A stunningly profound moment occurred in American history on August 13, 2018.
Hold that thought.
James Clapper is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force. From 1991 to 1995, he served as Director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. From 2010-2017, he served as Director of National Intelligence.
Clapper was interviewed, on Monday, August 13, by Erin Burnett on her CNN program, "OutFront" and asked for his perspective on the currently sizzle-sational news that former reality show contestant/former White House aide to Donald Trump Omarosa Manigault secretly recorded an apparently sizable number of conversations during her time at 1600 Pennsylvania, including discussions and conversations held in the White House Situation Room.
Clapper responded that bringing a recording device, in this case, a phone, into the Situation Room was "a very serious and egregious security violation" and, he went on to say, "it's sort of an honor system where everybody knows not to do that."
I'll go General Clapper one better.
What he is suggesting is, as I mentioned at the outset, stunningly profound.
And it's not what you are very possibly thinking.
First, while hearing the terms "reality show contestant" and "White House aide to Donald Trump" in the same sentence is certainly silly, surreal, even absurd, it hardly qualifies as profound.
Nah, you gotta go a little deeper than that to reveal the profundity.
There's no reasonable doubt that the act of bringing a concealed recording device into any private meeting in the White House represents, at the very least, a staggering breach of etiquette and professionalism and, at worst, a possible violation of Federal law ( you know, all those catchy phrases that have become part of the standard American vocabulary since the Watergate days....like classified and highly classified and national security, yada, yada).
But there's also no reasonable doubt that this particular administration has not only re-set the bar on standards of professionalism and etiquette, it has practically eliminated the bar in its entirety.
Sir Walter Scott and English composer James Sanderson wrote "Hail To The Chief".
2016 found the red states deciding to give Scott and Sanderson the boot and replacing them with some classic Cole Porter.
Anything Goes.
Which brings us back around to Omarosa.
And her recording of "high level" discussion and conversation.
As opposed to say, these little nuggets of unprecedented "high level" activity:
- Defending white supremacists and neo-Nazis as "very fine people".
- Endorsing, and standing by, an alleged sexual predator in Alabama
- Dismissing even the possibility of Russian interference in the American voting process
- Constant, noxious and obnoxious tweeting displaying infantile behavior
- Attacking and denigrating the FBI, the intelligence community, any agency that disagrees with anything he says or wants done
- Any effort to find common ground or bi-partisan means of accomplishing goals for America
- Horrific abuse and separation of families in the transparently incompetent name of "security"
- Elimination of rules and regs specifically designed to protect the environment
- A tax cut that benefits the rich. Period.
- Withdrawal from global treaties, agreements, accords for no other reason than ego/vanity.
- Clearly documented and undeniable lying on a daily/hourly/moment by moment basis.
The list, like the beat, could, and will, go on and on and.....
But, bumping Hillary's emails out of the top slot on the charts, kats and kittys.....Omarosa's recordings.
There's no question that those recordings are, at least, inappropriate and, to be sure, in James Clapper's words "a very serious and egregious security violation".
One might even be forgiven for adding to Clapper's description the word "profound".
But that's not the stunningly profound thought to be found here.
That would be his description of the process violated by Omarosa Manigault.
"It's sort of an honor system where everybody knows not to do that."
An honor system.
Where everybody knows not to do that.
Like not recording meetings of "high level" discussions.
An honor system.
Where everybody knows not to do that.
Like, up until January 20, 2017......
...the American Presidency.
How's that for profound?
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