Sorry. Not my presidential

More than once today, people whose opinions I respect told me, "at least he sounded presidential." Well, if your expectations are rock bottom low, they can only be surpassed. Sure, he sounded almost like he cares about people, but did you pay attention to the content?

Trump and I are never going to agree on ideology, but just restating your claims in a calm, coherent voice does not make them presidential. It's merely civil and adult; it's what we should expect from any speaker.

Here's what would be presidential, in my book:

• Acknowledge that more than half the country did not vote for you, and that your popularity is the lowest for any new president in history. Offer to reach out and change that. ("I understand that not everyone is a supporter, but here is what I will do to change your minds..")
• Hate the press all you want; every other president has. But stop calling them fake or enemies or liars. Not only isn't it presidential, it is counter to our Constitutional tradition and it only makes them dig in more.
• If you are truly not involved with Russia and not involved in conflicts of interests, encourage investigations. How presidential would that be? So magnanimous. If I knew I was innocent of a crime, I'd offer my DNA; you should as well.
• Move on from the election. The public disagrees with your stats? You won, move on. You think Obama and Hillary are conspiring against you? You think Jews are desecrating their own cemeteries to make you look bad? Don't be ridiculous. You won, stop listening to Bannon, move on.
• Get some opinions from other sources. Most presidents had cabinet members from opposing parties. Obama had at least three. Looks presidential, and shows confidence.

Of course, this is highly unlikely, based on the record. Trump is not someone who ever admits being wrong or mistaken. But he gave himself a C on communication, and his performance on this speech demonstrates that someone convinced him to do it differently. How scared must they all be to have gotten him to buckle down, talk in complete sentences and without the constant repetition that he usually delivers. He must have rehearsed, long and hard. Didn't someone make fun of Hillary Clinton for rehearsing?