DESIGNATED SHOWBOAT

Like they say in that movie, "There can be only one!"

Apparently Donald Trump can't stand any threat of competition for the official role of "showboat" in Washington.

Consequently, James Comey had to go.

I suppose it's just a bonus this action will derail the whole Russia investigation.

Or at least, Trump appears to have been hoping that might be the result. (He hinted as much to the Russians in the Oval Office, talking about the pressure being off after he fired the "nut job.")

But the best laid plans come apart when you least expect. Wheels fly off, and you land in a ditch. Upside down and on fire.

This time, Trump's own Department of Justice tossed a spanner into the woodpile, appointing a former FBI director to be special counsel.

Ah, Donald. Look, the poor man does what he can to appear presidential. The problem is, he just doesn't have it in him.

It's a matter of control. The man has none.

He will do anything, say anything, make any claim, take any stance, regardless of the consequences. Anything that makes him look good or somebody else look bad.

Preferably both.

Trump literally doesn't seem to know what words mean.

In Saudi Arabia he delivered a speech saying the fight against radical Islam was a fight of Good versus Evil. Implying certain deeply religious men are evil when they act according to their honest interpretation of the Holy Quran.

Actually, this has a small chance of flying because Trump's pointing at right at Iran, a bitter enemy of the Saudis. Iran represents Shia Islam (which some Islamic Web sites don't even count as a legitimate branch of the religion).

But ISIS is of the majority Sunni branch, like Saudi Arabia, so Trump's message becomes garbled.

It's a minefield of religious nonsense—a minefield at the bottom of an ocean of spilled blood.

(Global Warming will probably raise the level of that ocean, too.)

Trump trundles on to Jerusalem, pokes his arm into a crack in the Wailing Wall. Reaching out for God's help? Maybe he was hoping God would grab his hand and yank him out of this nasty world and into a better one.

Because meanwhile, back home, the Russian thing keeps on keeping on, tickling at the edges of the West Wing. Michael Flynn's pleading the Fifth. Comey's on his way in to testify. Connections between Trump's campaign and Russia are multiplying like minks.

Time for Trump to say something outrageous on Twitter, don't you think?