Jay Bookman is an old-school Southern newspaperman who’s seen everything. So leave it to someone like Jay to point out the completely obvious but that was never obvious until Jay pointed it out so now it’s completely obvious. Seriously, this is brilliant.

Trump's rage over the anonymity of the whistleblower may seem excessive, but it has its own logic. Anonymity means Trump can't give the person an insulting nickname, can't call him or her ugly or fat, can't use his surrogates to smear and intimidate. He can't make it personal 1/2

— Jay Bookman (@jaysbookman) October 11, 2019

Plus:

And if Trump can't make it deeply personal somehow, his only alternative is to challenge the whistleblower's account on its merits, on factual grounds, which Trump knows is impossible. THAT is why he's so frustrated. His foe's anonymity disarms him. 2/2

— Jay Bookman (@jaysbookman) October 11, 2019

See what I mean?

I don’t know if I’ve ever said something as genius as this, but that’s the goal here at the Editorial Board. Every weekday, I strive to say what needs saying in plain English like Jay did for normal people with things to do other than pay attention to politics.

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