A lost cause

Jamelle Bouie, writing in The New York Times (gift link): “The White House Is a Lost Cause.” Alternate title, from the tab in my browser: “The Man Who Rules the Country Presides Over Nothing.”

Then who is running things? Bouie names shadow presidents: Russell Vought for domestic policy; Stephen Miller for internal security (“to make America white again, or at least whiter than it is now”); Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio for war and regime change in Venezuela; Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for capitulation to Russia in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, as you’ve probably noticed, the current occupant has created screed-laden plaques (Times gift link) to accompany the framed photographs in his walk of presidents, or wall of presidents, or whatever it’s called. File under Tell me you’re a psychopath without telling me you’re a psychopath .