The Final Solution: Hitting the Road Running

There were a lot of Republicans who used the phrase hit the ground running when they talked about what was going to happen after Inauguration Day. Hit the ground running is however an odd expression, when you think about it. It connotes being off the ground and then being dropped, say from a chopper ladder or parachuting from an airplane, and when you think about it, hitting the ground running after being airborne is going to result in whoever is doing it falling flat on their face. For instance Trump signed the immigration order barring all Muslims from seven countries which were considered threats to national security and for all intents and purposes he did a belly flop when his initial order was blocked with the Court of Appeals denying the DOJ's request for a stay. Whatever transpires in the future—whether Trump creates a more well thought out order or the case goes to the Supreme Court—there's no doubt he would have done better coming up with a more considered plan. General Michael Flynn probably thought he was hitting the ground running when he spoke to the Russians about easing sanctions even before his boss was sworn into office and the Trump campaign probably thought they were hitting the ground running by working closely with the Russians even during the campaign (if intelligence reports are correct). So perhaps the real problem is this notion of hitting the ground running. What if Trump, Flynn and the campaign had all hit the ground walking like normal people? It probably wouldn’t have made that much of a difference but it’s something to think about.