Don Hudson Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 My golly, thirty-nine days to go. Have we ever seen anything like it?! I mean, for just about everybody who is who is situationally-aware, here is a candidate for President of the United States shite-tweeting at 0-dark-hundred about somebody's weight in a beauty contest. It is reasonable to say now that Donald Trump has big, big, up-front issues. And he hasn't changed at all since the video in '99 when he tried for the presidency then. He can't change. His issues will only get worse if he's actually elected, mainly because he will assume that the POTUS has full power to do whatever is addled brain wants to do and, just like he does right now, he'll fight every one of those checks and balances we're often reminded about every millimeter of the way until impeachment or an unprecedented removal from office. Trump has shown that he is slow as well as uninterested to learn new things, and intransigent when confronted with inconvenient realities, (and one would expect that those kinds of realities come fast-and-furious to the Oval Office). All indications are that he's going to be waxed by Hillary on October 9th. The next debate is a town-hall style meeting where the audience gets to ask some questions. The audience is chosen by Gallup and are Undecided. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/09/29/the-first-debate-was-a-defeat-for-trump-heres-why-the-second-could-be-an-outright-massacre/?tid=hybrid_collaborative_2_na&utm_term=.c0707102dbeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Don: I have tried to stay out of this topic but ..... It appears that Mr. Trump truly doesn't want to be President and is doing everything he can to help out Hillary, my opinion is based on his latest remarks. In the past he was good friends with the Clinton's and now that he has removed all of those who might actually beat her, are we seeing a "real" conspiracy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 30 minutes ago, Malcolm said: Don: I have tried to stay out of this topic but ..... It appears that Mr. Trump truly doesn't want to be President and is doing everything he can to help out Hillary, my opinion is based on his latest remarks. In the past he was good friends with the Clinton's and now that he has removed all of those who might actually beat her, are we seeing a "real" conspiracy? I've wondered this for months. Hence my thinking some months ago that the GOP itself may want to "cure" the problem in a very inappropriate but truly wild-west American tradition. Or a more modern depression-era Chicago tradition. Take your pick. There is something going on behind the scenes that we may never learn about for decades. Jackie O stipulated in her will that her personal papers concerning the assassination of her first husband would never be released until 50 years after the last of her off-spring with JFK had died. Trouble with all this conspiracy type thinking (which it most certainly is), is that there is still a huge following for the message The Donald is promoting. If true and HRC wins the Presidency, how are those followers going to react? The analogy that comes to my mind for The Donald's campaign for the White House is kinda like the dog (sorry, Mitch!) that decided it wanted to chase cars for a living. On its first attempt, it captures a freight train in its jaws then wonders "Now, WTF am I going to do????" Guess we're gonna find out. Choo Choo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 The ads..... http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/will-these-anti-trump-ads-be-killer-spots-2016-campaign Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 It will be Women who will be Trumps downfall... https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trump-is-being-outplayed-by-women-and-hes-losing-his-mind/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hudson Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Hi Malcolm; No, I think he's serious. It's terribly sad really - he simply has no idea. I was thinking today that he is a modern Shakespearean tragedy, even if he wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Hamlet or Richard the III? a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 The Internet's greatest single tragedy - the meme. Well, that and Twit(ter.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hudson Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Hi Malcolm; I don't want to put too much into "Shakespearean" (or even Greek) tragic hero meme; - I don't know who he most resembles as I don't know the tragedies well enough. What I do see in Trump is a man whose ambitions are exceeding his capacity. He is the figure of his own making which finds itself in circumstances beyond his knowledge, experience and comprehension. He has been swaddled and catered to for decades, cloaked from honest feedback where no one dares to challenge him. Perhaps even slightly outside the circle of comfort, the result is fragility of ego, weakness of spirit and ignorance. That is what Hillary has recognized. And it isn't fixable, and the Presidency will, as those who have been there tell us, only exacerbate such faults. Try as he (or others) may, he can't/won't recognize who he is or where he is in history. Here he is a week later, still in the midst of a distracted flailing over unimportant details at 3am while in the race of his life. He unwittingly thwarts his own ambitions