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“Regardless of party, leader or political epoch, it’s always country and conscience first.” Would that this were the consensus definition of “American exceptionalism.”

But American politics–even, inexplicably, during this autocratic, pedagogic Trump reign–retains an identity that falls far short of anything remotely idealistic. The most recent Exhibit A: Former Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey. As a moderate Dem in a district that supported Trump in 2016, he just couldn’t vote for impeachment. But he surely could defend the indefensible. Now he’s a GOPster–with party and presidential fealty–and even has video of his Oval Office thank-you visit to help him in next year’s Republican primary campaign.

That should be indefensible. It’s not about “witch hunting” and “hate.” It’s about duty and a really, really serious oath of office. But, yes, you can hate a perverted process that you don’t enable.

And, BTW, for those GOPsters who see non-fealty to Trump as a career game-changer: So what? There’s always lobbying, media analysis, a book deal, ambulance-chasing or simply the respect and gratitude of patriotic Americans looking to prevent the American Devolution.

* As we saw, some gloves, particularly those figuratively worn by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, came off at the last debate. Both went after Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is the Iowa frontrunner. Warren went after the “wine cave” fundraiser for rich people. Klobuchar made note of the fact that he had never won a statewide race. None of that was surprising since Buttigieg leads in Iowa polls, and the Iowa caucus is barely more than a month away. Klobuchar, in particular, has to do well in Iowa to remain viable.

* Former President Barack Obama, who’s trying not to tip any scales toward any candidate, recently said something that could cause some tipping. While overseas, he noted that women “indisputably” make better leaders. Most of the problems in the world, he said, come from “old people, mostly men, holding onto positions of power.” We’ll hear that line again.

* There was a lot of analysis that Joe Biden won–because he didn’t lose. Nobody came after him and there were no glaring gaffes. Some bars are a bit lower than others.

* Frankly, I’d give the nod to Klobuchar. Fewer candidates made for more time, and she took advantage of it. She can make policy points while injecting humor and zingers.

* Favorite Klobuchar line referencing her experience as well as Pete Buttigieg’s youth pitch: “59 is the new 37.”  

* Good bye and good riddance, Tulsi Gabbard. The erstwhile candidatevoted “present” during the impeachmentvote.Hardly helpful.But we will hear from her again, even if indirectly. She will surely be referenced by Trump during the upcoming campaign–from ads to a debate forum. “Even a Democratic candidate for president didn’t think I deserved impeachment.” Talk about unforced errors.

* “First, they accuse Trump of a collusion with Russia. Then it turns out there was no collusion, so this cannot be used as a basis for impeachment. Now they’ve come up with the idea he put pressure on Ukraine.”–Russian President Vladimir Putin.

* “The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents. That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.”–Mark Gaili, editor in chief of Christianity Today magazine.

* “Our founders, when they wrote the Constitution, they suspected that there could be a rogue president. I don’t think they suspected that we could have a rogue president and a rogue leader in the Senate at the same time.”–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

* “You have my undying support. Always.”–Ex-Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, during an Oval Office visit with President Trump. The previous day he defected from Democrats and voted against impeachment.

* “There is no joy in this for anyone. No decent-thinking American could take any joy out of this.” CBS reporter Dan Rather, responding to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, who pre-empted impeachment and resigned 45 years ago.

* “Trump knows that whatever the Constitution might say, today’s quisling Republican Party will have his back.”–Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.

* “If the president claims he is so innocent, then why doesn’t he have all the president’s men testify?”–Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

* “An alternative remedy is available, the 2020 election.”–Sen. Marco Rubio.

* “Russia, which has long wanted to prove that liberal democracy is a hypocritical sham, is the natural friend of the Trumpist Republican Party.”–Michelle Goldberg, New York Times.

* “Right and wrong are beyond the moral ken of the amoral majority in the House minority. They simply do not care what Trump does.”–Mac Stipanovich, chief of staff to former Florida Gov. Bob Martinez.

* “My work with President Trump and his administration is only beginning.”–North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows, a top Trump ally on Capitol Hill, in announcing that he will not seek re-election.

* “The candidates need to point out that Mr. Trump is not fighting China on behalf of workers; he’s doing so for businesses that want a less costly path to set up and expand outsourcing.”–Jared Bernstein, who was the chief economist for Vice President Joe Biden.

