The Political Page, T+13 -- March 13, 2018

Updates

March 14, 2018: someone else, apparently, has the same idea -- "The Apprentice: the Presidential Seasons."

Later, 12:53 p.m. Central Time: well, that didn't take long. A reader suggests: "Passion on the Potomac." That will be the working title. A huge "thank you" to the reader.

Original Post

No matter what side of the political aisle you are on, one has to admit this is the most fascinating administration we've seen in some time. I'm glad I was alive to see it.

One has to really get a kick out of Trump's White House. It was often suggested that Ronald Reagan thought he was playing a character on the big screen.

Trump? The White House is his sequel to "The Apprentice" and we've just seen the conclusion of the first season. Throughout the first season one question of many: would Tillerson remain for the second season? LOL.

The second season begins without Tillerson. Iran? Not happy. Russia? Not happy. My wife? Thrilled. Two out of three ain't bad.

The first season was quite a roller coaster of folks coming and going in the West Wing, and I'm not talking about visitors.

Unsolicited advice for anyone who gets the call to join the Trump administration:

• say "yes" -- a lot of perks come with the job
• plan for a sensational grilling by Senate Dems if confirmation is required
• get a Twitter account if you don't already have one 
• don't quit your day job

Today, so far, and it's not even noon in some parts of the country:

• Tillerson is out at SecState; says he learned his fate by following Twitter; his reported "illness" over the weekend must have been simply coincidental
• CIA director Pompeo takes over at SecState -- think about that  -- government's top spy at State
• Trump names first woman to be CIA chief; Gina Haspel, one bad dude; joined the CIA in 1985
• anti-Putin Russian killed with nerve gas last week; Theresa May wanted answers by last night
• second anti-Putin Russian found dead in Britain; Theresa May wants answers by tonight
• Mideast peace conference convenes at White House
• Trump visits "the Wall" in southern California
• Trump's longtime personal assistant fired over security issues

Television show "Friends" had a great way of naming its episodes: "The One With ..."

I'm still looking for a catchy name to call the Trump White House series ("West Wing" is already taken; "VEEP" doesn't work, even it wasn't already taken). Even without a catchy series name, we can still steal "Friends" episode naming format. If so, the most anticipated episode this season will likely be: "The One Where Kim Jung Un Hosts A Peninsular Party."

If you thought Olympic pageantry is something, you haven't see anything.  My hunch: President Trump will come away with some more ideas for his November military parade.

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One Night In Bangkok

Murray Head