'Loser': Dan Rather sums up Trump's healthcare bill debacle and early presidency in one word

Veteran journalist and former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather lambasted Pres. Donald Trump's potential failure at passing his party's "replacement" bill of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in a Facebook post on Thursday.

"Loser," Rather began. "That's a word that Donald Trump fears being called more than any other. It is a word that he has wielded with relish against his enemies. But if the health care bill goes down in defeat, and at this point that is still a big if, Mr. Trump will be seen as a loser, and so will his new cheerleader Speaker of the House Paul Ryan."

"A loser president. It's a moniker that every president dreads, but especially President Trump. It strikes at the very essence of his being," wrote Rather. "It is why he rails away at conspiracy theories about voter fraud. Once you are seen as a loser in Washington your enemies are emboldened and your allies become skittish. Power can evaporate faster than dew in Dalhart."

The Trump presidency thus far has struggled with self-induced crisis after self-induced crisis, with the chief executive then jetting off every weekend for wildly expensive -- and highly risky for national security -- weekends at his Florida resort.

Rather said, "When you look back at the history of the modern presidency, the most accomplished denizens of the Oval Office came in with bold agendas that they quickly put in place. Look at Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, in particular. It must vex Mr. Trump no end to see the accomplishments of his predecessor used as a measuring stick for his own failures."

"We are in a cauldron of chaos and confusion bordering on havoc. We have thousands of key posts in the Federal Government yet unfilled, and we see an administration struggling to get much if anything done," he wrote.

With Trump looking increasingly weak and incompetent to the nation and to the world at large, Rather said, which is "why you see members of his own party openly flaunting Mr. Trump in the House and Senate."

"The struggles with the Republicans in Congress to formulate a coherent governing strategy shows how hollow their rhetoric was during the Obama years. They became the Party of No and not the party of ideas. Many of the best conservative thinkers have bemoaned that trend. Their concerns are now bearing bitter fruit," the post continued before warning that a cornered, unpredictable president could end up being the worst news for the country.

"Meanwhile, the specter of Russia is a shadow that grows ever darker over the White House. An isolated president in an isolated administration looking at public losses and dropping popularity will react in ways no one can predict," Rather said.

On Thursday, House Republicans postponed a vote on so-called "Trumpcare" bill, a humiliating setback for a White House that was banking on a legislative win to distract from the spate of bad news it has endured in recent weeks.