Robert Mueller seems the kind of guy who could recite the rule book of Monopoly chapter and verse.

After all,  his life is punctuated by the rules of conduct. In July 1968, he was sent to South Vietnam, where he served as a rifle platoon leader with the Marines. He was cited for valor for rescuing a wounded Marine during an attack that killed half his men. He was shot himself and returned to service the same year. He’s received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, two commendation medals and the Gallantry Cross. In 2004, he was inducted into the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame. That hound dog has no quit in him.

So he shouldn’t take it personally if Donald Trump fires him. If anything, he should welcome it.

Certainly, no one would be surprised if Mueller got the pink slip from a boss who is already asking if he can legally forgive his own sins. A new CNN/Pew poll showed only 41% of Americans approve of how Mueller is leading the special counsel. Apparently, 5 guilty pleas and 17 indictments does not demonstrate sufficient prosecutorial proficiency for Trumpkins — as well as many Americans in a TwitFace era where days feel like weeks, weeks like decades. How long before Trump does what he does best: exploit our inner bile?

But a Mueller firing could have an unexpected upside. Several, actually. Here are a few reasons Mueller (and we) should not fret the president prematurely halting the investigation:

• We already know what the report will allege. Is there anyone who actually believes Trump did not collude with Russians? The nation saved him from bankruptcy? And Trump wasn’t going to genuflect to the thug money that kept him afloat — and put him in the Oval Office? To the cheering throng of thousands, Trump begged, on national TV, the Russians and Wikileaks to continue to hack his opponent’s emails (and perhaps America’s). Would an official allegation of collusion suddenly wake us up with the epiphany: “My goodness gracious, he is Putin’s cock holster.”
• We already know the GOP/Fox reaction. Ever since Fox News taught him the term “witch hunt,” Trump has been muttering the term like Rain Man. Look at what he did with “propagated,” which he brandished during last week’s fuck you to immigrants and their mothers. As my mother, a former first-grade teacher, put it, “I was surprised he knew a four-syllable word.” Prepare for a new chant as he and Fox & Fiends mount a three-syllable defense to anything Mueller alleges: “Treasonous.”
• We are more likely to believe the findings. Tease this one out with me: If we know what the report will allege, as well as what the conservative response will be to the allegations, what keeps this from running the news cycle sprint? Mystery. If Mueller were to be fired, his findings would  gain spontaneous credence. And given the administration’s incontinence problem, you know the results would be leaked like cat pee.
• We can spare Bob a character assassination. One of the most interesting elements of the collusion case is Mueller’s white-hat reputation. While Trump grumbles about attorney-client privilege being dead, I’ve yet to see a single pundit malign Mueller’s character, even on Fox. The biggest strike against Mueller may be his disdain for  public relations stunts. His opponents will honor no similar rule of conduct. Getting unduly fired lets him remain Shane in the sunset.

Mueller likely gives nary a shit about any of this. By nearly every measure, he appears meticulous to the core, and in no rush to give us the American Idol finale we’ve come to expect of our politics.

It’s a notion we’d do well to have propagated.