President Trump pulls off a slick one

President Trump and his supporters made a great deal of the apparent change (which appears not to have been a change at all) in the attitude of North Korea toward constructive engagement with South Korea and the United States. As I pointed out at the time, North Korea has a history of playing Lucy to America's Charlie Brown when it comes to kicking the football of improved relations, and the time to brag would be when the summit actually took place- and really, only afterward, if and when it actually achieved anything.

Well, Mr.Trump has canceled the Singapore summit due to another North Korean tantrum. 

I do not say that he should not have done so. Not at all. But I do observe that this saves him from the embarrassment of a summit which doesn't accomplish anything, which was the most likely outcome.

I also observe that this outcome nevertheless allows the administration to continue to treat the temporary thaw as a substantive achievement and that based on the history of our dealings with the Hermit Kingdom it was entirely predictable.

Given the unlikelihood of Kim Jong Un seeing reason and actual progress toward peace taking place at such a summit,  this outcome was the best possible one for President Trump. Maybe he foresaw it and was playing for this to happen all the time. I certainly can't fault him for trying to improve relations with North Korea- nobody can, even if the prospect always was remote- and if this was the result he expected and was actually aiming for I have to give him credit for being a cleverer diplomat than I would have expected him to be.

And those three Americans who were held by North Korea as prisoners are still free.