“Ugly” requires no definition. You know it when you see it. And the public sees plenty of it in what promises to be a four-year war between President Trump and the “Resistance.” A related concept is “winning ugly.” In sports lexicon, it typically refers to a player or team that competes in unconventional, plodding ways but tends to end up on the winning side.

Both descriptions are appropriate fits as the latest chapters of what I’ll call “Russiagate,” “Obamacaregate,” “tax-reformgate,” and “NFLgate” unfold. To wit: