A question of character

On the anniversary of the birth of Alexander Hamilton it’s ironic that there were new revelations of president-elect Donald Trump’s moral failings.

The Broadway play thrust Hamilton back into the cultural spotlight, but in 1797 the former Secretary of the Treasury was the topic of conversation when he published a 95 page pamphlet admitting to an affair with a married woman.
The woman and her husband blackmailed Hamilton and Hamilton admitted to the indiscretion publicly when he was falsely accused of impropriety as Secretary of the Treasury.
Some suggest that Trump could be susceptible to blackmail based on information gathered by the Russian government.
I’m not sure Trump is capable of being blackmailed – he has no shame. None.
In his massive insecurity, Trump is incapable of humility.
The New York Times could publish front page nude photos of Trump with Russian prostitutes, and he would use the occasion to brag.
A man of flawed character but deep faith, Hamilton advised his son Philip that a Christian man wouldn’t shoot another man in duel. When facing down a dueling pistol, Philip was shot and killed after refusing to fire.
Hamilton went on to become the commanding officer of the Army and to be killed when he deloped, threw his shot, during a duel.
On the 260^th anniversary of Hamilton’s birth, as the president-elect is mired in scandal before he ever takes office, the question of character is as important today as it was in 1797.
Character has always been an issue in politicians and in people. How we respond to a crisis is often more important than the crisis itself.
Hamilton presented the facts in the court of public opinion and took a hit, but his career and his marriage continued, his faith seemingly growing stronger.
Trump behaves as though he’s incapable of telling the truth — a curious characteristic for the candidate supported by the religious right.
Trump will never admit to wrong doing, to being mistaken or ill informed or simply wrong.
When it comes to character, Trump simply falls short by every measure.