Pondering the Pundits

“Pondering the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

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Keith Olberman: This Russian Obsession Shows How Trump Will Be Undone

Richard W. Painter: Trump’s Business ‘Separation’ Plan Does Nothing of the Kind

On Wednesday, President-elect Donald J. Trump finally announced his plans to “separate” himself from his global business empire when he assumes the presidency next Friday. His plans were announced in the midst of worrisome news around the world, including renewed terrorist attacks in the Middle East, rising tensions in the South China Sea and Mr. Trump’s belated admission that the Russian government had conducted espionage activities inside the United States.

This was his moment to announce a plan to separate himself from ownership interest in his global business empire. It was his final chance to disclose the identity of, and unwind his relationships with, his business partners and creditors around the globe.

The plan Mr. Trump announced on Wednesday does none of these things. As expected, he continues to refuse to release his tax returns, even though many of his cabinet nominees will have to disclose theirs in order to get confirmed by senators skeptical of, among other things, foreign business entanglements. He also did not announce a divestment of ownership interest in his businesses, even though this is a step that his own cabinet appointees will have to take in order to comply with a federal conflict of interest law.

Richard (RJ) Eskow: The Dullest Moment In Trump’s Press Conference Was Also The Most Shocking

“I’m also very much of a germaphobe, by the way, believe me.”

Try not to think too much about the story that led to this comment from the President-Elect of the United States. It’s not easy, I know. We’re only human, after all, and that story is so … so out there. It’s hard to turn away.

It’s also hard to turn away from Trump’s abusive treatment of the press, or his poor grasp of national security, or those long periods when his rambling turns to near-incoherence. All of those qualities were on conspicuous display in Wednesday’s press conference. [..]

But there’s something more important going on, and you don’t need unsourced reports to see it. It was hiding in plain sight when, in a bizarre intermezzo, Trump interrupted his own press conference for a legal presentation from the Washington law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.

People joked about attorney Sheri Dillon’s flat affect and boring speaking style. But it was Dillon, not Trump, who provided the day’s biggest shock. If her dullness of tone helped camouflage it, that may not have been an accident. It was Dillon who outlined Trump’s plan for managing his businesses while he’s in the Oval Office.

If that plan doesn’t amount to premeditated corruption, it certainly paves the way for it.

Heather Digby Parton: Rex Tillerson’s rough ride: Trump’s State Department nominee bobs and weaves but can’t hide from his past

On Wednesday morning Donald Trump held his first press conference since July. It was immediately clear this was not going to be the day he executed the long-awaited pivot to presidential behavior. It was a crazy event held in the lobby of Trump Tower, featuring cheering Trump Organization staffers in the crowd treating it like a Trump Victory rally.

The president-elect announced that he was not going to divest assets from his business and explained that because he is a “germophobe” he could not possibly be the subject of blackmail — or at least not on the basis of the allegations in Tuesday’s bombshell report. And that was before he started screaming at reporters.

Trump never answered the direct question about whether anyone associated with his campaign had been in contact with representatives of the Russian government, but he did admit for the first time that Russia apparently hacked his opponent’s presidential campaign. He thinks it was worth it. He said, “If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability,” apparently perceiving the Russian president as just another enthusiastic Trump voter who wants to make America great again.

Richard Wolffe: Trump’s trainwreck press conference ushers in a shambolic presidency

Donald Trump is not what he seems. The supposed master of media manipulation stumbled so often at his first press conference, it is hard to recall why anyone thought the TV star was good at this stuff in the first place.

If the potentially explosive story embroiling him weren’t so salacious, you might say this is a case of the emperor’s new clothes. Instead, it’s safe to say the Trump presidency is already in shambles. And it has yet to reach its official start.

For a showman who promised to restore the Reagan era – and even ripped off Reagan’s slogan – this is just one of the most surprising revelations of the past few days.

Reagan and his advisers knew how to project a sunny image that kept the presidency separate from whatever the pesky media wanted to focus on, such as high unemployment or secret gun-running to enemy states.

Judging from Wednesday’s trainwreck press conference – the first since July – Trump and his handlers have no self-discipline and no strategy to deal with the Russian crisis that has been simmering for the best part of the past year.