Osler's Razor

Whatever skills he may lack, Donald Trump is good at one thing: controlling the news cycle. I'm starting to think that he wants that more than anything: for good or bad, for all eyes to be on him. Yesterday was pretty typical; the news should have been about the Senate's health care debate, but he seized the attention back with a bizarre Twitter announcement that transgendered people can no longer serve in the military. That was wrong in so many ways-- the way he did it, the irrational choice itself, the insult to people who are serving our country-- and it was right only in that it kept all eyes on him.

I suppose when we pluck our leaders out of reality television, this is what we get. I haven't seen a lot of those shows, but I have seen enough to know that the people who succeed in that world aren't the winners or the heroes, but the ones who get memorable time on camera.

One of these days, too, it will matter a lot. And that won't be good.