One of the downsides of "living long" (Spock's words) is that you begin to see patterns in events. One such occurred to me yesterday, let me share it with you.
A very religious outsider, Jimmy Carter was elected President in large part as a reaction to Watergate and to Ford's pardon of Nixon. Up to that point he had spent essentially no time in Washington, and if truth be known, probably didn't care much for it. Carter surrounded himself with personnel from Georgia who were likewise newbies in DC, Hamilton Jordan comes to mind as an example.
As we know, Carter was widely perceived to be a failed president and was not reelected for a second term. To some extent his outsider status, and that of his people, can be blamed for his lack of success.
Donald Trump is likewise an outsider, elected as a reaction to Obama's anti-Americanism. Like Carter, Trump probably doesn't much like Washington. He too has surrounded himself with outsiders, many of them family or campaign staff. They are newbies in DC, and to politics. Reince Priebus and Mike Pence being notable exceptions. Don Jr. chatting up a Russian lawyer is a classic outsider stumble.
I support Trump's program of action, and would hate to see it fail. What concerns me is the many similarities to the failed Carter approach I see happening under Trump. The Deep State has devious ways to get even with an upstart outsider, a Carter or a Trump.
