These are perilous times for understatement and modest expectations. In the age of Trump, even the smallest of things are transmogrified into epoch-defining events. These are the days of mountains out of molehills, “a new low” almost daily, and more proof (as if more were needed) that your political opponents are every bit as debased as—no, even more debased than—you rightly concluded long ago.

In keeping with the times, many now detect a strong whiff of impeachment in the fetid Washington air. And it is here that I would like to apply a little critical political realism to the question, to set aside personal views and analyze it as coolly and dispassionately as possible. I’m sure there’s still an audience for that sort of thing. But just in case there isn’t, let me begin by saying that the idea Donald Trump is going to be removed from office is about the most farfetched fantasy in the rich history of Washington partisan delusion.