EDITOR’S NOTE IMPEACHMENT An Argument

n the March 1976 issue of character and moral fitness to continue digital feature, “Unthinkable,” 50 of our The Atlantic, Elliot Richard­son, the to serve as the nation’s chief exec­utive. writers examined the most outlandish former attorney general, made a silver- Yoni’s view is that we should take the moments of Trump’s first two years in office, I lining argument about the then-recent debate over President Donald Trump’s fit- incidents that we could not imagine occur- constitutional­ crisis: ness out of the court of public opinion and ring in other administrations, whether place it where it belongs: in Congress. This Republican or Democratic. If you’ve read Beyond its own sordid confines, Water- “renewal of government processes” might “Unthinkable,” you’ll understand why I gate has been redemptive—a disguised itself be redemptive, and would certainly consider Yoni’s cover story, “The Case for stroke of good fortune … The good for- tune may yet turn to ashes, but I am one be clarifying. Impeachment,” worth publishing. of those whom H. L. Mencken called Here at The Atlantic, we are caught in the “optimists and chronic hopers of an eternal dilemma. Our founding mani- ome home news: After a daz- the world,” and I see gain for this coun- festo promises readers that we will be of zling run as editor of the print try in the reassertion of old ideals and no party or clique. This is why The Atlantic magazine, Scott Stossel, who first the renewal of government processes. is generally so hesitant to endorse candi- S crossed The Atlantic’s threshold in dates for any office. And yet our founding 1992, has taken on another role here, that Richardson had resigned his post in editors also promised that The Atlantic of national editor. He will also be writing 1973 rather than follow President Richard would stand for impartial liberty and wage feature stories for the magazine, which is Nixon’s directive to fire the first Watergate war “against despotism in every form.” a blessing for all of our readers. I asked special prosecutor, Archibald Cox. The The magazine endorsed Abraham Lincoln Scott’s deputy, Don Peck, one of the great “Saturday Night Massacre,” as it became in 1860 (but not, for reasons lost to history, ideas editors in American journalism, to known, placed Nixon firmly on the path in 1864). In 1964, faced with a candidate take on the editor role, and he has begun to disgrace. for president temperamentally unsuited his term brilliantly. I also asked Denise When Yoni Appelbaum, the editor of for office, The Atlantic came out in favor of Wills, our features editor, to replace Don The Atlantic’s Ideas section and a historian the incum­bent, Lyndon B. Johnson. And in in the deputy role. Denise is one of the of American institutions, recently made 2016, we endorsed Hillary Clinton. As in best narrative-­nonfiction editors work- an argument to us about the efficacy of 1964, this most recent endorsement was ing today—many of the stories we’ve impeachment, I turned to our Watergate- more of an anti-endorsement. We argued loved the most in recent years have been era archives. Yoni’s argument is in one way that Trump was “spectacularly unfit” for Denise’s doing. Joining Don and Denise similar to Richardson’s. Impeachment, as I office. “His affect is that of an infomercial is the legendary designer Peter Mendel- had previously understood it, seemed like huckster,” we wrote in November 2016. sund, who will be our new creative direc- a formula for chaos, the sort of chaos no “He traffics in conspiracy theories and rac- tor, and the gifted Oliver Munday, who fractured nation needs. But impeachment, ist invective; he is appallingly sexist; he is coming aboard as senior art director. Yoni said, is actually an antidote to chaos. is erratic, secretive, and xenophobic; he We already have the strongest team in The Framers provided in the Constitu- expresses admiration for authoritarian magazine journalism; these new leaders tion an orderly, evidence-based process rulers, and evinces authoritarian tenden- will ensure that The Atlantic goes from that allows the American people, through cies himself.” strength to strength. their elected representatives, to determine In retrospect, we may have been guilty whether a president has displayed the of understatement. In our recently posted — Jeffrey Goldberg

6 MARCH 2019 THE ATLANTIC