“It’s not necessary to respond to every irritant.”
Oh, so you want Trump to follow the ways of George W Bush and be too noble to respond to lies and it resulted in the Republicans getting smashed.
You must be unaware that a lie unanswered become the truth by default in the public mind, especially in the world of politics. I would assume that if someone started a lie about you, you would respond quickly, and especially to your supporters -— your family.
Republicans were underwater in ‘06 due to the collapse of the Iraq project, not due to some fatal flaw in Bush’s temperament.
Setting Bush aside, I think we can agree that Ronald Reagan masterfully brushed aside criticism with finesse and humor. He set a good example for conservative leadership and received overwhelming public support for most of eight years.
The problem with constantly making every personal slight into a four-alarm fire is that it devalues the prestige of the office and exhausts the patience and attention of all but the most committed. If everything is outrageous, nothing is outrageous.
So, in sum, it’s a false choice to contrast docility with vituperation. It certainly doesn’t offend me for the President to be attacking, attacking, attacking, but I think it diminishes him.