“Change is a constant feature”, so said Mr. Larry Martin in my 7th grade World Geography class around fall time of 1980.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein brought down President Richard Nixon.  You know the story, or at least you should.  All the Presidents Men.  This was even made into a movie so you wouldn’t have to actually read about it.  Anyone worth their political savvy salt any age older than I am should have some idea of what talking to Bob Woodward could mean.

But, low and behold we now have a sequel.  Bob Woodward’s new book Rage.

Had I been in charge of the title it would have read All the President’s Wind.  History has never shown us such a blow-hard and that may be part of the problem.

The problem, whatever it is, certainly manifested itself early in the Bob Woodward-Donald Trump interviewing process.  You’ve seen the pictures.  There in the Oval Office.  Bob Woodward sitting in front of Donald Trump with the vice-president, a guy from Indiana for goodness sake, he even had  a radio talk show in Indianapolis at one time.  You’d think he would have more political and streetwise media wherewithal than to be in that picture.  Along with Mike Pence, there were other presidential administrative folk as well.  For me it was certainly the most bewildering image I have seen of Donald Trump yet.  And that is a befuddling catalog.  I didn’t think he could outdo that surreal image of himself holding a Bible in front of a church after folks were cleared out for him to say “cheese” and he didn’t even smile.

I can’t get away from all those folks around the president in the picture with Bob Woodward.  This is all too indicative that even the vice-president can’t give the president a piece of advice to follow.  This is the picture of a portent of being hoisted with his own petard.  You don’t outfox Bob Woodward.  That desk doesn’t care who you are.  Even it knows there is always going to be a next man or woman up.

But I sure hope it is not Donald Trump again.  He is not conservative enough for me.

The guy has single-handedly destroyed so much conservatism I don’t know where to start.

Presidents used to not blatantly lie like this guy does.  While sad, we can recover one day from this.

Presidents should not make fun of journalists who get injured doing their jobs.  So much for the old conservative value that “we are better than this…”

Presidents don’t have any business tweeting like a twelve year-old saying nothing that can be actually taken seriously.  So much for common sense.

Presidents should never say anything as dumb as telling folks he likes war heroes that did not get captured.  As a Republican, I weep for the party and pray for those who still support this guy.  They need help.

I guess I am just too conservative.  I liked it better when I looked at the Democrats and thought, dang, at least I don’t act like that.  But.  Republicans are not better than this.

How the Republican religious base, I cringe at the thought of using the word Christianity because of the regard I have for my faith, bought into Donald Trump being a good choice for president will haunt me forever.

I know. I know.  There are pro-life overtones and Supreme Courts to uphold and I get all that.  I do.  But if we are going to uphold something, lets do it right.  Let’s be as interested in taking care of the folks that are here as much as we are the ones who have not been born yet.  Maybe I am just too conservative.

If you get me started on the whole Covid-19 Pandemic, and the lives at stake there for the sake of one, be it for a lack of responsible behavior or packing folks in like mask-less lemmings who may or may not make it over the cliff.  I know, I know, they have a choice to be there.  I guess I am just too conservative.

My faith in this president was originally lost in my own conservative world.  I work in a school.  In schools there is a defined good old-fashioned decorum that we are charged to live up to.  Behavior and language that would get you sent to the office for disciplinary reasons did me in a long long time ago with this fella.  I guess I am too conservative.

Let me also say I am too tired of hearing that the Covid-19 Pandemic will be gone when the election is over.  It won’t be.  And those 200,000 plus folks dead and dying won’t be coming back.

I feel a little like lamenting similarly to what Coach Herb Brooks said at the end of the movie about his 1980 US Hockey team beating the Russians when he (his character) commented that when the Olympics started allowing professionals, Dream Teams, to play, there was less to dream about.

I used to enjoy being a conservative Republican.  But now, since this president has been enabled and allowed by other Republicans to thrown those values aside for Donald Trump’s gain, there is little left to hold up as being truly conservative.

Thank God we have elections.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson