If asked about the Lilliputians, most people call up the image of tiny people restraining Gulliver with hundreds of ropes.  It's a striking image that's spawned uncountable metaphors.  For me, the more interesting part of Lilliputians' society is that the highest levels of  government were staffed by winners of rope-dancing (tightrope-walking) contests.  To add spice, politicians on ropes of their own had the opportunity to knock their opponents off balance so they'd fall and lose power.  

I now find this image as funny as I did as a youngster.  As a result of James Comey's congressional testimony, I picture President Trump traversing the swamp on a high wire in order to reach and pull the drain plug.  The troika composed of the Democrats, the Deep State, and the hilariously inept national media are pelting him with beanbags called Russian collusion and are leaking all over him.  (If you haven't read Gulliver's Travels, have someone who has explain the allusion to "leaking.")

What makes this so funny is that all their efforts backfired.  They are falling off their tightropes.  Because they all three are dancing on the same wire, there's no one to hold the net.  This is ugly, and it will get uglier, but in a very pleasing way.  What's more pleasing than Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer covered in swamp goop?

Let's all agree that the Russians did a bunch of things to disrupt our election.  Their goal was to sow distrust in our electoral process.  They succeeded.  No votes were changed, and there is no evidence that the outcome of the election was affected in any way.  But the Russians gave the liberal troika an opportunity to link Russian efforts to Trump and his election team.  They – the Democrats, the Deep State, and the hilariously inept media – created widespread distrust in our process and in the outcome of the election.  They – not Trump – gave the Russians what they wanted.  They are, unwittingly, the ones colluding with Putin.  In fairness, they rarely do anything with wit.

Did Trump collude with the Russians?  In everyone's words, there is no smoking gun.  That doesn't go far enough.  There is no gun.  Many of us are realizing that what's been presented as smoke is just the dust kicked up by a herd of stubborn stampeding donkeys. 

According to Comey, President Trump was never under investigation.  The troika are shifting the stampede's direction by denying they ever said he was.  Well, here is an excellent compilation of people who headlined that the president was under investigation.  Please follow the link.  The list is endless.  It includes the New York Times, the Huffington Post, Morning Joe, and all the usual suspects.  It even includes Chuck Schumer, who as a member of the gang of eight had direct knowledge that his accusation was false.  I'm told that swamp goop is hard to clean off. 

The president was understandably unhappy with the cloud of donkey dust slowing his agenda.  Comey refused Trump's request to tell the public what he told Trump in private.  So Trump forced Comey to make a public declaration by using his trademark tool.  He fired Comey.  Problem solved. 

Having lost their attempt to tie Trump to the Russians, the troika's new attempt to sow distrust is to claim that Trump is guilty of obstructing justice.  Comey alleges that in a private meeting, the president hoped that Comey could go easy in the investigation of fired national security adviser Michael Flynn because Flynn is a good guy.  It is quite clear that Trump was asking Comey if there was any possible prosecutorial discretion in the case against Flynn.  There is an army of legal experts who do not see this as obstruction of justice.

This was not, as Comey claimed, his first private meeting with the president.  Comey previously requested one to discuss the phony dossier alleging a Trump tryst with Russian hookers.  The notion that Comey was intimidated by a second private conversation is absurd when one looks at his past rather arrogant disregard for authority.  The most convincing point was made by one of Trump's sons: "My father doesn't do subtle."  We all know with absolute certainty that if Trump wanted Comey to drop the case, he would have said so in no uncertain terms.  The troika can't have it both ways.  If Trump really is the rampaging, stomping bull he obviously is, then he equally obviously didn't intend to ride roughshod over Comey.  Put another way, Comey would not have left the meeting "confused."

Here's where we are.  The Russians have done what they intended but have not caused the harm they intended.  We now more than ever distrust the Democrats, the Deep State (people like James Comey), and our hilariously inept media more than ever.  There is not much to like or admire about current-day Russia, but I am grateful for this gift.