JOHN PODHORETZ: The National Elite’s Nervous Breakdown. “It’s been five days since the inaugural and the adrenalized, hypercaffeinated, speed-freak affect of the entire chattering class is beginning to seem like we’re living through Bob Woodward’s classic depiction in his book Wired of John Belushi’s final overcharged sleepless days before dying from a cocaine speedball overdose in 1981. If every word out of Donald Trump’s mouth is greeted with shrieks of horror and rage and anger and despair and hysteria by his opponents, they are going to find it impossible to serve as any kind of effective opposition to him.”

Two points: (1) This is mostly about status anxiety, as Trump’s presidency represents the renegotiation of postwar status arrangements that were very comfortable for a lot of people; and (2) Trump knows that this sort of nonstop freakoutrage works in his favor, and thus encourages it. Not that it needs a lot of encouragement.