IT IS LOOKING LIKE VP PENCE COULD EVENTUALLY BE REFERRED TO AS “PRESIDENT PENCE”

…The man that probably should be our president…that could still happen

 

Many of us would take a Pence, or even a Dubya Bush, over a “Trump” anytime.

 

President Trump, on his recent European trip, literally shoved aside the Prime Minister of Montenegro in order to get to the front of the group of world leaders. On the following Monday, Vice President Pence hosted the shoved victim at the White House, as he praised Prime Minister Dusko Markovic publicly.

 

“I had the privilege of welcoming the prime minister to the White House today,” Pence said. “I was very humbled to be able to share a few moments with him on the very day that Montenegro became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.”

 

On that same European trip, Trump had surprised his own aides as he unsettled our allies when he refused to affirm NATO’s Article 5 defense obligations.  Pence later countered his boss again when he expressed his “unwavering support” for NATO. “The United States is resolved, as we were at NATO’s founding and in every hour since, to live by that principle that an attack on one of us is an attack on us all.”

 

John Nance Garner, one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s vice presidents, famously compared the office of the American vice president to, “a bucket of warm piss.” For Pence, the vice presidency has instead become "a bucket of Clorox and a mop".

 

The vice president continues doing what he does frequently these days: ”cleanin up Trump’s messes”.  Pence, while speaking at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, offered a contrast to Trump’s recent outrageous outbursts.  Where Trump dumped on our allies, and as he started a dispute with the mayor of London, Pence vowed to “continue to stand with our allies”, as he praised “our cherished ally,” Britain.

 

Where Trump has largely removed human rights from the agenda, Pence called for “an America standing tall in the world again for our values and our ideals.” Where Trump has stoked his anti-Muslim attitude, Pence has asserted that under Trump, “America will continue to condemn persecution of any faith at any place at any time.”

 

Trump, at the National Prayer Breakfast earlier this year, ridiculously told attendees to pray for Arnold Schwarzenegger and his “Apprentice” ratings.  While Pence aimed much higher. “Don’t so much pray for a cause as for country,” he said, paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln. “Just pray for America.”

I can only say amen to that.

 

Trump shows no ability to correct himself. It may be premature to talk of Trump leaving, but Trump’s cannot sustain what he is doing today.  Republicans in Congress should start thinking about a new endgame. And the former Indiana governor may be the best hope for the GOP, and perhaps for every American as well.

Many liberals correctly call Pence a “doctrinaire conservative on gay rights and other conservative social issues”. However, Pence will always be somewhat tarnished because he  had legitimized Trump for the mainstream conservatives.  That was obviously a calculation based on the impossible hope that he could actually have some influence on Donald J. Trump. He instead continues to embarrass himself by repeating Trump’s untruths and the constant cheerleading for “the boss”.

 

But Pence is deep-down, not a demagogue like President Trump. The world would be so much safer with Pence in charge. We would still have fierce divisions between the two parties, and in the nation’s direction. However, Pence has always been an honorable man. You or I may disagree with him, but we would all sleep better knowing he’s unlikely to be anywhere near as irrational as the Trumpster.

 

Were you aware that last week was supposed to be  “infrastructure week” for Trump?   But Trump instead used his Twitter account to further damage the infrastructure of his presidency by burning multiple political bridges, and for going off the rails.

 

He vented his unreasonable rage at the courts, the media, and of all people, the mayor of London.  The week ended with him and his own administration having opposite opinions, (that were made public), about middle eastern terrorist issues in the nation of Qatar.

Meanwhile, Pence visited Capitol Hill to have a luncheon talk with GOP senators about health-care reform. He also hosted female entrepreneurs at the White House on Monday. Pence then said the following rare seven words that would never passed his boss’s lips: “I’m here to listen, not to talk.”  Now I’m not a big Pence fan, and we disagree on many things, as I did with Dubya Bush, but I would take ole Bush or a Mike Pence any time over Donald Trump.

 

Pence gave a statesman's response regarding the London terrorist attacks that contrasted with Trump’s, and he also praised the late Carter administration national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. He has repeatedly praised NATO and our European allies as he countered his boss by criticizing Russian expansionism. He was also very diplomatic about his areas of disagreement with Europe.

 

At the same time Trump was on Twitter going against “fake news and political correctness”, Pence was urging the Catholics to “continue to be the hands and feet of our Savior, reaching in with love and compassion, embracing the dignity of all people of every background and every experience.”

That was the noble, presidential statement he made at the same National Catholic Prayer Breakfast that was inspiring, instead of criticizing.

 

Let’s face it.  Under Trump, we haven’t got a prayer.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2017