It was “a trail of deceit that plundered the generosity and good will of millions of Americans who wished desperately to believe their president was not a liar.” That was Goldwater, that magnificent conservative of the 20th century, speaking of Nixon and Watergate. He went on to call it “the manipulation and misuse of this vast American storehouse of bigheartedness that history will condemn.”

Maybe this helps explain why so many of my fellow citizens still doggedly support President Trump. They too seem to be wishing desperately. Surely, their bigheartedness has been manipulated and misused...