Saving face and the state of politics

I recently came across the term "to save face" and, of course, most of us know what this means, but I decided to double check Webster's Dictionary: "To avoid having other people lose respect for oneself."

The term is thought to be Chinese in origin but was also deemed important to the samurai of Japan. I see this in action, say, when automakers might rush to fix a problem with one of their mass produced vehicles which has a problem.

But, suddenly I thought, "Oh my gosh. I think they are also referring to the present president of the United States. This may be why he is not conceding the election results."

Then, in overthinking a problem such as this, I gave it even deeper thought, as I am so wont to do. I realized this is the perfect solution for President Trump. He now has a reason for resigning from his office prior to the end of his term.  

Once he leaves the office, the president faces a number of possible lawsuits, from tax problems to allegations by several women (who are probably seeking some financial gain, though not to deny they may have been unjustly treated.) With a full pardon by our new President Pence, Mr. Trump could avoid any courtroom challenges.

To keep the dignity of the office of president intact, I don't have a problem with a full pardon. When Ford pardoned Nixon, it saved the country a lot of bad press, not to mention months of litigation and rehash of what had taken place. A pardon would just let our nation and all of us a chance to get on with our daily lives in peace.

Now, I can only wish that Mr. Biden is too old to know what a tweet is.

JAMES RICHARD JOHNSON

Clark Fork