When Jeff Flake and Bob Corker turned their retirement announcements into fiery takedowns of the president, Democrats, Never Trumpers and pundits couldn’t get enough.
Alas, admiration is fickle thing. Just days later, many of those same cheerleaders have found cause to complain: that Corker is calculating, that Flake is giving up, that both should have taken action sooner.
The opprobrium should fall more heavily on Corker than on Flake. Donald Trump has been president for nine months, and he was flaunting his lack of character on the campaign trail for a year prior. The fact that Corker accompanied him for so long is troubling, to say the least.