Week One

Here we are, a week after the inauguration of President Trump, and much of Washington is in high dudgeon over Trump doing much of what he has said he would do and acting exactly like he has all along. Those who thought he would somehow be changed by the office didn't pay much attention during the campaign, and for those who enthusiastically supported him, there is no desire for him to change.

It is hard for me to get terribly excited, at least in a negative way. I've been largely impressed with Trump's cabinet picks, and most of his Executive Orders have been positive (although I continue to believe pulling out of TPP -- while initially a political benefit to the Trump base, will ultimately be a liability as it creates a giant vacuum into which China will pour). I continue to support a physical barrier between the US and Mexico, and it appears that Congress is coming to the realization that the American people are going to have to fund it, as is the actual process for such things in this country.

The place I inhabit politically is an interesting one. Because I haven't taken to the barricade in anti-Trumpism, his political supporters kvetch that I am disloyal and have not climbed aboard the train, and because I was vocally against him in the election, his detractors complain that I have been co-opted. I--on the other hand--think I am right where I want to be. The system worked, we had an election, we have a new President. I will (as I've written here) be happy to applaud the things I agree with and I will--with civility and specificity--point out differences.