Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, May 6, 2017

B3

OPINION 

 Mountain Views News Saturday, May 6, 2017 

RAGING MODERATE by WILL DURST


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REPORT CARD ON 
TRUMP’SFIRST 100 DAYS

It seems like decades since Barack Obama handed the keys to 
the country over to the House of Trump, but that was only at the 
end of January, barely 3 months ago. I can’t tell if it’s one of those 
“time flies when you’re having fun” deals or “it all happened so 
fast,” like during a car crash or being mugged. Or being mugged 
during a car crash. 

 President Trump has made a huge deal about not making a big thing of his first 
100 days. He’s dismissed the whole event as a media creation and artificial benchmark, 
mainly because you could stuff the whole of his accomplishments in a shot glass and 
they would still rattle around like a golf ball in a railroad car. 

 He’s also contradicting his own campaign rhetoric from when he insisted it would 
be a yardstick of his awesome, incredible transitional prowess. Once again, covering his 
bases by bouncing across both sides of every issue like a hyperactive cricket on prom 
night. 

Besides the folks forced to sign loyalty oaths, there are three camps in the whole “How 
has He Done So Far?” debate. The group that claim he’s a disaster. The few that maintain 
he’s an incredible disaster and those who contend he’s not as big a disaster as expected. 

But either way, the guy deserves kudos for making it to triple digits. So, let’s look at his 
report card for the first 100 days of term one. Because who knows if he or we will be 
around for the next 1361. 

- Mathematics. C-. Claimed to have more electoral votes than any president since 
Reagan. Which is only true if you don’t count George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton 
and Barack Obama. Outside of that, spot on.

- International Relations. C-. Problems differentiating between good guys and bad 
guys. Already picked fights with Great Britain, Canada, Mexico and Australia. In terms 
of diplomatic complexity, those aren’t the tough ones. 

- African- American Studies. D-. Mocked Congressman John Lewis and thought that 
Frederick Douglas was still alive. Sad. 

- Sex Education. B+. No discernable activity at all, which considering his track record, 
most folks appreciate.

- Health Studies. D-. “Who knew health care could be so complicated?” Um, everybody. 
Except you. Again.

- Environmental Studies. F. Invested in bringing back the coal industry. And VHS 
tapes. And sock garters and buggy whips and we’ll make lamps that burn whale blubber 
again.

- Social studies. C+. Heavy on the social. Light on the studies.

- Physical Education. A+. Getting plenty of exercise on the golf course.

- Dramatics. B-. Performances a bit over the top. As is the makeup.

- Penmanship. A. Signature looks very attractive on extensive series of Executive Orders.

- Physics. D. Unable to grasp simple concepts like all actions having equal and opposite 
reactions.

- Fashion: D. Still wearing bad shiny suits and ties that look like monochromatic drool 
bibs.

- Language Arts. D-. Vocabulary limited to adjectives.

- Art Appreciation. F. Just not his thing.

- World History. C-. Seems determined to prove the old adage that those who ignore 
history are doomed to retweet it.

- Home Room Conduct. C-. Tends to be disruptive. Acts like it’s all about him.

- General Comments. Continues to ignore help when offered. Problems accepting 
responsibility. Does not play well with others.

- Overall Grade. C-. Tremendous room for improvement. 

——-

Copyright © 2017, Will Durst, distributed by the Cagle Cartoons Inc. syndicate.

Will Durst is an award-winning, nationally acclaimed columnist, comedian and former 
short haul truck diver of plaster molds. For a calendar of personal appearances, visit 
willdurst.com.


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LEFT TURN/RIGHT TURN

MAKING SENSE by 

MICHAEL REAGAN


JOHN L. MICEK


WHAT DID TRUMP THINK HE 
WAS GETTING INTO? 

What did he think he was signing up for?

In a surreal interview with Reuters at the end of last week, President 
Donald Trump admitted that he missed driving and conceded that 
being the Leader of the Free World is much, much harder than he 
thought it would be.

“I loved my previous life,” he told the wire service. “I had so many things 
going on. This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”

He added, later: “I do miss my old life. This -- I like to work. But this is actually more work.”

 Leading a nation of 321.4 million people in a world that is becoming increasingly complex and, 
in some sectors more dangerous, is, by definition, hard work. And if it’s not, you’re not doing it 
right.

 For evidence, look no further than the before and after photographs of Trump’s predecessors.

Virile and youthful by the start of their four- or eight-year terms of office, the cares and worries 
and burdens of the job are fairly etched into their faces by the time they leave.

 Every president faces a steep learning curve upon taking office. But, unlike Trump, every 
president since Dwight Eisenhower has come to the table with substantial political and governing 
experience.

 Beyond watching presidents on TV, presumably on Fox News, Trump did not possess such a 
breadth of experience.

 During last year’s presidential campaign, the Republican was content to skate along the surface 
of policy, offering bromides and slogans and vicious attacks -- rather than the mundane specifics 
of policy to cheering throngs who filled his rallies in basketball arenas across the country.

 And like some superannuated high school football player still yearning for the glory days of the 
gridiron, Trump continues to seize upon any excuse to relive the caffeinated days of the campaign.

Indeed, during his interview with Reuters, Trump “paused to hand out copies of what he said 
were the latest figures from the 2016 electoral map,” Reuters reported.

 “Here, you can take that, that’s the final map of the numbers,” Trump said. ”It’s pretty good, 
right? The red is obviously us.”

 But with Trump’s first 100 days in the rearview mirror, this White House is understandably 
sensitive about the fact that it is woefully short of legislative accomplishments when compared to 
its predecessors.

 Trump’s promised border wall has been put off for the time being. A push to repeal and 
replace the Affordable Care Act is in disarray amid opposition from Democrats and moderate 
Republicans.

 Trump’s two travel bans have been stayed by federal courts. And efforts to deny federal funding 
to so-called “sanctuary cities” have also suffered a bad case of judicial whiplash.

 Writing in The Washington Post, former George W. Bush administration speechwriter 
Michael Gerson noted that Trump’s only decisive win, the elevation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the 
U.S. Supreme Court only invited unfavorable comparisons.

 “Trump’s one unquestioned achievement consists of appointing another man who actually has 
thoughtful convictions,” Gerson wrote.

 And that’s from the home team.

 So perhaps it’s not surprising that Trump, who once prowled Manhattan by limousine, 
winning adulation from restaurant crowds and reality television buffs alike, might be pining for 
his not-so-long-ago good old days.

 “And, while I had very little privacy, in my old life because, you know, I’ve been famous for a 
long time. I really -- this is much less privacy than I’ve seen before. This is, you know, something 
that’s really amazing. At the same time, you’re really into your own cocoon because there’s such 
massive protection, that you really can’t go anywhere,” he commented to Reuters of the 24-hour 
Secret Service monitoring of his every move.

 Trump’s interview comes comes on the heels of a sit down with the Associated Press, where 
he seemed surprised to discover that his actions have consequences on the lives of every day 
Americans.

 “You have to love people. And if you love people, such a big responsibility,” he said, in part.

 In that same interview, Trump complained that he thought his decisive win over Hillary 
Clinton last fall would result in more favorable coverage, instead of the intense scrutiny that 
comes with holding the highest elected office in the land.

 “I used to get great press. I get the worst press. I get such dishonest reporting with the media,” 
he lamented to the AP. “That’s another thing that really has — I’ve never had anything like it 
before. It happened during the primaries, and I said, you know, when I won, I said, “Well the 
one thing good is now I’ll get good press.” And it got worse. (unintelligible) So that was one thing 
that a little bit of a surprise to me. I thought the press would become better, and it actually, in my 
opinion, got more nasty.”

 What, exactly, did he think he was signing up for?

