The I president discovers we and our -- March 2, 2017 column

By MARSHA MERCER

 Give President Donald Trump credit. He showed Tuesday night he can deliver an inaugural address.

So it was 40 days after his inauguration – but who’s counting? 

The bullying, snarling Trump was gone; in his place was a well-behaved guard dog, one that wants to please and is, literally, good with children. 

“My administration wants to work with members in both parties to make child care accessible and affordable, to help ensure new parents have paid family leave, to invest in women’s health, and to promote clean air and clean water and rebuild our military infrastructure,” Trump said in his first speech to a joint session of Congress.  

Except for the last bit about rebuilding the military, the remark could have come from a Democratic president, as could Trump’s call for $1 trillion in new infrastructure spending – something that had Democrats and usually cost-conscious Republicans on their feet, applauding. 

Outsider no more, Trump placed himself squarely in the line of Republican presidents. He echoed George W. Bush -- “Education is the civil rights issue of our time,” Trump said – and cited Abraham Lincoln and Dwight Eisenhower.

Does any of this matter? For this president at this moment, yes. 

Asked on Fox & Friends the other day to grade his presidency so far, Trump gave himself an A for achievement and effort but a C or C-plus for messaging or communications. He was determined to exceed expectations in the speech -- admittedly not a high bar. He has historically low approval ratings for a new president. 

On Tuesday night, he provided a glimpse of someone who may become more than an angry cartoon character with orange hair.  He showed he can curb his insults and stick to his text. He was light on troublesome specifics and heavy on morning in America. 

For one night, anyway, the man of I, I, I discovered the small words that bring people together: we, us and our.  

“Everything that is broken in our country can be fixed,” he said. “And every problem can be solved and every hurting family can find healing and hope.”

Trump also orchestrated a long, heart-rending moment of mourning in America when he recognized Carryn Owens, the teary widow of Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens, one of Trump’s guests in the balcony. Her husband was killed last month in a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen.

“Ryan’s legacy is etched into eternity,” Trump said, leading a prolonged standing ovation, during which tears soaked the grieving widow’s face.  

 For someone who prizes himself on being unpredictable, the speech was notable for its normalcy.  There were no attacks on the news media or judges and no embrace of Putin and Russia. 

“The time for small thinking is over. The time for trivial fights is behind us,” Trump said, urging Republicans and Democrats to unite behind his emerging agenda. The speech was vague enough that everyone could hear what they wanted. Some congressional Republicans thought Trump was endorsing the House leadership’s plan for health care reform; others thought not.

“Home run,” House Speaker Paul Ryan gushed about the speech. Congressional Democrats, critical of the lack of detail, were restrained in their critiques, although Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Democrat of Oregon, issued a one-word statement reacting to Trump’s address. It read: “Resist.”

And Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, said, “For those Americans looking for a clear and forward-looking agenda, tonight’s speech raised more questions than it answered. I believe the President missed an opportunity to begin to reach out beyond his political base to all Americans.” 

But Warner also said: “I have long supported investing to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, and if President Trump is willing to work in a bipartisan fashion we can accomplish that goal.”

Warner is right. Trump’s haziness can’t last; he will propose a federal budget in a couple of weeks that will make his values clear. Whether he can maintain his bipartisan tone and composure as negotiations proceed on issues where he’s opposed will be a test.  Democrats also face a test whether they can present alternatives and become more than the Party of No.

“We are one people with one destiny,” Trump declared near the end of his speech. 

Maybe and maybe not. It will take more than one well-crafted speech to change the dynamics on Capitol Hill.  

(C) 2017 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved. 

Trump faces test in speech to Congress -- Feb. 23, 2017 column

By MARSHA MERCER

When President Donald Trump delivers his first speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, he’ll see a House chamber as divided as the nation.

Dozens of Democratic members of Congress boycotted Trump’s inauguration, but they plan to turn the joint session into a mini protest. Many are bringing as guests Muslims, the disabled and other minorities who they say will be hurt by Trump’s policies.

So Trump faces a test: Will he be the combative campaigner people either love or hate or will he offer an olive branch?    

Trump gave Congress, even Republicans, the back of his hand in his inaugural address, failing to mention House Speaker Paul Ryan or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He castigated the same politicians he’ll address Tuesday in prime time.

“Their victories have not been your victories, their triumphs have not been your triumphs,” he said. “And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.”

Stephen Miller, the aide who wrote the inaugural address, with its bleak picture of 

“American carnage,” is also writing the joint session speech. This time, though, the president will present an optimistic, positive vision, officials say.

Trump, who insists he inherited “a mess,” will talk about what he’s done so far and where he plans to take the country in broad terms.

“It’s important for the American people to know that he was an agent of change; he came here to get things done, and he didn’t waste any time,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Wednesday.

“In the drafts that I’ve seen so far, it is going to be a very strong blueprint of where he wants to take this country,” Spicer said.

While Trump has signed executive orders to achieve some of his goals, he needs legislation for many of the big items on his to-do list: tax cuts, infrastructure projects, health care reform and a secure border. That means working with Capitol Hill.

But Trump’s dismal approval ratings make it easier for Democrats, and perhaps some Republicans, to keep him at arm’s length. Just 42 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, lower by far than any other president after a month in office, Gallup reports. A nationwide poll by Quinnipiac University released Wednesday found Trump with 38 percent job approval.

Rep. Jim Langevin, a Rhode Island Democrat, is leading the effort among House Democrats to bring as guests people who have faced discrimination and made positive contributions.

Langevin’s guest is Dr. Ehsun Mirza, a Pakistani-born critical care physician and naturalized citizen who is a leader in Rhode Island’s Muslim community. 

Trump’s speech is not officially a State of the Union address. The last five presidents have spoken to Congress early in their first year but have waited until the second year to deliver a State of the Union address.

After the bitter and protracted 2000 election, President George W. Bush addressed Congress Feb. 27, 2001, on his Administration’s Goals.

“Together we are changing the tone in the nation’s capital,” Bush proclaimed. He promised education would be his top priority.

“Let us agree to bridge old divides. But let us also agree that our good will must be dedicated to great goals. Bipartisanship is more than minding our manners; it is doing our duty,” Bush said.

Which reminds us that even if we like what a president says at such august occasions, we should take their words with a grain of salt.

In February 1981, shortly after he took office, President Ronald Reagan addressed Congress on his Program for Economic Recovery, calling for massive tax cuts, spending cuts on domestic programs and hefty increases in defense spending.

Warning that the national debt was approaching $1 trillion, Reagan offered a dandy word picture.

“If you had a stack of thousand-dollar bills in your hand only 4 inches high, you’d be a millionaire,” Reagan said. “A trillion dollars would be a stack of thousand dollar bills 67 miles high.”

But Reagan’s policies only exacerbated the debt. By the time he left office the national debt had nearly tripled. That stack of thousand dollar bills would have been 160 miles high.

©2017 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.

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