and he can't see it. The way I understand the "tragic hero", that's the essence of Shakesperean tragedy - a weakness in an otherwise-strong character, (hero) that causes the downfall of an ambitious man destined for greatness, (or love), but for a fatal flaw which is his downfall. In Shakespeare, the audience has empathy because the protagonist is "us". The difference here is I think, those that support him don't see it this way because they hate the "anti-hero" Hillary so much, and those that see Trump for who he is are coming to understand that they are watching a modern tragedy, but unlike the plays, there is little empathy with the central character and they are, in increasing numbers, trying to find the exits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hudson Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 It is NOT a problem. Hillary is competent. Trump is not. Hillary is in very good company with all other presidents, who have also kept secrets, made mistakes, cheated, secretly arranged affairs so that certain outcomes obtain and who have disrespected the Constitution time after time. We needn't review behaviours from Kennedy on, (but I will if you want). It is a choice of who you want "in the cockpit" when the chips are seriously down. Do you want The Donald tweeting and blustering on about fat women and deplorable leaders of other countries when the "football" is nearby or do you want someone who actually understands how the real world works? This is risk management, not an election. Perhaps next time around the Democrats and the Republicans, such as they are, can put country ahead of hatred, get their act together and attract someone truly worthy of the Oval Office. The rest are just the ugly details of sausage-making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 I've heard that Trump was up at 0300 tweeting messages relating to a 30 year old comment he may have made in respect of a considerably overweight Miss Universe. Trust me, any Presidential candidate that's up all night fuming over this kind of crap is in my view, consumed by ego and that concerns me deeply. But then there's the charade known as the Clinton campaign. Do any of you Lefties think you can concoct a convincing argument in respect & support of the competence you attribute to Hilary based only on her professional achievements? If you're up for it, I think it would be fair & appropriate to initiate your qualification beginning with her "flunking" the Bar exam in the District of Columbia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydee Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakelad Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 . Conrad Black: The first one-on-one between Clinton and Trump was an even, if disappointing, debate Sat Oct 01, 2016 - National Post by Conrad Black The much-awaited debate between the U.S. presidential candidates has not much altered the race. It is generally conceded that Hillary Clinton got the better of Donald Trump if it is scored like a prize fight. But she was not impressive and was rather less capable than had been expected, where Trump, though given to tangents and grating egocentricities, was sensible and his views were not immoderate. As he pointed out, the Democrats have squandered $200 million in attack advertising that Trump is effectively a mental case who would fire nuclear weapons at Rosie O’Donnell, but he said nothing extreme or embarrassing. Clinton’s efforts to portray him as a xenophobe, racist, warmonger and misogynist all failed. It was indicative of the feebleness of the extreme versions of anti-Trumpism that she was reduced to citing the birther issue as evidence of racism. There are plenty of reasons to dislike Trump, but not because of his extreme views, as he is a moderate in all policy areas and only reached for the Archie Bunker vote with pyrotechnics about illegal immigration and trade deals that have yielded poor results for the United States. (He has no concern with trade with Canada and recognizes Canada as a fair-trading country, and his attacks on the North American Free Trade Agreement are about the trade imbalance with Mexico, not U.S.-Canada free trade.) Of course the birther issue was absurd; even if President Barack Obama had been technically ineligible to be president, by the time it got going as a controversy, he had served several years in the office and there was nothing to be done about it. But the question was of his parents’ nationality; it had nothing to do with race, religion, or pigmentation. Trump’s entire voluminous record of public comments can be ransacked without finding a scintilla of evidence to support the charge of racism or sectarian prejudice. As he mentioned, he has sometimes said rude things about some women, usually very obnoxious women, but never about the female sex. Clinton has scorched her fingers getting into this before, when Trump has responded that she was the greatest facilitator of chauvinistic disregard for the sensibilities of women in American history by her toleration of the tawdry peccadilloes of her husband. (Many other U.S. presidents have had extra-marital sexual relationships, but discreetly and with mature women.) Everyone who has followed this campaign at all knew what Trump meant in graciously responding near the end of Monday night’s encounter that he had shown great forbearance in resisting the temptation to reply unkindly to her claims that he disrespected women. This highlighted the dangers that afflict the Clinton campaign: she has no new ideas and no strong argument, except abuse of her opponent, for why the Obama-Clinton regime should be extended. In a signally sour and nasty action, the usually gentlemanly George H.W. Bush (the senior president Bush), said last week he would vote for Clinton. Bush has served his country with distinction as a combat naval aviator all the way through to its highest office. But he was handed victory in the Cold War and an economic boom and a strong Republican party by Ronald Reagan. He allowed his party to be splintered by the billionaire charlatan Ross Perot in 1992, and fumbled the White House into the hands of the Clintons, who would not have been nationally known but for Bush’s ineptitude as party leader. 