| It's hardly a surprise at this point that Donald Trump is using his presidency for personal profit. In the most recent example, he's been floating the possibility of hosting the Group of Seven summit at one of his golf clubs next year, complete with high-profile presidential endorsements of the supposed virtues of the site. As Greg Sargent says, this is the "one bedrock principle, one unshakable constant in Trump's conduct, from which he will never waver." That Trump is using the presidency for personal gain is bad. That he's willing to at least encourage the appearance of flat-out bribery – suggesting that he'll favor those who stay at his hotels and otherwise enrich him – undermines the idea of constitutional government. Perhaps worse is the blatant lawlessness. Trump's job, of course, is to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." And yet he proceeds as if the emolument clauses of the Constitution simply don't exist. For the president to get away with this kind of thing just because he can promotes contempt for the entire concept of the rule of law. And then there's the example Trump sets. Why should any other elected official or government employee avoid conflicts of interest when the president flirts with them constantly? It's not surprising that an unusual number of high-level officials in this administration have left office after scandals. When the president exploits his public position for personal gain so openly, the clear implication is that only a chump would miss a chance to do the same. Trump, of course, claims that he's losing money on the presidency. Who knows? That could even be true. But given that he's the first president since before Richard Nixon to hide his tax returns, there's little reason to believe him. Even in the unlikely event that the presidency is a net loser for Trump, that still doesn't excuse the constant advertisements for his personal businesses. And it certainly doesn't excuse behavior that mocks the rule of law. 1. Sarah Binder at the Monkey Cage on Congress and guns. 2. Seth Masket at Mischiefs of Faction on Joe Walsh's presidential campaign. 3. Also at Mischiefs: Chipo Dendere on corruption and party politics in Africa. 4. Ariel Edwards-Levy reminds everyone not to obsess about each new poll. Yup. Pay attention to averages, not individual polls, and even then modest changes – whether it's an average of horse-race polls or whatever – often don't mean much. 5. And Nate Silver on former Vice President Joe Biden and Iowa. | 
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