On a balmy Florida morning, the mansion staff were tidying up the
veranda and cleaning after the guests had finished their breakfast. The dinner and recital of the previous
evening had gone rather well considering the palpable tension which had pervaded
the relations between the host and some of his most prominent guests.
But the atmosphere had relaxed considerably come morning, and the
Majority Leader, who had maintained his habitual reserve since he had arrived,
was almost bubbly by the time he had finished his croissants. The Speaker had returned from an early two
hour run and was engaged in a lively discussion with a Silicon Valley investor.
As limousines started to pull up and attendants were loading the
luggage, the Host was amiably chatting with departing guests before sending
them on their way. In all the buzz, one
could easily be forgiven for failing to notice that the famous hair of their
host had turned a shade redder, or that a small blue van was silently rolling
towards the service exit.
The bombshell exploded a week later when the Host told Wolf
Blitzer on CNN that he had decided to pick former General and CIA Director
David Petraeus as his running mate to set up the first co-presidency in US
history.
Wolf’s eyes literally
bulged out of their sockets, and for a few seconds, he was at a loss for
words. The Host gently let him gather
his wits and proceeded to explain why this was a win-win strategy for the
country, the Republicans and him:
-“Wolf, to make America great again, we need to revitalize the
economy, rebuild our military and recast our foreign policy which have been TERRIBLE
in the last eight years. I am a very
successful businessman, my friend Carl Icahn will pitch me his best ideas, and I
will choose a FANTASTIC Treasury Secretary!
But look, as smart as I am, I have no experience in foreign affairs or
in defense, and David is the best out there, and so I am so grateful that he
accepted to serve our great country as Vice President with primary authority in
these two areas as well as domestic security.”
-“Donald,---woah,…ah…this is so unexpected,.euh…
-“Wolf, you are a VERY sharp journalist, one of the very best in
the business, as a matter of fact I think you may be the best, and surely you
can see that this ticket is bringing the temperament and competence which I
promised all along and which this great country deserves. And we will win in November!”
Within seconds, somewhere
in Kentucky, the Majority Leader clasped his hands, and, in a manner reminiscent
of Dinah Lord’s at the end of The Philadelphia Story, simply uttered: “I
did it!” Somewhere in Chappaqua, NY, a blond woman
sunk into her sofa, sobbing: “Not again!” Five thousand miles away, in a small Amazonian forest clearing, a thin plume of
smoke was twisting in the morning mist as a few women were grilling freshly
caught fish from the Apaporis river. The
rest of the small Xurungawah tribe was sitting in rapt silence as a big fair
skin man with a strange yellow-white mane was haranguing them:
-“Folks, this is one incredible place and you are an amazing
people! We will build here the most
amazing ecological resort in the world!
I see you don’t quite grasp what I am telling you, but we will get it
done folks, and by the way,..”
Unlike in the movie,
we don’t know if Donald Trump has a perfect double. But an opinion is starting to take hold: at
his age, he is unlikely to change, and for a growing number of Americans (including me) he is
unelectable to the presidency.
Republican Party
leaders are realizing that, but they can’t ignore the votes of millions and nominate
another candidate. They can’t go to war
with him although they can’t embrace his corrosive statements. They openly worry that he doesn’t know enough
about domestic or foreign policy to govern effectively. Yet they are unwilling to leave the White
House in the Democrats' hands without a fight.
Still, they hold two
aces: one is money. Effectively, they
will control the bulk of the donor contributions and therefore how the campaign
will be waged. They also know that as a
man with a large ego, Donald Trump will not want to face a humiliating defeat.
They could try and
convince him to resign. But while his
poll ratings have weakened, they haven’t entered panic territory. Until then, neither he nor his supporters
will let go.
Or the party
leadership could convince him to share a co-presidency with a respected professional
heavyweight; somebody strong enough to make that project credible. In 1976, Gerald Ford
briefly offered a similar deal to Ronald Reagan. It didn’t work because the two men were not
complementary and believed that they could win on their own.
This is not
1976. A co-presidency of the kind
suggested above would have several key benefits for the Republicans: 1) it
would wrong-foot a Democratic strategy focused so far on discrediting a personality,
Trump, 2) it would prevent many Trump voters from bolting or abstaining, 3) it would
force the Democrats to come up with a government program agreeable to both
Clinton and Sanders factions, and 4) it would also force them to do the same, giving them credibility. Win or
lose, the benefits for the country are obvious.
In truth, the options
for the Republicans are very limited and risky, and they only have themselves to blame.
Our “Prisoner of Zenda option” is a long shot. But hoping that Hillary Clinton is forced to
retire would only bring in Joe Biden, and he would trounce Donald Trump (my
opinion). Allocating most of the money
and efforts to the Congressional races at the cost of the presidential one is
risky: it could divide the Party further and encourage Republican voters to stay
home.
If only Ruritania
were real!
