In a better world, leaders would lead. Donald Trump would apologize to Europe for threatening Greenland, repair the Atlantic alliance, and build a serious coalition against Iran. America would accept responsibility for the Venezuelans whose country it now claims to govern. The world would intervene before the siege of El Obeid ends like the siege of El Fasher. France would produce a thrillingly qualified alternative to Marine Le Pen. None of this is theoretically impossible. But we all know it just ain’t gonna happen.
In today’s episode, Dan and I discussed the widening gulf between what states ought to do and what their leaders are remotely capable of doing. If politics is the art of the possible, what precisely are Dan and I talking about? Not politics, by that definition.
And if politics is the art of the possible, ought we not to regard Lindsey Graham as an exceptionally skilled politician—rather than a sellout and a suck-up? He understood exactly who Donald Trump was, then spent …
