Australian leaders have always kept a watchful eye on the political mood in Washington, especially since Prime Minister John Curtin in the war years declared that Australia would now look to the United States of America, free of links or kinship to the United Kingdom. From Pearl Harbor and the Fall of Singapore to the recent assault on the US Capitol itself, when Donald Trump showed that he was dangerously incapable of admitting electoral defeat, Australian envoys in Washington have always been vital contributors to reading the mood and responding to critical events. These duties invite consideration of the personal…