Land the Plane
This week, we watched the State Funeral of American President George Bush. There were twenty-one gun salutes, jet aircraft flyovers, military bands playing “Hail to the Chief,” “Ruffles and Flourishes” and “For Those in Peril on the Sea.” Just as the banner of King Richard was flown behind him in battle, the Presidential Flag marched behind the funeral party, carried by a sailor in honor of the President’s service. The stalwart enlisted men, two from each branch, shouldered the burden of the flag draped casket.
A young Naval officer escorted the body on every step of the long journey to College Station. And Major General Michael Howard was at the elbow of George W Bush, making sure the former President and new eldest member of the family was informed and escorted to the right place. It seemed flawless. It seemed controlled. It seemed right.
But today we tumble back into the maelstrom of our current politics. We are waiting for Robert Mueller to drip more information onto the flames of the Russiagate Crisis. We watch President Trump’s tweets with dismay; he seems to grow more desperate each moment. What has he seen, that we may or may not know?
Throughout the past two years, Americans on all sides of the political world have taken some solace in the strength of some of the President’s aides. We leaned on General James Mattis at the Defense Department, trusting on his reputation and his frank comments about today. He is one of the few within the Administration who openly recognized our nation’s condition; “…hold the line until our country gets back to respecting each other,” is what he told our troops overseas.
We depended on General John Kelly, despite some of his impolitic statements, to temper the actions of the White House. We knew that a man who is not only a warrior, but has felt the agony of the ultimate sacrifice, losing his own son in war; would be more than just careful with the lives of other soldiers.
And, as odd as it seems to say now, we depended on Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Even though he had a history that makes anyone moderate or more cringe, we found that he had respect for the traditions of the office, recognizing his own conflicts of interest and recusing himself as appropriate.
We had confidence in Nikki Haley at the United Nations. The former Governor of South Carolina, showed the courage and wisdom to navigate the crisis of the Charleston Shootings by removing the Confederate Battle Flag from the statehouse grounds, and demonstrated strength and independence in representing our nation to the world.
Like the military at the Presidential funeral, we had confidence in their abilities, in their respect for the history and traditions of the United States, and in their strength in times of crisis. But Nikki Haley is gone; to be replaced by an elevated Fox News host. It’s kind of like the announcer in the booth coming down to play wide receiver on the field.
Jeff Sessions was fired; replaced by another commentator from the stands, Matt Whittaker, a man clearly unqualified. President Trump is now reaching all the way back to the Presidency of George HW Bush to find another replacement in William Barr; it must have occurred to Trump as he stared off during the ceremonies. Perhaps he hopes that the comfort of the funeral will be embodied in this appointment. We will see, Mr. Barr has also been “trying out” on the Fox network.
And we hear that the Generals in command, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are to be shuffled. While this is normal, there is nothing normal about the current state of American affairs. The quiet triumvirate of General friends, Mattis, Kelly, and Chairman Dunford; gave us the same sense of security and strength we felt at the Bush funeral. Now Dunford will retire.
Kelly is rumored to be leaving; to be replaced by a thirty-six year old career political operative, Nick Ayers. While he may bring some of the political acumen needed in a White House under investigative siege, he has none of the strength or gravitas of Kelly. It hard to imagine him standing up to the President.
The United States has a proud tradition of civilian control of the military. But for the last two years, it has been members of the military or the “old” establishment that have given us some hope for stability in the White House. Like the Presidential Funeral, we depended on them to “steady the ship,” or to use a more appropriate George Bush analogy, “land the plane.”
They are leaving. And they are leaving at a time when the current President is under attack from every side. I believe in American Exceptionalism, and I believe that Americans will step up to the task when called upon to do so. I hope those called in the next few days are up for it; we have entered a dangerous phase of our history. I hope they can “land the plane.”
