A wise and competent president would not initiate a war of choice based on a “feeling.” A wise and competent president would:

• consult with Congress, make a clear case to the American people and engage allies for support before commencing military action.
• not appoint an unqualified Saturday morning Fox News TV host as secretary of defense or an equally unqualified Russian apologist as director of national intelligence.
• have anticipated the attacks on Gulf allies and the impact on the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz and have planned accordingly.
• support diversification of energy sources, rather than focusing on petrochemicals and gutting investments in renewable energy, at the very time his actions have led to soaring oil prices — which is providing a cash windfall to support Russia’s war on Ukraine.
• have anticipated the impact this war would have on the poorest countries in the world that rely on not only energy, but fertilizer for food from the Middle East as well as the impact on our own American farmers.
• not send his vice president to campaign in a foreign country for an ally of Vladimir Putin or insult another religion in a profanity-laced tirade on Easter Sunday.

If this were a TV reality show, we would be able to say, “You’re fired!”

Time for the 25th Amendment.

Peter Watko
Auburn