* “I hear people saying, ‘I don’t want to hear the president speak because it unnerves me so much. But the good thing about anxiety is that it can have an activating and motivating part to it. I lead people to a discussion of, what can you do.”–Dr. Mary Alvord, a therapist and professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine.

* “Everybody’s got three lives: public life, private life and a secret life. Private life is by invitation only. Secret life is nobody’s business.”–Celebrity newspaperman and author Pete Hamill.

* “Month after month, we’ve been seeing pretty good numbers. It’s pretty healthy.”–Raymond James chief economist Scott Brown, after Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to a historic low of 3.1 percent in November. The unemployment rate in Tampa Bay: 2.7 percent.

* “Within the party, I don’t see anything other than full-blown support for the president.”–Hillsborough County Republican Party Chairman Jim Waurishuk.

* “Let me put it this way. I don’t support having the requirement that everyone (use) E-Verify. It’s putting an additional responsibility on non-government officials.”–Florida Senate President Bill Galvano, who is at odds with Gov. Ron DeSantis who wants all Florida businesses to use E-Verify to prevent undocumented immigrants from getting jobs in the state.

* “The idea that Amendment 4 would be available only to people who can afford it is unfair, it’s un-American and it’s unacceptable.”–Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren, in announcing the creation of a process through which those newly-eligible to vote again can submit an application, learn how much they owe the court system and work to get their case in front of a judge.

* “The House Speaker says funding Visit Florida is a waste of money. It would be a bigger waste not to fund it.”–Troy Manthey, chairman of Visit Tampa Bay and president and CEO of Yacht Starship Dining Cruises.

* “This is not a bridge-burning Administration. This is a bridge-building Administration so far.”–Tampa City Council Chairman Luis Viera.

* “As a former MOSI board member I can tell you, I think it’s highly unlikely that MOSI will move to Water Street.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.

* “Let them explore it. It’s something new.”–Mayor Jane Castor, who favors the idea of the Rays splitting the season with Montreal if the team would move to Tampa.

* “The news (stories) coming out of Moffitt Cancer Center are of great concern and compel further investigation.”–Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva, in announcing that state Rep. Chris Sprowls, slated to succeed Oliva as Speaker, will investigate ties between China and Tampa’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

* “U.S. research institutions have been asleep in Beijing’s efforts for a long time because they think of themselves as practicing ‘open science’–rather than ‘strategic science,’ as the Chinese government does.”–Josh Rogin, Washington Post.

* We know how this impeachment chapter ends. Acquittal–which is not a synonym for exoneration–in January. The story ends with the electorate’s decision in November. If it ends badly with a re-election, Trump might just set another precedent. The only president to be impeached twice. The scary specter of four more years of this impulsive, unethical autocrat could make for a sequel. Trump, who actually tampered with an impeachment witness via Twitter, is pathological. He can’t help counterproductive impulses and narcissistic self-interest. He will, if re-elected, become increasingly unhinged. That’s beyond unnerving–and dangerous.

Among those likely amenable to Impeachment II: the military and the intelligence community, those especially privy to existential, national-security concerns.

* “They don’t like us.”–The reason, according to Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of the Judiciary Committee, that Democrats were pushing for impeachment. No, that’s not the reason, but, yes, Jordan and his like are manifestly unlikeable. At best. Especially Jordan, who makes Corey Lewandowski seem like a nice, classy guy.

* “An embarrassment to this country.” No, that wasn’t Donald Trump in an unfathomably candid reference to his presidency. That was Trump weighing in on the House Judiciary Committee’s approval of two articles of impeachment.

* Trump recently paid $2 million in court-ordered damages for misusing funds in a tax-exempt charity he controlled. In short, he illegally used funds from the Donald J. Trump Foundation to buy portraits of himself, pay off his businesses’ legal operations and help out his 2016 campaign. No, this is not impeachable, merely disgusting. For any other politician, this would be damning. For Trump, just another day at the orifice.

* Looks like attorney Alan Dershowitz, a frequent adviser to Trump, could get even more involved as the Trump-impeachment defense strategizes before the Senate vote. For Dershowitz, it seems an appropriate role for someone who has represented O.J. Simpson, Roman Polanski, Mike Tyson and Jeffrey Epstein.