'Apart from fear of Trump or irreconcilable aversion to him, or the most hackneyed pandering to feminism, there is no reason to vote for Clinton.' . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hudson Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Thanks Lakelad. I have to admit that I've always liked Black's writing. He's more trusting of Trump than I think is warranted. I say this because I don't think Trump is merely bluster which, underneath is harbouring a solid, rational mind behind the facade. If it is, he is hiding it extremely well which doesn't give moderate people who would consider Trump a lot to hang onto. It isn't the insults that's the problem even as Clinton and the media are riding them. It's the apparent inability to explain his policies and cause people to want to follow him, because they certainly represent a change from familiar Democratic and Republican positions. Perhaps at one time it may have been Trump's election to lose? The effect of Trump's words on the voting public and for hundreds of White House advisers, the Military, the CIA and so on upon whom the President must absolutely rely for solid advice, is a concern even if Black's critiques describing a "moderate" Trump are accurate. The CIA sure didn't like Trump's discussion of secret briefings, (Commander-in-Chief town hall). Black doesn't deal with any of this but it needs to be. Trump may have been electable and perhaps it should have been Black managing his campaign, but Trump hasn't made it easy for himself or others to accept him as a serious candidate. Another, earlier OpEd on Trump by Conrad Black: http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/the-genius-of-trump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 SNL season opener. Alec Baldwin as Trump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydee Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Take your pick of which side of evil you roll with. Both candidates are totally inept but only one is despicable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydee Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Apparently the US is over run with deplorables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Yep, if it's on the internet, it has to be true. No fact checking required here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hudson Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Scott Adams, (Dilbert) supports Trump: http://blog.dilbert.com/post/151288850856/presidential-temperament Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Wow ... I truly appreciate your wiliness to present an article such as this Don ... under the circumstances I see the post as a gentlemanly expression of balance!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 The sign of a great critical thinker; consider all points of view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hudson Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 DEFCON; I think it's important over time to observe the sediment - it keeps one quiet as the media get louder and the commentators more shrill. Most times we are forced to the corners from which there is nowhere to proceed and that only proves there are corners. I think Conrad Black's articles in the National Post are well worth examining as are some other substantial contributors. When someone who writes like Black offers opinions on such a matter, one has to read what is said and ponder. Sort of suspending judgement in favour of curiosity. He's refeshingly nuanced, so one has to say he's wrong, if he is, with care. http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/the-genius-of-trump http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/conrad-black-the-first-one-on-one-between-clinton-and-trump-was-an-even-if-disappointing-debate What has been unleashed inadvertently, but also fortuitously in its timing, has changed the Republican Party forever - there hasn't been something that could be called (a conserving) "conservatism" since the Eisenhower. Even if the outcome is decisive for Clinton, somehow conservatism, and the two-party system in the U.S. must rebuild to accomodate what has been said over the past fifteen months. I thought at one time, because of the more stable numbers in the Electoral College, that the election would be a landslide. In fact many would prefer it, as a squeaking victory for Clinton will be very bad for the country - possibly violent but certainly not silent. And if it is as close as 2000, the Supreme Court may not be able to decide the election outcome . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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