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For two years at least, the media has derided Donald Trump as an ignorant Neanderthal who can't hope to actually accomplish anything useful in Washington - and, if he did happen by accident to get something done, it would be so bad that it could destroy our democratic norms if not the Entire World.
This month has put the lie to what was always a far-fetched lefty hope, as even CNN was finally forced to admit. America is enjoying the lowest unemployment since 1969 - yes, lower than that achieved by President Reagan or President Clinton, both of whom presided over historic good times. On the political front, President Trump has achieved what has eluded conservatives since the hoary days of Eisenhower: a majority of textualist justices on the Supreme Court. What conservatives have fought for for a lifetime looks to be - well, not achieved exactly, but finally we may be on a road that leads in that direction.
Yet there's still a certain nervousness on the Right fanned enthusiastically by detractors in the media left. Yes, President Trump may be achieving great victories, but can we trust him? He's not really a conservative, after all, and he's wildly unpredictable. Isn't it possible that he'll suddenly flip-flop and betray us all?
Well, anything's possible, but for the first time, your humble correspondent thinks he's figured out a Unified Theory of Trump that explains all we've seen of him so far. Let's go together on a journey through history, logic, psychology, sociology, and politics, and see if you agree.
It doesn't seem like it to watch him, but Donald J. Trump is the oldest president we've ever elected and he's not getting any younger. For all that he has the world's greatest grasp of how to effectively use new media and technology, running rings 'round the millennial special-snowflakes who infest the Democrat party, his formative years were when three channels of black-and-white television was cutting edge.
Not very many people remember the America of the 1950s, but if you look at his vision for the United States, it bears a striking resemblance to the days when everybody liked Ike.
An America whose power is respected, even when challenged, the world around? Check.
An America which welcomes immigrants, but expects them to be law-abiding and self-sufficient, and demands that they conform to our mold rather than us to theirs? Check.
An America which welcomes trade with other nations, but expects that trade to be fair and bidirectional? Check.
An America which stands ready to help other countries, but only those that are prepared to stand up for themselves to the best of their ability? Check.
An America which opposes oppressive regimes diplomatically, but which gets involved militarily only when it can win and is always willing to talk and negotiate? Check - indeed, Mr. Trump is more "jaw, jaw" and less "war, war" than the early-Cold-War America he grew up with. This is only sensible, given that weapons have gotten so much more powerful over his lifetime, and that American military interventions since he was old enough to pay attention to them have, let us say, a chequered record.
An America which is "one nation, under God"? Check, as witness his heartfelt defense of our flag and national anthem at public events.
Let's pause on that last one, though. 50s Americans thought they were one nation under God but they weren't. Large swathes of America considered minorities to be a lesser breed, deserving of fewer rights. Even President Trump's own father has been accused of leaning in that direction.
Our national left, never ones to miss a trick, have tried to tar our President with that brush. It hasn't worked, and a look at the record shows why: before he came out as a Republican, Jesse Jackson was only too happy to laud Mr. Trump as a leader in promoting blacks and minorities in his companies. He's also won the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in celebration of "patriotism, tolerance, brotherhood and diversity," a fact of which our media totally fails to remind anyone.
It's been well documented how the Trump Organization gave great opportunities to women. Whatever his father may have been, Donald Trump is the furthest thing from a racist or bigot - and in that way, he is different from many people in the world of his childhood.
When Democrats say that Donald Trump wants to roll the clock back, their implication is that he's for a revival of Jim Crow and sending women back to the kitchen. He's lived 70 years of doing the opposite; this accusation is as total nonsense as lyin' lefty accusations that Judge Kavanaugh organized gang-rapes. Indeed, a surprising number of black voters have noticed this truth to the growing horror of the Left.
Aside from questions of racial equality and gender respect, even lyin' lefties have a point. Yes, Donald Trump does want to, as he puts it, "Make America Great Again" - the gold standard for which is 1950-1965, when everyone who wanted a job could have one, everyone was better off than their parents (yes, even black people), and even those with no skills could, through hard work, make it into the middle class and set their kids up with hope for the future. What's not to like about that?
Given the observed fact that that's where he's taking us, it's hard to imagine why any American would worry about Mr. Trump's leadership - though all to obvious as to why our enemies would. Yet the unpredictable nature of his style, combined with an apparent lack of fundamental principles, does make people nervous when they don't know what's going on. In the next article in this series, we'll explore his record and what it means.