Low Expectations, Met?

Well, what did you think of the premiere of Low Expectations?

Yep, I'm talking about The Donald's speech last night to a joint session of Congress. You know, the one where everyone was impressed that he stayed on message, didn't deviate from the teleprompter, made chest-thumping motions, brought some guests for people to acknowledge, and pointed at people in the crowd.

He did all of the things that politicians are supposed to do when they talk to the American people and to our elected representatives in Congress.

And yet, we couldn't stop talking about the low expectations, as if, because he's Trump, we shouldn't ask too much from him. When will it be time for us to ask of him what we ask of anyone else?

Much of what I've heard today from the Right is a sigh of relief that he was able to deliver the message without blowing it, that he looked presidential, which, coming from his own party is a pretty weak endorsement. Except for Chris Wallace, who thought it was the greatest speech since President Sliced Bread made a sandwich. And there were of course happy thoughts from the mainstream Republicans, but not so much from the most conservative folks, the Freedom Caucus,who are expected to be unhappy with Trump's free-spending proposals and generosity.

On the other side of the aisle, there was serious doubt that this was any kind of pivot, that Trump was doing anything other than pay lip service to ideas that all American could rally around, his calls for us to dream big together notwithstanding. More people opposed him than supported him, we remember, even if he doesn't - so there is no earthquake of a mandate. He continued to strike a protectionist, nationalist pose, and avowed he was not the leader of the free world, he was just President of the United States.

While he signaled earlier yesterday, before the speech, a potential softening on immigration, none of that came out last night. Softening doesn't seem to be in the picture with his new branch of Homeland Security, called VOICE, designed to serve a minuscule population of Americans: those who are Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement.  At that point, we were reminded of the existence of the Steves, Bannon and Miller, and their closeness to the President.

Only in their America, in Donald Trump's America, can we say that a person who is robbed by an illegal immigrant is more worthy of our attention and support than, say, someone who lost their child at at the hands of an American terrorist at a Connecticut elementary school, or whose teenager was victimized by a terrorist American priest, or whose husband was killed at a by an American racist bastard at an AME church prayer meeting in South Carolina, or by an American terrorist at a movie Colorado movie theater, or whose husband or child died at the hands of a police officer, or in a drive-by shooting, or any other way in which any number of Americans who were Victims of American Crime Engagement. Only in their America.

He continued, suggesting that, in nine years,

when we celebrate our 250 years of glorious freedom, we will look back on tonight as when this new chapter of American Greatness began.

He had also suggested, earlier in the speech, that

Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty, and justice -- in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present. That torch is now in our hands. And we will use it to light up the world.

Let's remind ourselves of how we will light up the world with the torch of truth, liberty and justice. We'll do that, he told us, by

• exercising our crucial demand, that America put itself first; 
• by deregulating American businesses, blessing us with untold miracles
• by building a wall, a great wall
• by cutting taxes on American businesses
• implementing merit-based immigration
• spending $1,000,000,000 on infrastructure
• #BAHA - buying American, Hiring American
• reducing the number of people covered by health insurance plans, but providing greater access to health care plans
• promoting clean air and water (but not necessarily having either)
• investing in women's health (I truly can't type that with a straight face)
• rebuilding our military ($54 billion in, $54 billion out of everything else)
• diverting taxpayer dollars to pay for private schools, religious schools, or home schools for disadvantaged youth, even black and brown ones

We will light up the world with the torch of truth,liberty, and justice. Honest, we will.