Already the John Kelly era has brought a certain calm dignity to the White House. The president now seems to be getting his information presented properly, rather than through television. Best of all, there have been no new Twitter rants. Perhaps this means we have opened a new chapter — one in which the White House concentrates on priorities like tax reform and repealing ObamaC– hello! What’s this?

Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017

Never in U.S.history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017

…conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017

There he goes again. It’s not the first Twitter rant of the morning, either. (Susan Wright covered the earlier one.)

I think people in the heartland aching for ObamaCare repeal might have a different judgment as to who defrauded voters.

It should be noted: Trump is right about Blumenthal, of course. As the #FAKENEWS!! New York Times reported in 2010, Blumenthal often said things like “We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam” and similar breast-beating statements suggesting he had served in the war. But he did not. He received at least five deferments.

So Trump was right. But, speaking of five deferments from Vietnam, Mr. Bone Spurs is not exactly the right person to be making this argument.

How are those bone spurs on your heel doing buddy? Hope they aren't keeping you from getting 36 in today. https://t.co/fJnd88X256

— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) August 7, 2017

Josh Hammer sums it up nicely:

https://twitter.com/josh_hammer/status/894556764380770305

Oh, and by the way? Not that you didn’t already suspect this from the first Trump tweet above, but just to hammer the point home: guess why Trump is talking about Blumenthal today? You guessed it: because Blumenthal was on the teevee.

Blumenthal appeared earlier in the morning on CNN’s “New Day.” During that interview, the senator said he was “concerned” the Department of Justice is “weaponizing” laws after it announced a crackdown on leaks.

So much for the John Kelly era of A New Maturity.

Over the weekend, I had a post titled Trump Is Not The Victim Of A Slow-Rolling Coup; He Is The Victim Of His Own Incompetence. If you missed it, I encourage you to read it now. It’s your friendly reminder that Trump is not addressing ObamaCare; he’s watching teevee and tweeting — and maybe that’s a big part of why he’s failing.

It’s time to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, President Trump’s failure to date has been largely his own fault. Contemptuous of the notion of familiarizing himself with even a superficial level of policy detail, he can’t make the case for ObamaCare repeal the way Obama made the case for the law in the first place. Having created an absurdly chaotic White House by dint of his own lack of discipline and his obsession with television, praise, and his image, Trump is unable to fashion a legislative agenda that garners the votes he needs in Congress.

. . . .

[T]he media and the Deep State did not hold a gun to Trump’s head and tell him: “Do not learn about policy. Do not build a well-functioning White House. Instead, act like a narcissistic dummox. Watch television 24/7, tweet stupid nonsense as often as possible, and do your best to come off like a self-obsessed, amoral buffoon, so that your approval ratings tank and you can’t get anything done.”

Turn off the TV, put down your smartphone, and get to work, Mr. Trump.

[Disclaimer]