Gift from Laurie
And any religious Conservatives who support that divorced womanizing debt defaulting candidate seem to be voting against their personal beliefs.
"Have you done a post on Trump? Rather than watch the GOP debate (I can't stand it) I am doing my usually web surfing and found this opinion piece very interesting:I don't have time to look at the links right now, I just think of Trump on the national stage as Jesse was on the MN stage. And I truly do not understand what their followers are thinking. I sure would not want either of those narcissistic hot heads negotiating with foreign countries with their finger on the button.
Thinking About President Trump
and here is a very recent poll:
In face of criticism, Trump surges to his biggest lead over the GOP field" Laurie
"Don't Americans care whether their chief executive has a grasp on reality?"
Wow. Even from the Huffington Post, I didn't expect that. They're talking about /Trump/. And I can't imagine why people would be mad at our current crop of politicians. (I mean, we've got Obamacare so everybody is insured and paying less, ISIS is contained and the planet has been saved from Climate Change, right?)" Jerry
And any religious Conservatives who support that divorced womanizing debt defaulting candidate seem to be voting against their personal beliefs.
Kevin Drums thoughts on Trump: (its so much easier to link Drum, who I almost always agree with and who was willing to watch the debate than type in my own thoughts)
ReplyDeleteHere Is the Worst Answer From Tonight's Debate
I actually think that comparing Trump to Jesse is unfair to Jesse -- who at the time he ran for governor anyway, had a reasonably coherent ideology and some specific ideas he wanted to pursue.
ReplyDeleteTrump is a lot of posturing (we're going to "win" again?), half-baked ideas (use our "best people" to "shut down" part of "our Internet"?), and know-nothingness. The only hope for Trump Presidency would be the possibility of him hiring competent adults to steer the ship of government and check his worst impulses.
since Trump has generated very little interest I will throw in another suggestion for a new topic:
ReplyDeleteThe big new budget deal, explained I don't have time to comment now, but maybe tomorrow. Any liberal commentary Ezra adds to the explanation of the deal I probably agree with.
back to Trump I was hoping for some speculation on his chances of winning the GOP primary or the general election. I also that some comments on the role of the media in contributing to the Trump phenomena would be interesting. So I just looked to the web for some views starting with 538:
ReplyDeleteTrump Boom Or Trump Bubble?
Don’t expect his numbers to fade — until his media coverage does.
seems to me Trump will keep getting the most media coverage and maintian his lead in the polls. I will even go out on a limb and predict he will get the nomination and lose the general election (I have very little certainty in this prediction- the GOP nomination part that is) I still have faith that the voters will do the right thing and elect Hillary. Also, it seems to me the media should strive to be at least slightly more fair and balanced in covering the candidates.
I keep saying that Americans are smarter than to put Trump in a position with military and diplomatic power, yet the polls keep proving me wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think Rush Limbaugh has the best interpretation of the Trump phenomenon. That is, that Trump knows how to handle the media better than anybody. He says things the media find outrageous but that make a lot of sense to ordinary folks looking for easy answers. The media then splash this all over, giving him free publicity for his views.
ReplyDeleteThey then run to other Republicans to denounce Trump, and splash THAT all over, and when they go back to Trump, he doubles down, getting him MORE press and more supporters because he has "stood up" to both the media and the "establishment." Folks are angry that their country "doesn't work" and anybody wanting to put a finger in the eye of the folks wrecking it is going to have a lot of popularity. And Trump loves it.
Some of my sources are talking about how Trump gets out of this race, and why, and I do not think he will get the GOP nomination, nor do I think he will be unhappy about it, so long as the GOP "treats him fairly" along the way. That means he gets to run in the primaries but lacks the votes at convention (if he goes that far and I doubt he will) to win on the first ballot.
Now, we haven't heard serious policy proposals from him because, if history is any guide, they would make him a lot LESS popular, especially with conservatives, but he doesn't NEED to and won't, if he's smart, so long as he leads in the polls by virtue of bombast and insult.
That is why I find his lead so frustrating... In essence it means that ~40% of Republican voters are essence idiots. I guess that shouldn't surprise me...
ReplyDeleteabout ~40% of Republican voters are essence idiots. I am surprosed to see you acknowledge this. I recently saw that if it is Hillary against Trump in the general 15% of republican voters will vote for Clinton. Will you join this group?
ReplyDeleteNew Post-Debate Poll: Trump Maintains Lead
Given the choice of Clinton or Trump, I would probably pick Clinton.
ReplyDeleteGiven the choice of Sanders or Trump, I would probably stay home and feel sorry for the state of American citizens and their foolishness.
I don't mean to be insulting, not the least, but in this tightly constrained argument, anybody that would pick Clinton over ANY Republican, including Trump, is "in essence an idiot."
ReplyDeleteI was trying to point out that 8 years ago the public got taken in by a media-built blank slate of a candidate with an extremist ideology hidden by vagaries. Trump, OTOH, is the candidate the media loves to hate, and is a blank slate not for those wanting hope and change but for those just hopping mad at "the establishment." He is not an extremist except in words. He's more of a pragmatist, and his vagaries are disguised as outrageous comments, but still do not offer any real, practical policy proposals. We can only hope the public is smarter this time around. "Once burned, twice shy"? I don't know. We did RE-elect the guy in 2012, in preference to a vastly superior choice.
Jerry,
ReplyDeleteClinton is a narcissistic self serving untruthful politician like most of the others. My guess is she would be very similar in office to her husband. From what I remember that was not necessarily a bad thing. (other than his getting a blow job in the White House. :-( )
BBC Trump Supporters
And you think Obama acts like an Emperor... Just imagine Trump.
Maybe his voters are primarily one issue voters.
ReplyDeleteI've long held that business people and military leaders make poor Presidents because their background is in a command and control organization. You dictate and the underlings follow along (depending on leadership style, but essentially that's the structure). The real Presidency, Obama's lawlessness and hubris notwithstanding, is anything but that. Better presidents are great politicians, able to move public opinion and work with or around Congress. Bill Clinton was a great politician. The BEST presidents, however are skilled politicians WITH PRINCIPLES. Hillary is neither, nor is Trump, but Trump may be the better politician at this point. Biggest problem our country has is that our country tends to elect rock stars rather than either, and Trump is something like that; fortunately the Kardashians aren't running.
ReplyDelete2020 President Race
ReplyDeleteScary that sometimes Mad magazine is so prescient.
ReplyDeleteLaurie, I'm glad you acknowledge your bias, and I'm sure you know mine is quite the opposite. The only quibble I have is that I'm not content to sit back and "figure out where it is headed" other than as a tool to direct my own small efforts towards steering that outcome in a desirable direction. Right now I have reasons to believe that Ted Cruz, not Donald Trump, will be the nominee and will defeat Hillary. THAT is what matters at the end.
ReplyDelete