Respecting the Presidency

For John, BLUF:  Petty.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Democrats’ dilemma:  To shake or not to shake President Trump’s hand

This is from The Wash Post, by Reporter Paul Kane, today.

President Barack Obama shook hands with lawmakers as he strode down the middle aisle of the House of Representatives before his final State of the Union, breaking into a wide smile when he saw a very familiar face.

“Eliot, you’re here,” Obama said.

“Would I be anyplace else?” Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.) replied.

For nearly three decades, Engel has been on the aisle for every presidential address to Congress.  For a fleeting moment, it’s just him and the president — two Republicans and two Democrats since he began the tradition in 1989 — shaking hands in a show of support for the leader of the free world.

Engel could be someplace else Tuesday night, when President Trump strides down the House’s center aisle to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress.  It’s not technically called a State of the Union this early in a presidential term, but Trump’s speech will have the same bells and whistles.

Ed Driscoll, who posted this at InstaPundit, made this comment:

From 2009 until early last month, the Washington Post would have dubbed such a gesture a racist hate crime.  But didn’t Hillary urge cooperation from the losing party’s representatives back in September and October?

True enough.

However, here is the real point.  Some of our elected Representatives believe that President Trump isn't really the President, that his election was tainted and he is illegitimate.

This is just the latest example of how Trump has scrambled the most basic of traditions in Washington.  On Jan. 20, for Trump’s inauguration, a third of House Democrats publicly declared they were boycotting the swearing-in ceremony, led by civil rights icon John Lewis (D-Ga.), who declared Trump an illegitimate president because of alleged Russian meddling with the 2016 election contest.

But, is it Mr Trump who has scrambled the most basic traditions, or is it the Democrats, who cannot or will not accept Mr Trump as President?  There are those who are forthright about their views, such as Representative John Lewis (D-GA) and those who are waffling, like Senator E Warren (D-MA). Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff