Almost every ranking of the greatest TV dramas in history has ‘The Wire’ at or near the top.  The HBO series portrayed cops – some clean, some corrupt – trying to fight crime in drug-infested Baltimore, along with junkies and killers, politicians and crime victims.  The show introduced viewers to the term ‘juking the stats,’ meaning a concerted effort to create fake crime statistics to please the top brass and City Hall.  ‘Making robberies into larcenies, making rapes disappear,’ declared one character. ‘You juke the stats and majors become colonels.’

Are you ready for something new?  In politics?  Here we go.

Donald Trump is channeling Alexander Hamilton and might not even know it. Essentially, it comes down to this: the President wants to dramatically increase the power of the executive branch and will test Constitutional limits in his quest. That’s what this National Guard stuff is all about, as well as his campaign against the Fed.  Mr. Trump is an impatient man with no time for fools or ideological opponents.