Seeking A lower level

THE SAME PEOPLE who elected Donald Trump also elected this wack job in Montana who beat up a journalist the day before the election, and still won. What, if anything, does that tell us about the state of American politics, or the state of the American people, or of America itself? Nothing good, one would think. In the United States, we elected a new president about three weeks after he was seen and heard widely, in an old recording, praising himself for his ability to commit sex crimes without consequences. We actually did that, bless our little hearts. Of course, lest we forget, Thomas Jefferson was elected in 1800 even after his opponents made it clear to anyone who would listen that not only was Mr. Jefferson an atheist, but an adulterer as well. Well, in truth he was both, but still had a pretty decent first term, if not second. Jefferson described the presidency as "splendid misery", which, you might think, Mr. Trump will also eventually do. A rough beginning for Mr. Trump. The difference between Trump and Jefferson, other than intelligence, is that Trump seems to thrive on controversy, conflict, and scandal, whereas Jefferson was horrified by all three, and avoided them like the plague. It may well be that the more chaotic, criminal, and incompetent the Trump administration becomes, the more the big guy will enjoy the job. After all, he invests in gambling and golf, so he obviously has a taste for human misery. Perhaps we can at least hope that our newly elected pugilistic congressperson from the great conservative state of Montana will refrain from further violence while on the Hill. Auspiciously, he has already called for more civility in politics. We hope he's including himself.