John Casey

In 1998, Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana, a truly loathsome character at the time but now almost angelic in comparison to today's characters, told the Indianapolis Star that Bill Clinton was "a scumbag" and that's why he was "after him."

It was a really big deal. It sent shock waves through Washington. I recall being gobsmacked at the language. It triggered intense political backlash, with Democrats attempting to remove him from his committee chairmanship. He was never formally investigated, as the Dems demanded. The House Republican leadership ultimately blocked all disciplinary resolutions, allowing him to retain his position despite his potty mouth.

My oh my oh my, have we come a long way in terms of GOP potty-mouthing....

As President Xi heads back to China, one imagines him, like any other tourist returning home after a long trip, meeting with old friends who are sure to ask how his trip went — and to have him recount the highlights.

This is what I imagine Xi would say, translated into English, of course:

When we landed, they made me stand in the doorway of the plane for like forever while they unfurled a little red carpet. You know, here in China we can lay down a mile-long red carpet at lightning speed and watch a million soldiers walk on it in perfect formation in under a minute, but the Americans took forever smoothing it out. I think they spent so much time on it because Donald has trouble walking in a straight line on carpets....

Years ago, I worked with a person who habitually used the word “concerned.” They had a junior role on our team but, nevertheless, constantly interrupted meetings with her “concerns.” They'd come to me expressing “concern” for how something didn’t meet their satisfaction, always “concerned” about being “concerned.”

It drove me crazy. Eventually, she was moved to another team because I was “concerned” she was affecting my mental health and, more seriously, the momentum of our team.

Maybe that’s why Sen. Susan Collins gets on my nerves. She frequently uses phrases like “concerned,” “deeply concerned,” or “very concerned” to signal her disapproval of controversial actions or statements by presidents and fellow politicians, particularly Donald Trump, without breaking ranks to take strong legislative or punitive action....

Today Donald Trump asked a seemingly rhetorical question to the UN General Assembly: Do I annihilate the Islamic Republic of Iran? Do I drive them into hell?

But if you’ve been watching Trump especially close lately, you should not categorize those as rhetorical.

Trump loves the word “hoax” — he used it multiple times in his long-winded UN speech — especially when something is true. There was the Russian “hoax” about the country’s interference in the 2016 election. It happened. He thinks climate change is a “hoax.” It’s not. The 2020 election results were a “hoax.” He lost fair and square....

I keep thinking about that haunting photograph of Donald Trump, framed in the window of his gilded new Air Force One, looking at poster boards prepared for him by the foolhardy lackey Bill Pulte and apparently unaware that he could be seen.

It's an unforgettable image because it captured something I can't stop noticing: every day now feels like looking through that window and watching something get demolished. Trump has unleashed total destruction on this country, and it's gotten to a point where it's too much to comprehend.

Americans have been spoiled, myself included. For decades, we have assumed certain things would just be there. ...