deserves honourable mention.
Past administrations have often chosen to fill senior government positions with people having demonstrated skills and established credentials, often from Goldman Sachs, and leading universities. This administration seems to prefer Fox News, with skills and credentials seemingly distant from the post being offered.
Clearly a different benchmark. Is it a poor one or am I out of touch? Is there a new normal that accepts the cited deviations from more traditional criteria as simply foibles, and easily overlooked. I suspect the assumption is that the nominees are, for the most part, outsiders and as such they are able to break the mould of group think and consider new approaches … a noble ideal, but to drive forward, you need gas in the engine.
I find myself reminded of the last lines of the movie “The Wind and the Lion”, spoken by Sean Connery in his sympathetic portrayal of Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni, who writes a metaphorical statement about being like a lion to Theodore Roosevelt’s wind:
“To Theodore Roosevelt – you are like the Wind and I like the Lion. You form the Tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the Ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours.”
– Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates.
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