WASHINGTON — The 2018 midterm elections verdict goes something like this: Paint the People's House blue in the Capitol; put the key in a woman's hands; hallelujah. The political game will change so fast the rookie president will be way out of his league.
Neither was on a national ballot, but House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi won and President Trump lost. That's why he acted sullen in the Paris rain with world leaders gathered to mark a century since the end of World War I — or the Great War.
Writing for The New Yorker, Robin Wright termed Trump's conduct on a stage of global unity "shameful." In military code, it was "conduct unbecoming." Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's grandson scolded Trump for skipping the tribute to American soldiers. Sigh. You can't take Trump anywhere. Not that long ago, America was a light to the world.
Reading autumn leaves, the American people want the white man in the Big House to stop now — stop the stream of warlike words and personal attacks. Act more like an American president. As former President George Washington advised, "Let your countenance be pleasant but in serious matters somewhat grave."
Across the nation, people overwhelmingly voted in congressional districts in a referendum Trump boasted was all about him. He traveled to the Midwest, the South, Missouri and Montana (where he failed to settle a grudge against Democratic Sen. Jon Tester).
Actually, the American people voted against Trump in 2016, but the president governed against the popular will and majority vote. In office, he has never reached out to meet in the middle. The political art of consensus has never even been tried.
So the electorate spoke resoundingly this time. We the people like a more civil spirit and a balance of power in Washington.
Republicans still barely control the sedate Senate, but they lost the House. When an unpopular president faces a deft House speaker in opposition, the playing field is pretty even. An enlivened, robust Congress will make for a hard winter in the White House.
The square-jawed Iowa man who stepped out of Trump's dreams, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, will have to answer for criticizing the Russian probe led by Robert Mueller. Whitaker is a glib apologist for all things Trump — and a Christian zealot to boot. He should not be the nation's top law enforcement officer for another day.
A diverse, defiant House, closer to the people with women, black and Jewish members in leadership and chairmanship posts, is guaranteed to make Trump see red. His madness will be fun to watch.
Shakespeare almost wishes he were here.
So a wise, savvy woman of 78 is poised to reclaim the House gavel to lead her party out of the wilderness. Pelosi, the likely speaker-to-be, represents San Francisco. But her hometown is Baltimore, where her father was mayor. Known there as "Little Nancy," she knows ethnic enclaves, precinct organizing, and how to fundraise large sums and count noses in a vote. Politics is in her blood. The first woman speaker of the House in history, she passed Obamacare in 2010.
As a player, Pelosi holds her own at the highest levels. She's favored to prevail in the upcoming race for speaker, though she gets a bad rap (from Republicans and Democrats) about her age.
I sense Trump has a bit of respect for Pelosi, only because he hasn't badmouthed her. Still, he stepped on her triumphal press conference after Election Day, starting his furious press conference at the same time, forcing a delay. Be that as it may, Pelosi plans to stick to bills protecting health care, "Dreamers" and the environment. Gun control and economic issues are also on the agenda. She aims to get Whitaker to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation, a move supported by her caucus as a first order of business.
Impeachment is not served on her table — for now. But the speaker has a certain hold over the president, since the House originates proceedings. Trump darkly fears "presidential harassment."
Come January, the new House will have more than 100 women members, a record. Don't get too excited — that's out of 435. But numbering about a quarter, that's enough for House women to make their voices heard, especially the speaker.
To find out more about Jamie Stiehm and other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, visit Creators.com
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