John Bolton: Proof That Prostituting Oneself to a Narcissistic is a Bad Idea

I have never been a fan of now former National Security Adviser John Bolton.   I have always seen him as dangerous and a threat to the international alliances that has served the USA well. Indeed, I'd even call Bolton a war monger.  But compared to Donald Trump, Bolton is sane and rational and my have restrained some of Trump's more insane and dangerous impulses. With Bolton gone, many worry who will replace him and what further damage can Trump inflict on the nation and world given his disturbing mental state. Meanwhile, the lesson to be learned from Bolton's demise is that endeavoring to prostitute oneself to a malignant narcissist is a dangerous game and the likely loser will be one's reputation and place in history.  A column in the Washington Post by a former Republican looks at the troubling situation we face.  Here are excerpts:

John Bolton should never have joined an administration in which the president was overtly corrupt, sympathetic to dictators, weirdly beholden to Russian President Vladimir Putin and a pathological liar. Like so many others, Bolton will go down as someone driven by unquenchable thirst for relevance and power with the hubris to think he could bend President Trump to his will. Instead, Bolton became an enabler for a president who allowed himself to be snowed by North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and revealed he never had a game plan for Iran . . . .
 Rather than quit on principle at dozens of junctures, Bolton clung to his job, only to be rudely fired. Bolton, to put it mildly, never played well with others and therefore was uniquely unqualified for the job of national security adviser, who is supposed to be the honest broker in government. It would be an understatement to say both anti-Trump conservatives and Democrats are positively giddy seeing the blusterous, aggressive adviser end his career in semi-disgrace. Quite apart from the double scoop of schadenfreude, many in the foreign policy community are genuinely relieved. “I’m just thankful we got through Bolton’s tenure without him starting a war,” said Max Bergmann of the Center for American Progress and a former State Department official. “He no doubt tried, but was boxed in by the administration’s own incompetence and his inability to convince others to go along.” Others, however, are more worried now. Former ambassador to Turkey, Eric S. Edelman, told me, “For his flaws, I think John was one of the few forces really holding Trump back from doing some crazy things. This is is just one more indication that we are now facing Trump unplugged. He is really thrashing around. It is very worrisome.” Veteran diplomat Aaron David Miller notes, “You can only play Dr. No so many times. Bolton was out of sync with Trump on Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan and Venezuela." He added, “[Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo played the game of Trump whisperer better than Bolton.” Precisely because Bolton differed with Trump on all these topics, sycophantic Sens. Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz and other uber-hawks who thought they, too, could bend Trump toward their view should wise up. Trump is not a valiant defender of the West and protector of our allies. He’s a dangerous and corrupt patsy in the hands of strongmen. Likewise, Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), who served in the Obama administration, said, “No glee [here]. I’ve obviously never been a Bolton fan, . . . . However, he said, Bolton “was fired for something he was right about — his opposition to capitulating to the Taliban — and because Trump doesn’t like being laughed at and needed to lash out at someone. I worry about who and what comes next.” This is also a dicey move for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who sacrificed bipartisan friendship with the United States to gain favor in the eyes of Trump. Netanyahu kids himself if he thinks Trump would let Israel stand in the way of the historic deal he is itching to sign. Former Israeli ambassador Daniel Shapiro tells me, “Trump fired Bolton over disagreements they had. Chief among them was Bolton’s support for ever-escalating pressure on Iran versus Trump’s desire for talks on a new nuclear deal.” He adds, "Israel and the Gulf states have to wonder if this move presages not just a meeting between Trump and [Iranian President Hassan] Rouhani, but a real move by Trump toward a modestly upgraded Iran nuclear deal. It sure looks like it.” In fact any deal is likely to be worse, given that the Iranians know Trump is the worst negotiator on the planet. Other allies should be equally nervous since when unrestrained, even from questionable advice, Trump does things such as invite the Taliban to Camp David, side with Putin over our intelligence community, try to pullout abruptly from Syria, attack allies (even Denmark), involve us in a no-win trade war and make the United States a laughingstock on the international stage. If Bolton wants to save his reputation, he can render one final service: Collect up all the former national security officials and tell the American people just how unfit is this president. It’s time for the sycophancy and careerism to end and the patriotism to start.

Mike Pence - Trump’s Top Sycophant

While he continues to play his Sergeant Schultz routine of feigning ignorance on virtually everything, especially all things Russian, he nonetheless continues to confirm that he is unfit for the presidency and that, if Trump is removed from office, Pence must go with him.   Jennifer Rubin - perhaps at this point former Republican, conservative columnist for the Washington Post lets loose on Pence's lies and disingenuous behavior.   I hope that Robert Mueller fully investigates what Pence knew and when he knew it.  If Trump goes, we do not need yet another pathological liar in the White House. Here are column highlights:

Vice President Pence is in an unusual position. He must try to remain a confidante of the president, but he cannot for his own sake — and, if he might have to assume the presidency, for the sake of the country — be seen as adopting President Trump’s noxious views on race, misleading the American people on any issue or generally appearing as a disingenuous sycophant. Unfortunately, he regularly fails to steer clear of the latter.

At times his gushing over Trump is downright embarrassing. Pence’s unctuous comments tend to mystify listeners rather than convince them, as when he defended Trump’s attacks on his own attorney general.

Likewise when Pence on a foreign trip blatantly misstates Trump’s words, Pence comes off as dishonest and spineless:

Responding to a question about criticism of Trump’s statement, Pence both selectively quoted Trump and then added his own condemnation of neo-Nazis and others.

He then ventured to add context to what Trump had meant by “many sides.”

“The president also made clear that behavior by others of different militant perspectives are also unacceptable in our political debate and discourse,” Pence added.

Aping Trump’s mindless attacks on the media (for reporting his own words), Trump comes across as over-eager and disingenuous. (“Many in the media spent an awful lot of time focusing on what the president said and criticisms of what the president said instead of criticizing those who brought that hatred and violence to the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia,” he said.)

His speeches ladle on the praise to such an extent one wonders if he’s serious (and has horrendous political judgment) or is so insecure that he feels it necessary to genuflect before the delusional leader for fear of losing favor.

On his most recent trip, Pence outdid himself. The Post reported:

On a normal day, Vice President Pence’s praise of his boss knows few limits.  But on Thursday, it seemed to reach a new level. During a visit to the Panama Canal here, Pence spoke of President Trump as the modern reincarnation of one of the vice president’s personal heroes, Theodore Roosevelt.

This is as ludicrous as it is unhelpful since it winds up underscoring the enormous gap in character and ability between Trump and his predecessors. Again, Pence doesn’t make the president look any better; he just makes himself look servile.

Aside from making himself look less credible and impressive, Pence’s excessive praise will come back to haunt him, and undermine his stature, if he is forced to take over for the president before 2020 or pursues the presidency on his own down the road. He surely cannot align himself ever again with Trump’s lies (e.g., the false cover story about the reasons for firing FBI director James B. Comey), nor does he want to be seen as making excuses for Trump’s racist, white supremacist sympathies.

As for the last remark, Pence is a Christofascist himself.  I'm sorry, but check the history of Christofascist groups and you will find white supremacists. Pence likely shares Trump's racist and loathsome views.