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The Perils of Unintended Consequences for Trump and the Democrats
In the mid 1940s, during World War II, my father, a combat pilot, was standing on the tarmac of a military base in England, talking with one of his colleagues. As the two men talked, they watched a young pilot walk out to a twin-engine P-38 that was parked on the ramp. The pilot climbed into the airplane without doing a walk-around inspection — a common and important ritual that allows a pilot to assess any potential problems with the plane. As my father and his friend watched, my dad noted the young pilot’s failure to inspect the plane. “I think I would have done a walk-around,” my dad said to his friend. His friend nodded in agreement.
The P-38 pilot then started the engines, and as the second engine caught and started to run, it sounded, according to my father, “a bit rough.” “I think I would shut that down and have a look,” my father said to his friend. His friend nodded in agreement. Nonetheless, the pilot ran both engines up, determined he was satisfied with their performance, and began to taxi to the runway.
As the fighter taxied away from my father and his colleague, both men heard the questionable engine hesitate and falter before resuming its normal roar. “I think I’d taxi back and call it a day with that…
