Chuck Todd, Meet the Press moderator, is never reluctant to insist that any representative of President Trump respond directly to his questions.  Mr. Todd seems to lose his zeal for answers when he chats with a Democrat.  Consider the following exchange between Todd and Leon Panetta, a Democrat whose résumé includes service as a member of Congress, defense secretary, and CIA director:

CHUCK TODD: But do you believe the president has a point on these leaks at all? Do you think these leaks are coming from the intel community and that it is undermining his presidency?

LEON PANETTA: Chuck, you know, I've been involved in politics for a long time. And I've served two presidents and have worked under nine presidents. Leaks are a problem that every president has complained about.

CHUCK TODD: Right.

LEON PANETTA: The presidents that I worked for complained about leaks. But the reality is that leaks come from all kinds of directions.

CHUCK TODD: Right.

LEON PANETTA: The most important thing you can do to stop leaks is to establish loyalty between the people that are working for you and the president of the United States. If you establish that sense of loyalty then he won't have to worry about leaks.

CHUCK TODD: Anyway, Leon Panetta, again, if I go through all your titles, I'll run out of time. But it is always good to see you, sir. And thanks for coming on to share your views.

LEON PANETTA: Chuck, it was good to be with you.

Well, let me try here: Mr. Panetta, is the intelligence community leaking for the purpose of undermining the Trump presidency?  After all, didn't Machiavelli, in The Prince, point out that the Old Order will use all its power to withstand the New Order, and doesn't the struggle between the left and its #NeverTrump allies against Trump reflect current validation of Machiavelli's observation?

This is to predict, further, that President Trump will prevail over the Old Order, notwithstanding the anti-Trump media phalanx.  Pity the Trumpophobes.  They are playing checkers while Trump is playing chess.

That is not to gainsay that were President Trump faced with a Democrat Congress, impeachment proceedings would be underway.  And to respond to Chuck Todd's whine that President Trump is "un-American" in his criticism of the media, are you, Mr. Todd, saying that a one-party press is American?  Good heavens, at a formerly prestigious newspaper like the New York Times, pro-Trump stories, editorials, columns, and letters to the editor are apparently verboten.