In a recent “PBS NewsHour” panel discussion, Washington Post Associate Editor Jonathan Capehart criticized President-elect Donald Trump for selecting cabinet nominees designed to “wreck Washington.” Underlying Capehart’s critique is his assumption that Washington in its present form doesn’t need “wrecking.” The majority of Americans disagree with that assumption.
According to election exit polls from CNN, 73 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. Among this cohort were 43 percent of respondents who were “dissatisfied” with the state of the nation and a staggering 30 percent who were “angry” about the situation. A voter analysis conducted for Fox News showed that 82 percent of the electorate wanted at least “substantial change,” with a full one-quarter wanting “total upheaval.”
In retrospect, no polls were needed to see the landslide that was coming. It was evident as soon as the incumbent vice president attempted to portray herself as the change candidate. The incumbent is never a change candidate. So the voters sent Trump back to the White House to do exactly what Capehart is suggesting — to give Washington a good “wrecking.”
