THE DECISION –AT 11:18 P.M. ET:   The usual suspects have been out in force, anguishing over President Trump's correct decision to cancel, at least for now, is upcoming meeting with North Korea's rocket man.

The Dems have been in high anguish, refusing to back the American leader in his entirely appropriate diplomatic move.  Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times's resident Democratic Party pen pal wrote, as quoted in The New York Sun, that "we’re entering a 'more dangerous' patch and Mr. Trump’s decision to cancel 'topped a particularly inept diplomatic period.'  The old policy of 'maximum economic pressure on North Korea,' he reckons, 'may no longer be viable.'"

Ah, but the same Sun editorial said, "Call it President Trump’s Reykjavik moment. He canceled the Singapore summit with the North Korean communist party boss, Kim Jong Un, the way Reagan walked out on the Soviets at Reykjavik. Our guess is that Americans will back Mr. Trump. The minute the North Koreans issued a statement calling Vice President Pence 'stupid,' it was time to kaput the parley. No president could stand for his vice president to be spoken of that way."

The editorial is correct, Kristof's comment merely predictable.

At any rate, by afternoon the Norks had reacted with a letter that criticized Trump's decision, complained about all things American, but also left the door wide open for future negotiations.  We are reminded that, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, never an elegant man, sent a message to Washington bashing the United States, but inserting one conciliatory sentence.  President Kennedy ran with that sentence, and eventually negotiated an end to the crisis, getting the Soviet missiles removed from Cuba, and not firing a shot. 

We await further diplomacy.  My guess is that some kind of meeting will eventually take place.

May 24,  2018