Ain't It Great?

                It would be so wrong for me to say, “For the first time in my life, I’m proud to be an American.” I have always been proud to be an American. It would even be wrong to say, “I am again proud to be an American.” I repeat, I have always been proud to be an American.

                When Obama was president I was ashamed of him but not of my country.

                But after watching President Trump’s speech at the Davos Economic Summit live Friday morning I can say, “I am as proud as I have ever been to be an American.” And I’m also proud of our President again, and it has been awhile since I could say that.

                It is of no small note that in spite of the leftwing media’s predictions (wet dreams) that there would be an embarrassing walk out of international leaders when Trump took the stage that instead the conference center was filled to capacity and additional people crammed into three other large rooms to watch on TV screens.

                After the fact, the only thing CNN could find to criticize was that music was played only for Trump and no other leaders as he approached the podium. I’m guessing he got more scoops of ice cream than everyone else too but CNN missed it.

                From his opening remarks when he said, “I’m here to represent the interests of the American people and affirm America’s friendship and partnership in building a better world,” my chest swelled up. He didn’t add, “in spite of the media and the opposition from the extreme left,” but I was happy with it anyway.

                He suggested that all nation’s should be taking the same approach to advancing the prosperity and security of their citizens, and other than France who couldn’t make it if no one took care of them, I suspect many agreed but only Trump is a nationalist or a populist in the media when he says it about us.

                “There has never been a better time to hire, to build, to invest and to grow in the United States. America is open for business and we are competitive once again,” sounds so much more proud and inspiring than any of Obama’s lame and apologetic speeches filled with self-loathing for being born (well, maybe he was) in the greatest country in the history of the planet.

                The media and the alt left, of course, can’t hear anything positive when Trump speaks. When he says, “Love,” they hear a different four-letter word. He could hardly not mention some of the great economic success the U.S. has experienced because of his policies (sorry, Obama had nothing to do with it and we probably will get to discuss that another day) and that as a result of his tax cuts millions of American workers have received raises already, including bonuses for some “as large as $3,000.”

                The next day The New York Times jumped all over that statement calling it “fictional,” because only one company (The IAT Insurance Group, you’re welcome that I looked it up for you, you lazy slackers at the NYT) gave out a bonus that large.  I kind of thought the phrase “as large as” took that out of the realm of “fictional,” but I thank God every night that I am not forced to view the world through the blackened, smudged, filthy lenses of the left.

                And while the NYT and others continued to try and give Obama credit for, I guess, fooling us all by telling us mediocrity was the “New Normal,” that we “Didn’t build that,” and that those jobs would never come back, he was really just laying the groundwork for the sudden and almost immediate prosperity under President Trump. Whatever.

                Still, my favorite part of the Trump Presidency is the reduction of federal regulations. Trump called regulation “stealth taxation,” assessed by unelected bureaucrats with “no vote, no legislative debate and no real accountability.” At the summit Trump announced that while he had ordered no new regulation to be assessed without first eliminating two, that in fact his policy had lead to the elimination of 22 federal regulations for every one added, freeing businesses so they can thrive.

                I suppose Obama had that in mind, as well.

                Trump emphasized that putting “America first does not mean America alone.” He talked about our important alliances, the need to be unified against terrorism, and that when all nations work for their people’s prosperity all boats float, leading to innovation and discovery “that help people everywhere live more prosperous and far healthier lives.”

                He did not say that working together with other nations was the same thing as America paying for everything other nations want to see done.

                Neither did he add that working for the prosperity of a nation’s people doesn’t include the leadership intercepting and embezzling aid meant for those people and instead funneling it into their own bank accounts, but he was trying to keep it positive and not get into another round of “Why Do You Keep Your Country a Shithole?”

                He did, however, say “The United States will no longer turn a blind eye to unfair economic practices,” which CNN kind of felt like called out China directly. Maybe, but prior to the summit China lowered tariffs voluntarily on U.S. imports so while journalists may not be able to understand the mechanics of how a guy personally worth $4 billion negotiates, it seems to work.

                Trump signaled that the U.S. was about to become a key player in energy production for the world because “no country should be held hostage by a single provider of energy.” Ok, that sounds more like calling somebody out directly.

                He was also pretty direct about our intent to make historic investments in our military because the world cannot have prosperity without security. He asked our allies to make similar investments in their own defenses and meet their financial obligations to help keep crazy at a minimum (crazy is my word, not his).

                He specifically asked for maximum pressure on the Korean Peninsula, for unified confrontation of Iran’s support for terrorists and to block their path to a nuclear weapon (and I will certainly give Obama credit for paving that path). He didn’t ask for help but acknowledged that we were already working with our allies to destroy ISIS and that we have “retaken almost 100% of the territory held by these killers in Iraq and Syria”

                Again, The NYT thought they were making a strong point by crying, “Fiction!” They pointed out that ISIS had occupied 35,000 square miles of territory at their zenith in 2015 but that in his last two years as president Obama had beaten them back to only 23,000 square miles.

                In their own article they eventually mentioned that in the last year, Trump and our allies have reduced ISIS’ holdings to only 2,500 square miles. There may not be a minimal math requirement anymore to get a journalism degree. What are all those zeroes for, anyway?

                Trump concluded his discussion of terrorism with “When it comes to terrorism we will do whatever is necessary to protect our nation. We will defend our citizens and our borders.”

                That’s not quite as dramatic as “Mr. Gorbachev, take down that wall,” but compared to the ever-moving line-in-the-sand BS we had to listen to for eight years I found it really refreshing.

                There was so much more, of course, but the clock on the clubhouse wall says I’m close to overload. I left half a dozen fine points unargued to give my friends on the left something to get worked up about if I even motivate them that much. We’ll get to all of it. We’ve got seven years.

                In the meantime, I saw a meme on social media this week that I thought was especially fitting for the way we are successfully reclaiming America:

                “I didn’t win the lottery but I did wake up in the greatest country in the world and that’s almost the same thing.”

                Amen.