Broken Norms Are Hard to Restore

Reconstruction will be very difficult because once informal norms about how presidents act, the role of Congress, and respect for law are broken, they are very hard to restore; the rule of law rests on a normative sense among the powerful that they shouldn't exploit the system, and that norm—exemplified by monumental corruption in the current administration—cannot be quickly rebuilt, with a temptation for successors to use the same powers for their own benefit.