James Comey, the former FBI Director, is an honorable man of principle. We know that this is so because the media, which is an excellent judge of both honor and principle, tells us so.
Like all honorable, principled people, Comey decided to write a book about what a terrible man his former boss is. And decided to mock his hand size.
The 6-foot-8 Comey describes Trump as shorter than he expected with a “too long” tie and “bright white half-moons” under his eyes that he suggests came from tanning goggles. He also says he made a conscious effort to check the president’s hand size, saying it was “smaller than mine, but did not seem unusually so.”
Does it matter? It's petty. And Comey's whole brand is that he's a noble man of principle who only got fired because of his principles.
But a whole bunch of water has passed under that particular bridge. And we know that Comey headed a bureau of the government that used Clinton opposition research to go after Trump while handing out immunity agreements to Hillary Clinton associates.
And this version of Comey looks petty, spiteful and condescending. Behind the Thomas More imitation is the guy whose sense of Trump comes from Saturday Night Live skits.
Comey's career didn't show any principles. And his response to Trump is about what you would expect from a big government lefty. The split isn't just political, it's also cultural. That Blue-Red gap is often less about issues than it is about culture.
And Comey's culture is very clear in this encounter. Like the rest of the book, it tells us nothing about Trump, but everything about Comey.