The Patriot Post® · Monday Short Cuts

Insight: “It was leadership here at home that gave us strong American influence abroad, and the collapse of imperial Communism. Great nations have responsibilities to lead, and we should always be cautious of those who would lower our profile, because they might just wind up lowering our flag.” —The Gipper

Upright: “If Bill Clinton had said what Trump said, we’d be treated to weeks of analysis regarding the audibility and epistemology of ‘whatever’ versus ‘wherever’; Clinton’s indignant denials that anything offensive was intended would be accepted as dispositive by plenty of media folk. Eventually, we’d be somewhere between ‘I’m sorry if you misunderstood me’ and ‘mistakes were made,’ and the commentariat would ‘move on.’ … Trump should apologize because a gentleman does not speak the way he spoke; it was uncivil and unmanly. Trump has obnoxiously attempted to cover his asininity in the glory of a crusade against ‘political correctness.’ Insisting on gentlemanly behavior, however, is not political correctness — it is correctness.” —National Review’s Andrew McCarthy

Good question: “How can we have Tea Party conservatives in our country think somehow Donald Trump is going to help us? He’s the consummate insider. What’s wrong with Washington? People buying and selling politicians. What’s Donald Trump known for? Buying and selling politicians.” —Rand Paul

Doubling down: “The reason that Mitch McConnell and the rest of the folks in his caucus who oppose [the Iran nuclear deal] jumped out and opposed it before they even read it, before it was even posted, is reflective of an ideological commitment not to get a deal done. In that sense, they have a lot in common with [Iranian] hardliners who are much more satisfied with the status quo.” —Barack Obama

The BIG Lie: “[W]e’ve actually looked at the data … [and] almost nobody wakes up saying, ‘I’m going to go vote in somebody else’s name.’ Doesn’t happen. So the only reason to pass [voter ID laws], despite the reasonableness of how it sounds, is to make it harder for folks to vote.” —Barack Obama

Dezinformatsia: “Are Color-Coded Cops the Solution to Police Brutality?” —Yahoo! News’ Eugene S. Robinson

And last… “The Obama administration announced that it is moving to investigate the death of Cecil the Lion. I’m sure Ambassador Stevens’ family noted the sad irony.” —Fred Thompson