An Oath of Loyalty to Protect Us

("A Higher Loyalty")

There is more than a little irony in the perception of James Comey as a heroic figure battling the filth that envelopes everything and everyone that touches Mr. Trump, as Mr. Comey refuses to bend to the will of the President and give an oath of loyalty.

For James Comey, perhaps more than all others, due to one egregious and ill timed error in judgment, is responsible for the mess in which we are now embroiled.

Eleven days before the election, Mr. Trump was in free fall. The mood of the electorate, in the wake of the Access Hollywood tape, was that this revelation was a bridge too far. Republican politicians were throwing in the towel, waving the white flag. And then Mr. Comey announced his intention to reopen the investigation into Ms. Clinton's emails, based on new revelations off the computer of Huma Abedin, the then wife of Anthony Weiner.

The focus of the nation shifted, and in the succeeding nine days before Mr. Comey "cleared" Ms.Clinton once more, countless early ballots had been cast, and countless minds had been irretrievably altered  In an election decided by less than 77,000 votes in three key states, in all likelihood the victory had been handed over to Mr. Trump.

While Mr. Comey may have been a little "nauseous" contemplating that he could have contributed to Mr. Trump's elevation, maybe his own "higher loyalty" should have been to the future health of our nation.  Before he speculated, without proofs, on October 28, 2016, he had an obligation to consider what he might be unleashing. For a man, so careful and deliberate in his actions, it was a monumental blunder.

Mr. Comey pledged to protect this nation from those who would do us harm.  The pervasive sickness now infecting our country is daily reminder of his failures in that regard.