Dead Man Walking

Trump's never had a mind for consequence; 
he'll rationalize later what he chose.
And no one--not Ivanka, nor MikePence--
dares tell the emperor he's got no clothes.
His childhood must have sucked, to form such scar;
his thing for men in uniform ain't right.
But now he's paid an insult to H.R.
who won't go gently into that good night.
A noted strategist confronts a fool
and choice of weapon's his prerogative.
Spectators cheer the prospect of a duel,
uncaring if the losers die, or live.
A prospect that should scare the orange crook
McMaster's poised to write another book.

the churn

James Mattis still thinks sanctions must be strong
against the clique of Putin's oligarchs
and doesn't hesitate to say his boss is wrong
but his is not the voice to which Trump harks.
The general disdains ideologues
he deals in probabilities, and facts
and butts heads with the orange demagogue
who-right or wrong--wants always to attack.
The last adult to hold the boss' ear
who earned full clearance the old-fashioned way
sage councilor, Trump's unequipped to hear
might be relieved if he were fired today.
It's rumored that McMaster's out the door
for thinking that we shouldn't rush to war.

Dereliction of Duty

Bob McNamara thought the Russian bomb
made total warfare wholly obsolete
a provocation of North Vietnam
could drag their patron in, and risk defeat
with Johnson in his Secretary's spell
the JCS were wounded in their pride
LeMay barked we should bomb them all to Hell
but military qualms were swept aside
had Ho and Johnson viewed the world the same
his 'Graduated Pressure" might have won
but one was uncommitted to the game
the other, wouldn't rest 'til it was done
accountants weighed each calibrated stroke
while thousands died in service to a joke

councilor to the deaf

within his sphere, McMaster has no peer
a strategist like few this world has seen
but while McFarland has the Donald's ear
he's merely window-dressing on the scene
inside the WestWing, politics get rough
and Trump hears nothing that's not on TV
he's prone to spinning bullshit off the cuff
and barely rooted in reality
one more adult to sway the Cabinet
that weigh in on Trump's incompetence
a palace coup may salvage something yet
the country's primed to settle for mere Pence
hegemony is always transient
this task's too great for our faux president

shiny hardware

three stars gleam on McMaster's epaulet
the minimum for such a trusted niche
Trump grants an officer (but no mere vet)
the credibility as if he's rich
we'll see if he's allowed to fire K.T.
or if McFarland still commands Trump's ear
if all his knowledge still comes from TV
it's worthless to sit in his inner sphere
strategic thinking might as well be Greek
what can't be laid out on a business card
is wasted on an intellect so weak
just staying unimpeached seems way too hard
no Cabinet, no matter how much brass
can safeguard our republic from this ass