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Hillary vs Trump
You have got to admit, this is a PAY-PER-VIEW grade boxing match. Both of these candidates are considered, by the other side, to be unthinkably extreme caricatures of the parties they represent. This isn’t Edgar Martinez batting against Jamie Moyer; it’s Jose Canseco batting against Armando Benitez. It’s going to be a whale of an entertaining year.
I’m not saying I’d vote Trump. I got bored with American politics about fifteen years ago.
The thing is, you already “get” Hillary. You don’t “get” Donald Trump. It’s not about talking you into voting for him; I couldn’t care less whether you did or didn’t.
It’s about explaining why Trump is not as much of a joke as CNN would like us to think he is. Bet you a Buffalo nickel you hadn’t thought of even 1 the 3 reasons we give below. As you know, we live to serve.
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KEEPIN' IT FRESH
Like we said: we’re mostly getting a comments thread open. Hillary backers please DO make the case for her. Dr. D is especially interested in what would make her a good President aside from the things she has in common with other Democratic candidates.
I’m bored by arguments that she’s pro-choice, that she wants to use carrots rather than sticks with foreign dictators, that she’ll spend big money on global warming. Wikipedia will argue that Bill Clinton was a top-10 President on the basis that he holds the values every other liberal holds. Let’s talk about whether a candidate is good at her job.
I’m also bored to hear arguments for Trump on the basis that it’s important to stop partial-birth abortion, that he’s hawkish on foreign policy or that he’s in favor of unfettering Corporate America.
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One thing about SSI: you get full disclosure on my politics. I come from a Christian point of view. We promised you three things about The Donald that appeals to to “ideological conservatives.” These things cut through the fact that Trump is the most secular candidate among Republicans – and even though his reversal from Democrat to Republican may be staged for all I know.
Trump is WINNING. Nobody thought it possible. We’ll tell you why he is winning. That’s all. You don't have to like it :- )
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MY LEAST FAVE THING ABOUT TRUMP
He ain't Presidential. That charge sticks. The Constitution even says. You should be 35 years of age, born in America, and have no combover.
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NUMBER ONE REASON HE'S WINNING ANYWAY
This guy is solid steel. We are talking Clint Eastwood steel, the kind of guy who will step up in front of 10 million Americans on TV and ad-lib for a half hour on unpopular positions. Trump has MUCH more steel than ANY candidate on either side. Contrast Hillary’s defensiveness when she’s criticized even mildly. (Bill Clinton was able to put on snake eyes when people came at him; we’re not just painting with a broad brush.)
Case in point: the CNN primary debate was paneled by three moderators who were simply breathtaking in their contempt for all of the debaters. One Republican after another whined about it; I think it was Rubio who caused a sensation by rebuking them from the pulpit in real time.
But Trump was asked about it, live on TV, and he nodded approvingly. “I think it was good,” he said, and he meant it. The fiery, unfair turf gave him a chance to set himself apart. Which is exactly what he did.
This is a guy who has power-negotiated hundreds of big business deals, with people trying to kill him, and he cannot be intimidated. By the New York Times or anybody.
I’m not saying that’s good. I’m saying it’s what Christians like. They feel persecuted by the media, and Trump is a guy who can embarrass the media. No apologies. Ever.
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And he’ll carry this steel into the World War III front with jihadists.
Dennis Miller had a joke: "Could we get Obama to speak as harshly of ISIS as he does of the Tea Party and of Boston Police?" Think about it. He genuinely does want tolerance for ISIS. He genuinely wants zero tolerance for people in his own country who disagree with him effectively.
Libertarians would like to see this exactly reversed. Trump is the photo-negative of Obama and Clinton on ISIS and immigration, and that's what this election will probably be about.
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POINT TWO
Trump's sound bites sound outrageous because of the reporting bias against them – Joe Biden would be caricatured if the media didn’t vote 95% left – and because every other candidate cares whether they are mocked. Trump simply doesn’t care.
And the plus side is, he's UNSCRIPTED. He's sincere, in that sense. Is insincerity from politicians --- > a minor complaint we have, or a major one?
Americans will forgive a lot of dumb things if they're real.
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POINT THREE
We are waayyyy past the point, in America, of arguing about gay marriage. America has already DECIDED that sexual taboos serve no purpose. There is absolutely no point in voting for somebody to charge up that hill. It’s irrelevant now.
The critical issue over the next 10 years is whether foreigners are going to outvote Americans and “turn the U.S. into a third world hellhole.” I don’t say this in a racist way; I’ve been on mercy missions to Mexico, and because I meant it. I work, as we speak, for Third World compassion.
The political battle over immigration is, in reality, a battle over a mass of new liberal voters. Here is an Ann Coulter piece that describes the problem in much more blunt terms than I use. http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2015-11-11.html
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POINT FOUR
Trump does NOT take himself too seriously. Have you seen his parody of himself on Jimmy Kimmel? Have you SEEN that? :- )
Honestly now: is Hillary Clinton going to parody herself on a comedy show? Is she going to sit there while some comedienne in a mirror, with a blonde wig, satires her mannerisms and positions? And one-up the criticism of herself in a volleyball game that lampoons her? She'd go on the show, certainly. Rule would be: nothing that lands a real blow against her.
As Coulter put it, when Trump brags and boasts, it’s funny. And he’s in on the joke. Nobody feels bad about themselves after Trump brags. Think about that for a minute, however you vote.
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DR's R/X
I’m not saying I’d vote Trump. I wouldn't. If I voted at all, I have an inkling for Ben Carson. I like the intelligence, the soft-spokenness, the hesitancy to react too quickly, the niceness. Of course his social positions are very similar to mine.
But some people see the U.S. as sliding into Hell in a handbasket. Many of those people think Donald Trump has the stones to go to war to save his country.
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EQUAL TIME Dept.
My favorite thing about Hillary: Judi Dench’s line from GoldenEye, when an American general scoffed at having a woman in the War Room. Perhaps she doesn’t have the stones to go to war. But that also means she doesn’t have to think with them.
Best exec I ever worked for, was a woman a lot like Hillary.
Enjoy,
Dr D