Josh Marshall's year old character assessment of James Comey was spot on, I thought then. And now. as we watch the unfolding altar boy vs. bully faceoff I think it has lost none of its accuracy or pungency. - gwc
How To Understand James Comey – Talking Points Memo
by Josh Marshall May 2016
***First, I suspect Trump offends Comey on a deep level and in many ways. To Comey’s cult of probity, discretion, independence and self-control, Trump embodies mercurial behavior, corruption, a militant disregard for all rules over the primacy of appetites and need. I think this played into Comey’s swipes at Clinton in July 2016, the slapdash, corner-cutting way of operating.
With much more certainty, we can see that Comey has an eye for drama and the theatrics of justice. He will above all maintain what we might call authorial control of his own role in this unfolding drama.
Until last week, Comey was known for the 2004 hospital bed stand off and then the October 2016 letter. Like Archibald Cox after the Watergate Era, I have little doubt he’ll now always be most associated with President Trump’s decision to fire him as director of the FBI.
Even if he thinks he had no better choice, Comey must realize that the October letter was a blotch on his reputation. Whether it was an impossible situation or a catastrophically bad decision, it’s not good either/way.
Now he finds himself cast again in one of these public morality plays which come naturally to him and makes fertile ground for his public myth. It is his best and last chance to heal that damage and confirm his role in the public sphere. I have little doubt he’ll play it to the hilt.
He’ll probably do a good job of it.
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