The political climate in the Ewe-Ess is at its lowest ebb in the history of this once respected country and for the time being there does not seem to be any way that it will improve.
Ann McFarland, a columnist for the Tribune News Service, looked back at the months since the latest president took office, a period she calls 'ridiculous, stupendous and unsurpassed' and has summarised the period as such:
1. Facts do not matter to this White House. The President has lied about important matters more than 100 times in this period. They are not just equivocations open to dispute; they're flat-out, verifiable untruths. For example, he has said that he has accomplished more and signed more bills into law than any previous president. His staff follows his lead.
2. Not only has he failed to 'drain the swamp' as he called Washington, he has expanded it. He has filled top posts with Wall Streeters and business cronies.
3. After promising not to touch Medicaid, which serves the disabled, poor and elderly, the plan he called for saw 75 million being disqualified from help and another 26 million to be denied health insurance. [At the time of this writing the Health Plan 'repeal and replace' continued in a state of turmoil with a 51-50 vote moving legislation forward to be considered.]
4. He is on track to spend more taxpayer money on personal travel than either President Barack Obama or any previous president did, plus the taxpayers are now paying for security at all his hotels, and golf courses.
5. While his base still supports him, though even this is dwindling, he has done nothing for them since taking office. His ratings are the lowest of any president. Amongst his followers, 34 per cent do not believe in the value of scientific research and most of those also believe that colleges and universities are a negative influence on the Ewe-Ess.
6. Conflicts of interest do not matter. His holdings he has refused to divest but has put his son in charge of them while his daughter and son-in-law have offices in the White House. His hotels draw foreign leaders who want to curry favour though it seems that they are beginning to avoid Washington.
7. Environmental and consumer protection regulations are being gutted which furthers the interests of big business to the detriment of parks, clean air and water and product safety.
8. Although priding himself on being a deal-maker, to this time, July 25, there have been no deals, wages are not increasing, exporters are being hurt by the lack of free trade, and the Mexican wall and tax reform have not been featured.
Investigations are now under way into the connections made with the Russians - both Republicans and Democrats have jointly come to this - and the free world is no longer looking to Ewe-Ess leadership.
It is a poor commentary on today's Ewe-Ess that in a recent poll Americans felt that both Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping were more trustworthy in their statements and governing styles than the leader of the United States, though none would want to move to either and their authoritarian rules.
Obviously the slogan of 'Make America Great Again' had a major spelling error in it. It should have read: 'Making America grate again.'