Presidents need to be able to do nothing. Donald Trump can’t do it.; Washington Post, 7/15/16

J. Peter Scoblic, Washington Post; Presidents need to be able to do nothing. Donald Trump can’t do it. :

"In crises, there is enormous pressure to act — a “plunge toward action,” as historians Richard Neustadt and Ernest May have written. Yet smart leadership demands self-control. Presidential history is replete with examples of judicious inaction...

The presidency may be a bully pulpit, but that makes it all the more imperative that its occupant knows how to keep his mouth shut and his powder dry. Trump rarely has shown such discipline — in his campaign statements or his business ventures.

During his presidential run, he has lurched from one angry outburst to the next, attacking anyone who dares criticize him, childishly belittling his opponents and excommunicating news organizations (including The Washington Post) that don’t sufficiently flatter him. He is so reflexively combative that, according to Fox News’s Howard Kurtz, his staff has stopped presenting him with interview requests to reduce the “risk of the candidate making mistakes or fanning minor controversies.”"