He who indulges hope will always be disappointed.  So said Dr. Johnson in one of his many apothegms. The sudden departure of Ms. Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, was indeed a disappointment.  It's not that Hicks, who has been close to Trump since her days at the president's real estate company, close enough that she earned the nickname "the Trump whisperer," had any talent for political communication.  She was one of the few constants in Trump's inner circle, a non-ideological assistant to a president who doesn't need any help making his thoughts known. Hope's departure leaves yet another hole to fill in a White House slowly hemorrhaging talent.  Trump seems dissatisfied with every major player around him: he constantly rails on Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the press; national security adviser H.R. McMaster is rumored to be on his way out; Chief of Staff John Kelly...(Read Full Article)