Former FBI boss James Comey is a hero. There's no question about it.
He's tall and he has a book tour, so he must be a hero. Either that or a tall guy with a book deal.
It's not too clear what makes him a hero.
If you're on the left, then Comey was the guy who tried to thread the needle on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, walking the tightrope (all heroes must occasionally mix a metaphor) until he couldn't. His testimony was a confused mess. His Bureau leadership was even worse. His only achievement was getting fired.
And then he ran for his book deal.
The Comey brand is that he's a man of principle. But when did he actually stand on principle? What principled acts did he commit? You can disagree with what principle entails. But even across the political divide, we can agree that it involves taking some sort of stand?
Comey didn't take stands. He tried to work within the system, struggled with infighting in his own agency, created a fallback plan by leaking classified notes to protect his own career, and then only got the hero rebrand once he was fired.
If being fired by Trump makes one a hero, there are a lot of heroes out there.