In my several visits to Germany, I have written in admiration of that country's strenuous efforts to face its past and make amends.

Trump is in the White House, fulminating on Twitter, messing up foreign policy, mistaking critics for enemies, refusing to immediately and unequivocally condemn neo-Nazis, racists, and other assorted goons - and, in general, failing to provide the nation with a scintilla of moral leadership. This will last until it can't any longer.

Pence is the very personification of the career politician. With the exception of a few years doing talk radio and television shows, he has done nothing but run for office, winning all but the first two times.

As a kid, I was a paperboy, and the walls of the place where we picked up our papers were plastered with pictures of former paperboys - some sports figures, some presidents, some military officers.