Character Is The Key

To keeping our Democracy intact

Do you ever go a little crazy when you visit a news site, looking to read the news because you are certain that our Democracy is about to be smashed to smithereens, and you see an article on the top of the page about watermelon?

No offense to the fruit, but I can’t enjoy reading about watermelon right now.

The Supreme Court just gave the office of the Presidency unlimited power. And if elected, you know Trump will do everything he can to use it to get revenge, end elections as we know them so he can stay in power, and make as much money as possible. He will also completely take away a woman’s right to choose abortion, he will deport people en-masse, and he will ban Muslims from entering our country (and probably lots of other groups that aren’t white). He will make stronger ties with Putin the likes of which we have never seen, and together they will plan to take over Europe.

My point is, these are not ordinary times.

The Supreme Court ruling giving the President limited liability has already had an effect on the Manhattan trial where Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts. Judge Merchan was to sentence Trump next week, but Trump’s lawyers want time to form post-conviction motions, i.e. Trump wants this decision overturned.

Although initially prompted by his actions, the ruling yesterday was not specific to Trump, so you’d think as President, Biden could now do as he wishes. But the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of what is official and what is unofficial in terms of acts the president commits that are libel to prosecution. This current Supreme Court is in Trump’s pocket. Anything Biden wanted to do—official or unofficial— would be ruled against.

I recall as a teenager watching the office of the Presidency slowly become tarnished after it was clear that Nixon and his men had burgled the Democratic Headquarters in the Watergate Building just a few miles from where I lived. It was shocking. When he resigned after the urging of fellow Republicans who believed it was in the best interest of the country, we were relieved and felt everyone was doing the right thing. Crisis averted for the moment. Years later, however, in an interview on television, Nixon showed his true feelings: he said that if a President does something, by definition, it’s not illegal.

In his remarks yesterday at the White House after the Supreme Court ruling, Biden said in part,

“It depends on the character of the men and women who hold the office of the Presidency to define the limits of power, because the law will no longer do it.”

This has always been the case in our country, we expect the person who holds the highest office to be of great character. Trump never expects that of anyone, in fact he assumes everyone thinks like he does. Sounds like Nixon did.

Someone with great character will know what is the right thing to do.