A peek at who may help Trump govern

Journalists for the eastern media establishment had predicted Donald Trump would not win the Nov. 8 election, and they were wrong. The New York Times, for example, said it was 80 percent certain Hillary Clinton would win. The Washington Post said it was 70 percent sure Clinton would win. They both were wrong. They followed these predictions after the election with other predictions, mainly that Trump would be slow to organize his government. That seems to have been wrong, too. In fact, Trump got off to a fast start, issuing an Internet-based release to non-profit organizations, among others, which goes into considerable detail about who will figure in the government after Trump is sworn in. The website, if you’re interested, is called greatagain.gov, a takeoff on Trump’s campaign promise to “Make America Great Again.” Trump also is breaking barriers within the ranks of the Republican Party, which had thrown up walls against him during the general election. Now, though, he is gathering in many of the doubters who spoke out against him. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who in defeat during the primaries called Trump a pathological liar, now says he looks forward to working with Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence to further what he thinks are the essential elements of the conservative agenda, including ending Obamacare and confirming “a strong, conservative Supreme Court Justice.” Sen. Lindsay Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who has been one of Trump’s strongest critics, now says he is looking for common ground on which he and Trump can work together. High-rolling financial backers, many of whom turned their backs on Trump during the general election, are now working on raising money for the inauguration. Not everyone likes the new Trump team of legislators and political operatives. One unpopular fellow is Stephen Bannon, described as racist, sexist and anti-Semitic. As top White House political strategist, he is is unlikely to change. Yet, like it or not, Trump is moving forward, still confounding the media and his Democratic critics who had the idea he would doddle, or move with less determination. The Internet site greatagain.gov is definitely partisan in nature, but it’s informative nevertheless. The public can get a pretty good idea of how the government is likely to look under Trump, assumiing he doesn’t change his mind too many times between now and the inauguration.