snip ...

I was thinking today about what a real set of leaders in a real Republican Party would do in the face of Donald Trump's grotesque physical and mental collapse. Of course, they would never, ever, ever recommend to the Cabinet and Vice President that they step in with any meaningful action, even if Trump drooled on the Resolute Desk on live TV.

Still, sometimes I like to put my brain back in Official Washington mode and write something in the vernacular of Big Historical Documents. With that, I present a fantasy of what should and could be said - but will certainly not be said - to start the ball rolling on the 25th Amendment process.

snip ...

The Vice President of the United States
The Members of the Cabinet
The White House
Washington, D.C.

To the Vice President and Members of the Cabinet:

We write to you with a deep sense of both our constitutional responsibility and personal reluctance. The question we must raise is among the most solemn contemplated by our system of government: whether the President of the United States remains able to discharge the powers and duties of the office as required by Article II and the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.

snip (later on in the article) ...

.

Meanwhile, in the Real World

... and this is where it all falls apart.

This is where the fantasy collapses, and the world in which we live rises and strikes down the idea of courage, integrity, or the good of the nation aside. Every American can see it. Every American, including Trump's most passionate backers, knows his mental state and physical health are collapsing in front of the eyes of the world.

Even if Congress sent this letter, Vance and the cabinet are creatures of the same ecosystem that made Trump president. Admitting he's unfit is, in effect, admitting they enabled a deeply sick man in mental decline to hold ultimate power. For years, they've sold a story: Trump is strong, sharp, chosen, blessed by God, incorruptible and puissant, persecuted by petty enemies.