* “Crooked bastard.”–How President Donald Trump referred to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. Remember when there was presidential protocol and demeanor?

* “So ridiculous. Greta must work on her anger management problem.” That was Trump going after Greta Thunberg, the teen-aged climate activist with Asperger Syndrome. It was also Trump’s knee-jerk reaction to Time magazine choosing someone other than him as its “Person of the Year.”

* You know what’s got to be as awkward as it looks: The president holding an ad hoc press gaggle in the Oval Office while a visiting head of state sits stiffly right next to him. Most recently it was Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez. Perhaps regular White House press briefings would obviate the need for such media-opportunity optics in the era of Trump. Perhaps.

* A U.S. District judge has barred President Trump from using $3.6 billion in military construction funds to pay for a wall along the Mexico border. Hopefully, that will prod the Administration to get more creative: maybe racquet ball courts and naming rights. Perhaps 1-800-Ask-Rump.

* Just wondering what the motivation was for Sen. Ted Cruz of the Judiciary Committee to grow that facial hair. One theory:  It makes him look less like the Cruz who used to be highly critical–and down-right disparaging–of Donald Trump. Or maybe just to look less like Joe McCarthy.

* Michelle Obama and George W. Bush, however unlikely a pairing, have become role models for political civility via their friendship. It should be an ongoing, teachable moment. And it helps, of course, that Geo W., although in over his head as president and too reliant on the noxious, neoconic likes of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, was still a decent person. Those were the days.

* Upcoming Democratic debates are being hosted by the usual hosts: Familiar television networks, regional affiliates and local newspapers. Now add a couple of notable newcomers: Apple News and Twitter. It helps refocus their high-profile, often controversial, societal roles and impact–plus Public Relations 101.

* We know that none of the candidates does nearly as well with African-Americans as Joe Biden. But Tom Steyer is making a big pitch. A 12-figured one. Steyer says he would invest $125 billion in historically black colleges and universities and create an H.B.C.U. Board of Regents.

* This just in: Birmingham’s African-American Mayor Randall Woodfin has endorsed Biden. “I think he would view mayors as his partners in the campaign,” said Woodfin, “and he would view us as partners in the White House.” Could be a consolation prize for South Bend’s Pete Buttigieg if Biden were to win out.

* “The debates are not definitive and they haven’t been. Our campaign continues, debate or not.”–Sen. Cory Booker.

* At 37, Buttigieg is barely old enough to be president. But should 2020 result in the inauguration of  President Buttigieg, he would be, at 39, the same age that Emmanuel Macron was when he became president of France.

* “We don’t see anyone who can put together the Obama coalition.”–Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner.

* Thanks to the politically polarizing Brexit vote, has the United Kingdom become an oxymoron? A lot of those living in Scotland and Northern Ireland likely think so.

* “Britain’s Nightmare Before Christmas.”–That’s how The Economist characterized the British election.

* For those, including White House sycophants, drawing parallels between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s big Tory win and Trump’s nationalist demagogy and 2020 campaign, there is a significant difference. BoJo didn’t double down; he notably never aligned with the hard-right Brexit Party and appealed for unity with promises to increase funding for schools and the National Health Service. As for his unappealing opponent, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, he’s still way left of American progressives.

* We’ve been reminded, again, of the frustration, futility–and costs–of the long-running war in Afghanistan. The Washington Post recently reported that the longest war in American history has been based on lies. But given the chaotic, bitterly-partisan, democracy-threatening times we’re now living through, the reaction to a revelation about America’s ongoing involvement in the Muddled East has been underwhelming. No, this is not a “Pentagon Papers” sequel.

* Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Caroline, a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, a prominent member of the Judiciary Committee and an uber-staunch Trump ally, has, alas, local ties. Meadows grew up in Brandon and earned an Associate of Arts degree from USF in 1980. Fortunately, he no longer resides in the same state as Matt Gaetz.

*Nice piece the other day in the Tampa Bay Times on the U.S. citizen naturalization ceremony in Tampa that included the British-born Florida Orchestra conductor Michael Francis among the 62 immigrants–from Iran to Venezuela– who took the Oath of Allegiance. We needed a story like this. One that reminds us of our diversity and our welcoming appeal as an opportunity magnet for those who want to come here for the right reasons. It was a feel-good moment of local and national pride, one that we don’t experience enough of these days.

