TGIF 10/18/19

Remember when the president said he liked having 'acting' officials in his administration?

Here's what he said in an interview this past spring: “I like acting because I can move so quickly. It gives me more flexibility.” 

Mick Mulvaney, the president's acting Chief of Staff  and the guy who said on camera that there was a quid pro quo with Ukraine and the aid that Congress had appropriated for them might be experiencing some of Trump's famous 'flexibility' soon. I don't know what the rest of you think, but if you're the guy who blew the president's defense in an impeachment inquiry, it might make sense to keep a close eye on a certain Twitter feed and to watch for fast-moving buses.

Rick Perry, the guy who got to be head of a department he wanted to eliminate, has decided he's had enough fun and will be leaving by the end of the year. The official announcement was kind of a let-down, since it had been reported a couple of weeks ago that he was going to be making this move. Perry's time in the Trump administration will be remembered for "freedom gas" as well as for helping to advance our energy dominance, and of course for his role in the Ukraine mess. And speaking of that mess, Perry missed a subpoena deadline this week.

Also not having a good week? Joe Biden. Everyone - experts and amateurs like me included - said he lost the debate this week, and of course, he and his son Hunter are under almost continuous deflecting attacks by the president and his minions. And now, there's a report out that flags were raised back in 2015 that Hunter's job on the Burisma board was a concern, and that it sent the wrong message to Ukraine on why rooting out corruption was important. That Biden doesn't recognize this - or refuses to recognize it - and that it's going to drag down his campaign and the Democrats as a whole, is both sad and inexcusable.

And finally, I've said this before and I'll keep saying it as many times as I have to. Hillary Clinton, sit down. And please, stay out of the fray. We don't need you interjecting yourself into the 2020 campaign. Go sell books or something.

And on the good side of the ledger?

NASA finally was able to have an all-female space walk, after solving the wardrobe problem that delayed it a while back. Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir spent over seven hours replacing a device that helps distribute solar power to the space station, and also got a jump on some other work.

And former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch had a good week, it seems, by testifying before Congress in defiance of the State Department (and the White House). Kudos to her for appearing and for shedding light on the damage being done at State by Rudy Giuliani and others who are making a royal mess of things. And kudos as well to Gordon Sondland, our ambassador to the European Union, who also testified this week.

Here's hoping others will come forward and share what they know about what the heck is going on in the White House.

TGIF, everyone.