In the corridors of power, fears of a president going out of control abound

Washington

ON DAY 118 of the Trump administration, a special counsel was appointed. The word impeachment was uttered on the floor of the House of Representatives. And the president of the United States contemplated how to go forward with the next 1,343 days.

The notion that President Donald Trump will actually be impeached seemed like liberal wishful thinking, but a new prosecutor represented a serious threat and Washington was abuzz on Wednesday with the surround sound of scandal. Lawmakers demanded documents. The Dow Jones average fell by 372 points. Watergate talking heads flooded cable news shows.

For a president who in most polls has never commanded the support of a majority of the public, the accumulated toll of self-inflicted wounds has been a challenge from the start. Now, he faces perhaps the most daunting moment of his young administration after his decision to fire the FBI director, his disclosure of sensitive informatio…