* Jeff Scott, 39, formerly a co-offensive coordinator at Clemson and now USF’s head football coach, was once a very highly successful high school coach. But he was also a teacher–not a PE coach, a driver’s ed instructor or a “time out room” monitor. He taught math, which means he likely knows something about the duality of “student-athletes.”

* The New York Yankees just signed the best pitcher in baseball, the free-agent Gerrit Cole. His annual salary will be more than half of what the Tampa Bay Rays yearly payroll ($62 million) is. That’s Exhibit A for what’s blatantly wrong with Major League Baseball. As opposed to the other major professional sports, MLB has no salary cap. Teams, luxury tax notwithstanding, don’t have to play by the same rules.

* “We will get Brexit done on time by January 31–no ifs, no buts, no maybes.”–British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after his Conservative Party won a commanding majority in Parliament.

* “Brexit and Trump were inextricably linked in 2016, and they are inextricably linked today. … Working-class people are tired of their ‘betters’ in New York, London, Brussels telling them how to live and what to do.”–Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon.

* “Our president holds the ultimate public trust. When he betrays that trust and puts himself before country, he endangers the Constitution; he endangers our democracy; he endangers our national security.”–Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.

* “History will look back on our actions here today. How would you be remembered?”–  Jerrold Nadler.

* “There is no chance the president is going to be removed from office. My hope is there won’t be a single Republican who votes for either of these articles of impeachment … and it wouldn’t surprise me if we got one or two Democrats.”–Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

* “The president deserves to be heard. We should be working hand in hand with (the Senate). The rules of evidence will apply.”–Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was hired by the White House to help with impeachment strategy, on Fox News Sunday.

* “The fact of the matter is that if a local official abused his power like you did, he’d be in jail.”–Judiciary Committee member Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, in a response to a Trump tweet.

* “This is the fastest, weakest, thinnest, MOST PARTISAN impeachment in American presidential history.”–Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

* “In Gaetz, we do, at last, have some semblance of a (reality show) contestant willing to perform any trick to win.”–Jacob Bacharach, the New Republic.

* “There is a way to express the opprobrium of the House without allowing the Senate to defang the rebuke. A congressional censure of Trump would do all that impeachment is likely to accomplish. It would express the outrage of today while calling on future historians to take note of the censured behavior.”–David Von Drehle, author of “Triangle: The Fire That Changed America.”

* “As (Sen. Joe) McCarthy’s rise and fall suggests, conspiracy theories serve partisan motives and thrive as long as they remain useful politically. This lesson is significant today. Republicans continue to embrace debunked conspiracy theories over Ukraine and the 2016 election and stand on the coattails of a president who they think will keep them in power.”–Steven Lawson, Rutgers University history professor emeritus and co-author of “Exploring American Histories: A Survey with Sources.”

* “(Cassandra’s) gift was that she could see into the future, but her curse was that no one believed her. Trump’s triumph is that he has sought attention his whole life and now he can command all the attention in the world. But his curse is that the attention he attracts is largely ridicule and repulsion.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.

* “Trump is as big a motivator for our base as he is for his own base.”–Democratic pollster Geoff Garin.

* “In this country we pledge allegiance to a flag, and we pledge an oath to the Constitution, not to a party and not to a president.”–Former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.

* “(The inspector general) did not find misconduct by FBI personnel, political bias, did not find illegal conduct. … (But) there was real sloppiness. … it was not acceptable.”–Former FBI Director James Comey, on the Justice Department inspector general report that concluded that the FBI opened the Russia investigation for a legitimate reason.

* “America’s Republicans are the world’s only major climate-denialist party. Because of this opposition, the United States hasn’t just failed to provide the kind of leadership that would have been essential to the global action, it has become a force against action.”–Paul Krugman, New York Times.

* “I think one of the things that baseball has done well over decades is maintain its commitment to its current cities.”–MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

* “Years of effort and expense have established ‘Tampa Bay’ as a regional brand for all economic development interests in our area. We feel strongly that your action undermines that investment.”–Pinellas County Commission Chairwoman Karen Seel, on the decision by the former Tampa-Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. to change its name to the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council.

