American intelligence professionals, through a process of self-selection and acculturation, much like their… — Michael V. Hayden

One didn't need to read the fine print to see the unwavering intelligence community consensus that the Russians interfered in the 2016 election and planned to do the same in 2018. In his opening remarks, Coats predicted that Russian operations "will continue against the United States and our European allies, using elections as opportunities to undermine democracy, sow discord, and undermine our values," and then added, "There should be no doubt that Russia perceived its past efforts as successful, and views the 2018 U.S. midterm elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations."

That's a pretty clear warning. And a pretty good sign that American intelligence remains steadfast on this issue and, one hopes, more broadly in its commitment to objective truth. It's also a pretty good sign that phase four in the relationship between the IC and the president will be lengthy, contentious, divisive, and unpredictable. Stand by.

Beyond the lack of truth telling, there was the question of inclusion, with the campaign's emphasis on the politically convenient but somewhat amorphous "other"- immigrants, illegals, Mexicans, Muslims, and so on- as the root of our problems. The campaign broadcast a palpable sense of America less as a welcoming Madisonian "we the people" than a nation defined by blood and soil and shared history. If the campaign hadn't been conducted in English, we would have routinely heard words that evoked blood and soil like the German Volk or the Slavic narod. Lacking a good English equivalent, the campaign settled on "hardworking Americans" as an adequate dog-whistle equivalent. The label preferred by some in the alt-right was "awakened whites."