Dr. Ronny Jackson’s decision to withdraw his nomination as Veterans Affairs secretary raises a number of issues – about drinking on the job, playing fast and loose with prescriptions and contemplating job opportunities to which you are not suited. But not the least of the rippling effects is the role of lookism in the Trump Administration, which says something important about power.

President Donald J. Trumpet holds Jackson in esteem, because he looks the part of a rear admiral and Navy doc, is blandly attractive and flattered the president’s physique in his report on his health. Indeed, the president said he would like to be Jackson, referring to his looks. This coincided with the state visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, during which Trumpet reached over and picked a piece of “dandruff” off his suit jacket. I have never seen another American president invade a foreign leader’s personal space in this manner, and you have to ask yourself, Why? …