The Shifting Persian Goalposts
Isn’t it clear that no deal will ever be good enough to appease the Trump haters?
Longtime readers of Captain K’s Corner understand that I prefer to view the world as it is, rather than how I wish it would be. Do you remember last month, when everyone was salivating over polling showing two Republican candidates (Hilton and Bianco) atop the gubernatorial polls, with less than 15% each?
Oh wow, we’re gonna wind up with two Republican candidates for governor this year because there are too many Dems running!
Remember how I felt about that?
Eric Swalwell was clearly pushed out of the race from the Democrat side (by his own people) to prevent the dual-GOP scenario from happening. And then, even if all other machinations failed, the ballot counting machine would have taken as long as possible to ensure the party didn’t get locked out of running its own state. In the end, Steve Hilton made it to the General Election, and by less than 2 points over third-place candidate Tom Steyer - with roughly 83,000 ballots left to count nearly three weeks since Election Day.
Recently, in my ongoing assessment of the 2026 midterm environment, I pointed out the critical need to resolve the Iranian conflict in light of its impact on GOP midterm hopes. No resolution, likely no pathway to have the upper hand in the decisive races for majorities. Resolution, and the pathways become viable. You can read that opinion here:
The Iranian Peace Deal is Essential for A GOP Midterm Victory
A typical social media conversation follows:
An excerpt:
My admonition to all is to tune out the negative voices and the whiners who are trying to stop President Trump from advancing toward a deal. I had hopes the Iranian regime would be rooted out, but once again, it’s not America’s job to do the dying necessary, and without willing partners ready to put boots on ground while we remain at sea and in the air, it’s a non-starter. The best outcome, then, from this point forward looks like the rumored framework of the deal:
Strait of Hormuz immediately reopened with de-mining underway
Iran gives up uranium enrichment, hands over any stockpiles, and provides access to outside inspectors to ensure their end of the agreement is held up
Iran, pending satisfactory fulfillment of above points, gets a break on sanctions and an opportunity for the new chain of command to advance the nation’s standing in the world
Earlier this week, President Trump inked an agreement to bring about the cessation of hostilities and establish the framework for regional stability. Yet many of the voices who encouraged the early kinetic actions against Iran are now screeching because the bombs are on hold (for now), and on the flip side of the coin, the loudest voices for non-interventionism are repeating online vomit and half-truths to mock Trump for supposedly waving a white flag.
The goalposts for what defines success are constantly being moved.
Now it is time for a reality check on the way the world is, and why the deal is what it is:
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