Connection Diagram

In the run-up to the 2008 presidential election and on into his first term, some on the Right wrongly contended that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. If that allegation were true, it might disqualify him as president. Based on all available evidence, the claims were false. It's worth noting that there was no formal allegation offered by senior members of the losing party (the GOP), there was no special counsel appointed to investigate, and after a time, the story died away, only to be revisited by Obama's own party as an example of "racism" run amuck.

During that time, Obama's Praetorian guard in the media leaped into action, calling any such allegations unhinged conspiracy theory. The media worked hard to find exculpatory evidence and did just that. Fine.

This weekend, left-wing writer Jonathan Chait in a once prestigious media outlet, New York Magazine, penned a long screed entitled "Will Trump Be Meeting With His Counterpart — Or His Handler?" Without going through Chait's tortured logic, his repeated claims of guilt by association, and even more unhinged allegations, Chait believes that Trump is a Russian agent and has been one since -- 1987!!

In Hollywood, the visual image of an obsessed, deranged conspiracy theorist is of a person who draws large connection diagrams on the wall—you know, pictures of events and people connected by lots of strings and pins that PROVE an evil conspiracy is afoot. It is, literally, a cliche image. Of course, Chait can't resist providing us what I'm sure he believes is irrefutable proof that Trump is a Russian agent and that the 60+ Million people who voted for him are unwitting accomplices:

In the fevered imaginations of some who suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, Chait's diagram is undoubtedly proof-positive that Trump is a Russkie tool. For those who are more grounded in reality, it's an example of peak—TDS.

I wish I could argue that Chait's piece is the apex of the TDS crowd's lunatic hysteria, but I can't. Just wait until the SCOTUS nominee is named tonight.