Note to Readers: You can listen to this post in the Substack app on an iPhone or Android by opening the post and tapping the play button at the top right. The app is available for free at Apple’s App Store and at Google Play.
To paraphrase Bob Dylan, “I got a head full of ideas that [might ] drive me insane.” 1 Better yet, if he were writing today, Thomas Paine's well-known statement may well have been, “These are the times that fry men’s brains.” For those of us who arrived here from the Before Times of the mid-20th century, it sure seems as if America is in the midst of a mass psychotic episode. Although so much madness is happening in plain sight, we must understand, as journalist/podcaster Charlie Sykes repeats at the end of his shows, “We’re not the crazy ones.”
Our society has come to be dominated by various wealthy persons and entities pursuing their self-interest to the detriment of society as a whole. Call it an oligarchy or a plutocracy. When it is corrupt, it is called a kleptocracy. All of these apply to the current regime in Washington. It would be more appropriate, however, to call the United States in 2026 a kakistocracy (government by the worst people), or, more colloquially, an idoocracy (government by idiots). Given the manifest incompetence of the President and his appointees, it should probably be called a moronocacy.
The Leadership Deficit
The Preamble of the Constitution spells out the purposes of the government, namely “to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” Over two and a half centuries, the government created by that document has grown into an octopus-like bureaucracy whose purpose is to provide order and guidance for a society of 340 million people. It is a system of complex mechanisms that requires leaders with the expertise, intellect, and dedication to administer it. It is therefore curious that, while licenses are required for many occupations and activities- to drive a car, for instance, or to practice law, or be a welder, a beautician, or an airline pilot- no license is required to be an elected official. Because we the people choose our executives and legislators in regularly scheduled popularity contests, leadership quality often varies. It’s been this country’s good fortune that, in those times the Republic’s continued existence was threatened, we had Presidents who were up to the challenge: Washington to nurse it through its infancy, Lincoln to oversee the preservation of the Union during the Civil War, and FDR to reimagine government’s role during the Great Depression, and to then lead it to victory in World War II. Now, however, it appears our luck has finally run out. As H.L. Mencken, a critic of popular democracy, wrote, “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”2 It took over a century, but Mencken got it right.
In Donald Trump, America has elected its first spiteful President, an insecure boob with no bottom to his pettiness. Every perceived slight must be met with a childish retort or a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit. Nothing in his background suggested he could govern. His business, the Trump Organization, was a mom-and-pop operation. He did not answer to a Board of Directors or to shareholders. His business failures, most notably the bankruptcy of three Atlantic City casinos, were well-known. He gained national prominence as the star of the reality TV show“The Apprentice”, on which, as Republican consultant Mike Murphy quipped, “He became famous for firing Gilbert Gottfried on a cardboard set in Trump Tower.”
Trump is intellectually challenged and demonstrably ignorant of the history of the nation he is supposed to govern. His fragile ego leads him to surround himself with incompetent sycophants, or fellow grifters seeking to profit from a government position. The insane clown posse- Pete Hegseth, RFK Jr., Howard Lutnick, Steve Witkoff, Todd Blanche, Markwayne Mullin, and Sean Duffy, to name a few- comprises a circus act of ineptitude. Worse, the institutions charged with limiting executive power have proven ineffective: Under Republican control, Congress has been submissive to the whims of a mercurial President. The Federal Judiciary has been more effective, but while the District Courts have ruled against Trump in many cases, the Supreme Court has overturned a number of those decisions on appeal.
