To my friends on the left asking why I will not draw the OBVIOUSLY CORRECT inference from Trump's behavior--that he is a Russian agent--well, in 2003, I drew the OBVIOUSLY CORRECT inference from Saddam Hussein's behavior that he had an active nuclear program. Oops.
At some level I can defend this: Saddam Hussein was giving a note-perfect impression of an autocrat with an active nuclear program he wanted to hide. This turned out to have explanations other than the obvious.
Lesson: even a really compelling inference can be wrong.
Lesson: even a really compelling inference can be wrong.
This is, however, not a defense of Trump's behavior, which was appalling. It's simply an unwillingness to embrace a particular explanation for that behavior which I'm not sure is right.
