Political reporter: Abolish the Office of First Lady
Melania Trump’s decision to remain in New York with her son Barron until the end of the school year is a good excuse to “eliminate the ceremonial office of the ‘first lady’ ” and encourage the president’s spouse “to live like an ordinary citizen.” So argues Jack Shafer at Politico, calling to “defund the ridiculously large staff that currently earns upward of $1.5 million a year serving Michelle Obama” and eliminate that “federally funded bully pulpit.” Nothing against Mrs. Trump — it would have applied as well to Bill Clinton. Says Shafer: “Other democracies, such as the United Kingdom, bestow no such honors upon the spouses of their leaders and are better for it.”
From the right: Can Trump Overturn Title IX Tyranny?
President Obama’s legacy will endure when he leaves office in at least one area: a directive that “reinterpreted (or distorted, depending whom you ask) Title IX of the Nixon-eras Higher Education Act.” That order “made a mess of campus sexual assault policies” by forcing schools to judge such claims “in on-campus tribunals according to a sub-legal preponderance-of-evidence standard,” notes Alice B. Lloyd at The Weekly Standard. And she warns that “there may be no Trumpian overhaul sufficient to undo existing campus practices.” Yes, the original directive can easily be rescinded. But these practices “are already folded into campus life,” and “university administrators reluctant to heed Trump’s call won’t have to.” Then again, Team Trump might “devote significant efforts to protecting free expression and ensuring fair and equal campus tribunals.”
Culture watch: When Hillary Went To See ‘Hamilton’
When the creator and cast of “Hamilton” hosted a special celebrity-studded performance to raise funds for Hillary Clinton, she wasn’t subjected to the same “smug lecture” — or jeers — that greeted Vice President-elect Mike Pence. Antonia Okafor at Independent Journal Review has assembled a display of the tweets and “gushing” Instagram selfies that cast members — like Aaron Burr understudy Sydney Harcourt (left) — posted of themselves “slobbering all over” Hillary, Bill and Chelsea. Says Okafor: “The ‘Hamilton’ cast has every right to the First Amendment. So do we. And we choose to call them out on their blatant partisan bias.”
Policy wonk: How Best To Handle Illegal Immigration
For all the heated campaign rhetoric, “America is essentially addicted to illegal immigration,” writes Seth Barron at City Journal. “The Right craves cheap labor and the Left hungers for a large, reliable voting bloc,” he says. But Trump’s election provides a golden “opportunity to get real.” First, Trump should “communicate a consistent message of zero tolerance” — a “clear message . . . that the rules have changed and that illegal immigration to the United States is no longer a viable solution for economic migrants.” That, he says, “should reduce the number of people willing to gamble on eventual amnesty.” Second is to deport criminal aliens. Many home countries refuse to accept such criminals — but can enforce US law, under which “the State Department is required to stop issuing visas to such countries.”
— Compiled by Eric Fettmann