President is surprising me in a good way

I did not support Donald Trump in the Republican primaries, and I had enough misgivings about him that I didn’t vote for him in the general election. I’d have voted for him if I lived in a battleground state, but I live in deep blue Oregon.

Despite that, when it began to look like he’d win on election night, I was as excited as if my team were winning the Super Bowl! (I can only imagine what that feels like since I’m a Minnesota Vikings fan.) I was also excited that Republicans held onto control of both chambers of Congress, and that they now control so many governorships and state legislatures. CBS News reported they had “expanded their power in state capitols to their strongest levels in decades.” As a Republican, what’s not to like?

I have been very pleased by Trump’s Cabinet picks and key appointments, notably Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court, James Mattis for Defense secretary, Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Rick Perry for Energy secretary and Nikki Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

There was one aspect of Trump’s supporters I completely missed: people living in the Rust Belt whose jobs had left, and all of the other Americans who were suffering silently with no spokesperson, no lobbyists and no one advocating on their behalf. They found an advocate in Trump. For his supporters, he might be a flawed messenger, but at least he was carrying the message.

I am cautiously optimistic. For me, the big victory was the Supreme Court nominees being selected by someone other than Hillary Clinton. The rest is gravy.

I’m still concerned by some of the same things regarding Trump’s temperament and character, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by many of his conservative appointments and actions so far.

Speaking of character, I’m amazed at the hypocrisy on the left in some of the most virulent criticism. A great deal of the outrage expressed in the recent women’s marches was about despicable comments Trump made in 2005. He also has a history of credible allegations of sexual assault and unwanted advances. He should be held accountable for all of that.

However, are these same people marching OK with what Bill Clinton was accused of doing? Rape and sexual assault. And were they also OK with Hillary’s unrepentant suppression of the women who said they had been victimized by her husband? Where were the protest marches against the Clintons?

Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it. I am more than OK with holding Trump accountable for the things he does and says, but that accountability needs to be in proportion, and it needs to be fairly and evenly applied.

In the meantime, it would be nice for everyone to take a step back from the overreaction to Trump’s victory and to actually give him a chance.