The view from the Idea Center

Where do we set the bar?

That’s the question facing the U.S. Congress when it comes to the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.

As the House unveiled its two articles of impeachment against President Trump this morning, charging him with abuse of power in the Ukraine affair and with obstruction of Congress, where they’re setting the bar became one of the questions to be answered.

Democrats think that because Trump "consistently puts himself above the country" in the words of Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the House has no choice but to move forward with impeachment proceedings. Meanwhile, Republicans, by and large, believe the inquiry, in the words of the White House, is "completely baseless" and unfair.

It took me back to the days when my son ran middle and high school track. Parents were asked to assist because events were spread out around and beyond the track itself. I often wound up helping at the high jump where literally, you have to ask, "How high should I place the bar?"

A 5-foot-2-inch boy and a 6-foot-2-inch boy might want to start their jump series in vastly different places. The question was never how we finish – that’s simple, the highest jump wins. Rather, we needed to determine whether one should compete at all in the heights that you knew you would easily clear. Why waste energy you might need later?

That’s where Congress is now: Where to start? And as the rest of us watch expectantly from the bleachers, we know that no one wins in the first few rounds.

It takes patience. It takes discipline.

Let’s hope we all have enough of the first, and that those in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, have plenty of the other.

See you on the radio tomorrow,
Rick Jackson

Need to KnOH

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Your ideas

Yesterday, in remembrance of puppeteer  Caroll Spinney, we asked about what you learned from his iconic Big Bird character. Linda Zolten Wood touched our hearts with her Public Square comment: "I learned heartbreak as no one believed him about Snuffleupagus being real. It made us kids filled with anxiety until almost a year later his realness was revealed - Big Bird was FINALLY vindicated. Whew."

Today we're already deep in impeachment deliberations, so play the pundit (with a dash of Goldilocks): Has the impeachment process been sufficiently deliberative, way too fast or just right? Call us at  (216) 916-6476, comment on  our Facebook page or join the conversation in Public Square! We'll feature some of your thoughts and comments here in Noon(ish) and on Morning Edition.