two weeks have been very big for the country! I think it is important that we don’t fail to recognize what has happened.
There is an old wisdom in political science that real presidential power, whether domestic or international, is the power of persuasion. In less than two weeks, Trump has shown that his impact on American history has centered on his persuasive powers and using them to execute leadership.
And THAT is something Democrats simply don’t have: The power of persuasion. In fact, the Democrats have worked hard over the last few decades to not engage in persuasion at all. You know, don’t leave the fetid embrace of the Lefty fever swamps–don’t leave the “circle of safety.” And this avoiding of discussion and debate has not been at all good for them, intellectually.
They engage in belittling others, calling names, and trying to force others to do things. But they have never, in the last two decades, engaged in persuasion.
The skill of persuasion has been so neglected and avoided that it has become little more than the Democrats’ vestigial tail. There remains a trace of what used to be, but no more than a trace. It certainly is not useful to them. They simply do not have those skills anymore.