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I’m learning the opposite lesson. The US is surprisingly fragile and a single president with no morals or ethics can do far more damage than anyone could have i

I’m learning the opposite lesson. The US is surprisingly fragile and a single president with no morals or ethics can do far more damage than anyone could have imagined.

nxor3 5mo ago
As if the US was different pre Trump.
- conorcleary 5mo ago
  don't be mad at the coin because it's laying the wrong way down
  - nxor3 5mo ago
    What does this even mean? The US was not different pre Trump. I live here.
    - conorcleary 5mo ago
      that's what I'm getting at ;-)
order-matters 5mo ago
no i believe we were taught correctly that the powers of the presidency are limited. the issue is that he is the leader of a group that is embedded into every branch of government at multiple levels. it is not hte case of a random crazy president abusing presidential power and everyone is just at the mercy of a lunatic. It is the case that every wild thing he does is upheld and supported by a large network of people who otherwise would have the power to absorb and dismiss his attempted actions.
- rkomorn 5mo ago
  This is spot on. He's doing what he's doing because of the support he has in the other branches.
- amluto 5mo ago
  > a group that is embedded into every branch of government at multiple levels He largely put that group in place in the executive and the judiciary.
usefulcat 5mo ago
> a single president It's a lot more than "a single president". It's the two thirds of American voters who either voted for him or couldn't be bothered to vote against him, even after having seen how he behaved in his first term. That's why he's not the biggest problem. He's more of a symptom than a cause. He won't be around for ever, but even after he's gone, most of those same people will still be around.
bluegatty 5mo ago
A single president with the popular approval of 40%, that's the key. Without populism, he'd have nothing. It's true that he 'duped' them, but we're all duped on some level.

I’m learning the opposite lesson. The US is surprisingly fragile and a single president with no morals or ethics can do far more damage than anyone could have imagined.

nxor3 5mo ago

As if the US was different pre Trump.

conorcleary 5mo ago
don't be mad at the coin because it's laying the wrong way down
- nxor3 5mo ago
  What does this even mean? The US was not different pre Trump. I live here.
  - conorcleary 5mo ago
    that's what I'm getting at ;-)

order-matters 5mo ago

no i believe we were taught correctly that the powers of the presidency are limited. the issue is that he is the leader of a group that is embedded into every branch of government at multiple levels. it is not hte case of a random crazy president abusing presidential power and everyone is just at the mercy of a lunatic. It is the case that every wild thing he does is upheld and supported by a large network of people who otherwise would have the power to absorb and dismiss his attempted actions.

rkomorn 5mo ago
This is spot on. He's doing what he's doing because of the support he has in the other branches.
amluto 5mo ago
> a group that is embedded into every branch of government at multiple levels He largely put that group in place in the executive and the judiciary.

usefulcat 5mo ago

> a single president It's a lot more than "a single president". It's the two thirds of American voters who either voted for him or couldn't be bothered to vote against him, even after having seen how he behaved in his first term. That's why he's not the biggest problem. He's more of a symptom than a cause. He won't be around for ever, but even after he's gone, most of those same people will still be around.

bluegatty 5mo ago

A single president with the popular approval of 40%, that's the key. Without populism, he'd have nothing. It's true that he 'duped' them, but we're all duped on some level.