——

© Copyright 2017 John L. Micek, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

An award-winning political journalist, Micek is the Opinion Editor and Political Columnist 
for PennLive/The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. Readers may follow him on Twitter @
ByJohnLMicek and email him at jmicek@pennlive.com.

PATIENCE IS A 

(POLITICAL) VIRTUE

 I admit I clearly was not born with the patience gene.

 As a kid my mother was always saying to me, “Patience, patience, 
patience.”

 Today my wife Colleen is always saying the same thing, “Mike. Patience, patience.”

It’s no use.

 For example, when I go to a movie I hate standing in line.

 It’s always just driven me absolutely nuts. Now at least I can have my son go online and buy 
the tickets before we get there.

 Whenever there’s a line at a restaurant, I just turn and walk away.

 When my friends just look at me, I tell them, “God didn’t give me patience and I’ve never 
prayed for it.”

 I bring up my problem with patience because it’s the same problem conservative talk radio 
people and TV commentators have with the lack of big accomplishments in the first hundred 
days of the Trump Administration.

 I understand their pain – and impatience.

 We all want market-driven, patient-centric, flexible health care reform. We all want a 
simpler, smarter tax code. We all want an end to the warring and killing of innocents in the 
Middle East.

 Our trouble is, too many of us conservatives want to see everything happen yesterday, not 
tomorrow or the next day.

 I think Donald Trump thinks much the same way. As a businessman he’s been going 
through a sharp, steep learning curve.

 He’s quickly found out, on the job, that the business of Congress is politics, not about 
getting things done quickly.

 When you’re a businessman you can make instant decisions, get things done in a flash and 
move forward to the next goal.

 But Congress doesn’t work like that and never will. It’s the same for conservative talk radio 
and TV commentators. You’re supposed to be done with whatever it is you’re trying to do on 
their schedule -- and your not. 

 The reality is, I think President Trump has done a terrific job in his first hundred days 
-- especially considering everything he tries to do with Congress is being hampered by the 
Democrats or the way Congress does business. 

 Look at all the good executive orders he’s signed on the Keystone pipeline construction and 
things like reducing government regulations.

 He’s found the only way to get things done quickly for now is through executive orders and 
he’s cranking them out. He’s also signed some smaller bipartisan bills that Congress has sent 
him. 

 It’s the titanic struggles over health care and tax reform that are going slowly, mainly because 
on the biggest and most important issues Congress always slogs along like a old freight train, 
not a bullet train.

 What we conservatives need to do is ignore the liberal media’s partisan impatience and 
arbitrary deadline and say, “OK, President Trump is not going to get everything done in a 
hundred days and we shouldn’t expect him to.”

 Really, what’s the big rush? He’s got three years and eight more months to get it all done. If 
he gets it right, he’ll get four more years after that.

 And if conservatives keep bringing up my father’s record, as they never stop doing, they 
have to remember a few things.

 My father didn’t get major tax reform done until Aug. 13, 1981 – eight months into his 
administration.

 And in the first couple of years he was so far down in the popularity polls Republicans were 
terrified he wouldn’t be reelected in 1984.

 But after his policies took affect, the economy turned around, the job figures turned around, 
and he buried Mondale in a landslide.

 Once you are in the Oval Office it takes time to get your presidential feet under you. Donald 
Trump is still a rookie in Washington who’s trying to learn how to hit a knuckle curve.

 We conservatives have to stop booing him and need to gain patience.

 Becoming unglued so soon because our rookie president is taking too long to hit his first 
home run is only going to let Chuck Schumer, the Democrats and the anti-Trump media 
defeat what could be a great presidency.

——-

Copyright ©2017 Michael Reagan. Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a 
political consultant, and the author of “The New Reagan Revolution” (St. Martin’s Press). He is 
the founder of the email service reagan.com and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation. 
Visit his websites at www.reagan.com and www.michaelereagan.com. Send comments to 
Reagan@caglecartoons.com. Follow @reaganworld on Twitter. 

 Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. For info on 
using columns contact Sales at sales@cagle.com.

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