* “There is, in my opinion, a crisis going in our society and my concern is not enough people are concerned about it. It’s about us training our officers to do everything they possibly can to de-escalate a situation and use deadly force as a last resort in every situation.”–Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan, in announcing a new mental health training program for his officers and 911 dispatchers.

* “This is not a bridge-burning Administration. This is a bridge-building Administration so far.”–Tampa City Council chairman Luis Viera.

* “You can override anything with five votes.”–Tampa City Council member Charlie Miranda.

* “And while we all love a good parade, the beads thrown during the parade have no place harming our delicate ecosystem.”–Mayor Jane Castor, in announcing Tampa’s “Bead Free Bay” campaign.

* NATO–“Not A Trump Organization.”

It’s understandable that no international leader was spotted sporting a “NATO” cap last week in London. We know that key NATO leaders have a collective loathe affair going with Trump, but it’s counterproductive to be too obvious when you need the cooperation and wherewithal of the wealthiest and most militarily powerful country in the world. That’s why you get awkward body language and what amounts to open-mic lampooning of Trump–for bluster and buffoonery–behind his back. NATO leaders–frustrated and furious with Trump over climate change, treaty commitments and tariff chaos–are trying to bide time until, they hope, they can hit a reset button with President Joe Biden.

* Unsurprisingly, partisanship was very much in play during the Judiciary Hearing. And that continued with the testimony of Constitutional law experts, three of whom were appointed by the Dems, one by the GOPsters. But the Dems passed on the ultimate constitutional law professor with some partisan skin in the game: Barack Obama.

* North Korea, Ukraine, Iran, NATO, China, Russia. Imagine if America hadn’t elected “a businessman” who was a gifted “negotiator.”  Call it “The Artifice of the Deal,” a disturbing sequel.

And this just in: The demander-in-chief has just brought “Rocket Man” back into the geopolitical conversation, and it has nothing to do with Elton John. Trump’s recent reference to Kim Jong-un–in the context of possibly using military force–as “Rocket Man” brought about a rebuke from North Korea and a warning about the resumption of the war of insults. Indeed, NK’s vice foreign minister, Choe Son-hui, has already resurrected the “dotage of a dotard” in response. This would all be merely goofy and dumb if it weren’t about negotiating “denuclearization.” Remember that?

* “Like a good lawyer, I am gathering evidence to defend my client.”–That was the reason, according to Rudy Giuliani, why he,Trump’s personal attorney and a Mike Pompeo wannabe, was recently in Ukraine meeting with former government officials. Upon reflection, Michael Cohen has never seemed so scrupulous and transparent.

* Whether it’s Russian cooperation/collusion, NATO disparagement or narcissistic North Korean “negotiations,” national security is an inevitable concern, if not a source of ongoing alarm, that comes with the Trump-presidency territory. Now add this. It’s beyond ironic, hypocritical and stupid that the one who wanted to “lock her up” because of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email account, has conducted numerous conversations on an unsecured cell phone because he didn’t want the calls–to Zolo Zelenskiy? Stormy Daniels? Sean Hannity?  Prince Andrew?    Kanye West? Matt Goetz? Kid Rock?–officially logged in. As a result, those calls were, to be sure, vulnerable to monitoring by Russians and other foreign intelligence services with vile vested interests. Did Moscow, for example, know that Trump was engaged in efforts to extort political favors from Ukraine? Yes, that’s a rhetorical question.

Encryption? What the hell’s that?

* Would that Trump were as conciliatory toward NATO or the House of Representatives as he is toward the Saudis. Presumably, it’s an extension of the “special relationship” that’s been especially fraught for the last two decades between a democracy with a bill of rights and an autocracy with second-class status for women. From 9/11 mass-murdering hijackers to the brutal killing of Jamal Khashoggi to human rights abuses in Yemen to the Royal Saudi Air Force pilot trainee who terrorized the Pensacola naval base and murdered three American sailors. We don’t need their oil like we used to, but they buy billions in armaments from the U.S. and are the only regional power to counter Iran. Too bad the U.S. dropped out of the Iran nuclear deal.

* “Trump of the Tropics.”–That’s how Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing president of Brazil, is increasingly known as. No, it’s not a compliment.