What separates us from the Third World in our politics, he opined, are the twin concepts of peaceful transfer of power via the ballot box rather than by military intervention and the unwritten and unspoken principle that victors do not use the police power of the state to punish the vanquished. Without the second concept, no sane person will ever relinquish office if they run the risk of ending up imprisoned or on the gallows. Once politics become a blood sport, he said, there is no way to stop the slide into rule by people with guns. //

Contrary to Goldberg, no one thinks former presidents are above the law. But just about everyone, except him and Williamson, are smart enough to realize when the prosecution is political and when it is criminal.

I don’t know how we back away from this ledge, and as the days go by, I care less and less whether we do or we don’t. I don’t think I’m alone.