So, it should surprise no one that we are subjected to a non-stop farrago of inane decisions, many of which are inimical to a free society. Trump’s Iran war is example numero uno. He is wielding tariffs as a cudgel against whatever trading partner has offended his fragile psyche. In both cases, the consequence has been higher prices for American consumers. Robert Reich, a former Secretary of Labor, provided some evidence in a series of BlueSky posts of the extent of the government’s dysfunction:
The Cyclospora outbreak has reached 17,180 cases across 48 states. The FDA has recalled 1.6 million eggs due to Salmonella contamination. Screwworm cases continue to rise. And we’ve just surpassed 2,700 measles cases (including 2 recent deaths) — a 35 year high. Inflation is eating up worker pay. Household debt is at a record high — student loan defaults are too. 8 million people have lost healthcare the past year. Thousands of people are sickened by disease outbreaks and contaminated food. And Trump is focused on renaming Lake Ontario. At the 100 lowest-paying major corporations — including Walmart, DoorDash, and Amazon — CEO pay averaged $17.5M in 2025. Median worker pay was just $36,571, a ratio of 614 to 1. Those same 100 companies spent $108.6B on stock buybacks last year.
These are the realities affecting Americans' everyday lives. Under the leadership of anti-science kook Robert F.Kennedy, Jr., our public health systems are in shambles. The Food and Drug Administration no longer has enough inspectors to ensure the safety of the food we eat. It’s crazy that the term “food insecurity” is no longer confined to poorer neighborhoods that lack access to healthy foods. Now middle-class families, fearful of leafy vegetables and contaminated imported beef, are giving the term added meaning.
It doesn’t have to be this way
I am certain that most of you believe changes are necessary. I have thoughts on that, but I’d like to hear from you, the readers. What would a new Progressive Era, or a 21st Century Enlightenment, look like? Is there a Teddy Roosevelt in our future? Whether we agree or disagree, let’s discuss it. Exchanging ideas can open minds. Often we learn from each other. That is why there is a Reply button at the end of each post. This is one small step if we are, in the words of Lincoln, committed to ensuring “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
ThoughtsFromTheCheapSeats is an expression of my thoughts and opinions on a range of subjects. The purpose is to promote a healthy exchange of ideas. Archived newsletters can be found at 1hundredsixty8.substack.com./archive
You can support my efforts here by becoming a paying subscriber for $5.00 per month. An annual subscription is $50.00 for 12 months.
If you don’t wish to become a regular subscriber, consider contributing occasionally by leaving a tip. Click below:
If you want to submit a piece for 168, please email me at nicrosato2@gmail.com.
And please remember to click the Like button.
From“Maggie Farm”, which appeared on Dylan’s album, Bringing It All Back Home, released in March, 1965. You can listen to it here.
Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was a writer and journalist, best known as a long-tenured columnist at The Baltimore Sun (1906-1948). This sentence, which I have quoted in previous pieces, appeared in a column in The Sun on July 20, 1920.
You asked about a Teddy Roosevelt or a neo-Progressive era and I think many of the conditions are the same for such a thing. The issue, as per usual, is that Democrats can't resist the opportunity to shoot themselves in the foot (to borrow my father's language). The DSA/Dem split bodes poorly for the party, as does the issue of what to do with Hasan Piker, the antisemitic, misogynistic streamer claiming to be a progressive. (Piker notably said that rape isn't so bad when it happens to Ivy League women, denied rapes happened on Oct. 7, has allied himself with the Houthis, and has given his dog electric shocks on stream. He's also a loud and proud supporter of many of the DSA candidates.) Piker is an issue but really more emblematic of the broader issue -- that the media refuses to give Dems their dues because we aren't as interesting as the Republicans hell-bent on destroying the country and that the media isn't doing investigative journalism at the level warranted. The Progressive Era was notable for its journalism, for the muckrakers yanking bad actors into the light. Where are they now, in our fractured media landscape? The Atlantic, as per usual, shines. ProPublica shines. Both have yielded real change. But on the municipal level, we are losing papers and new organizations left and right. They're being replaced with streamers and influencers, who are not beholden to journalistic ethics but to unclear algorithmic trends, meant to feed on emotion reactions. Streamers in the Piker mold. To me, they're similar enough to yellow journalism, part of the Gilded Age, which serves none of us. Until our media landscape is able to focus on truth instead of outrage, we'll not have any sort of real neo-Progressive era.