we’ve really let them down
That the Republicans consider The Donald Trump their front-runner for next
year’s presidential campaign is a source of dismay and amusement to me. Dismay
that so much of the GOP rank and file can yet again follow a rich man posing as a
populist, and amusement for that very same reason.
Don’t get me wrong. I think Trump is sublime, in the most precise definition of the
word, that he can change quickly from a solid to a gaseous state. That’s what makes
him such a superb salesman. He sells himself, and his perfect bluster is a smoke
screen for his actual business dealings. He’s filed for bankruptcy on four of his big
So a whole bunch of people think that this man who expertly manipulates the U.S.
house-of-cards economy will put federal financial affairs in order. And they’re also
willing to accept Trump’s trumpeting that he “screwed” Moammar Ghadaffi on a
real estate deal as his foreign policy credential.
It ain’t gonna happen, folks, though it likely would be Obama’s wildest dream. The
Prez would carve up The Donald in a campaign. Trump, as he’s done before, makes
this noise to get ink and e-ink, then drops out of the race when he’s obtained what
he really wanted. My guess is that he’s trying to drive up ratings for the slumping
“Apprentice”. At any rate, he’ll come up with some noble reason to quit before he’s
required to reveal his finances. You can bank on it. America is one thing The
Donald can’t comb over.
The larger issue here is why those in the power elite think we’ll buy novelties like a
Trump candidacy. I believe I’ve figured out why: we’ve confused them by not pro-
viding better role models to guide their lives. When the national committees of the
Democrats and Republicans look down on us to figure out what candidates would
be most likely to be elected, they see an electorate fascinated by Royal Weddings,
ballon boys, Tonya Harding, Monica Lewinsky, O. J.’s 50-mph freeway chase and
Charlie Sheen’s meltdown.
Why should they assume that we’re interested in anyone of substance? When a can-
didate like Ralph Nader talks to us like adults and offers specific solutions instead of
flag-waving rhetoric, he or she is immediately ridiculed and marginalized. So we
get the government they think we want. Crap.
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I’ve decided that, as much as I’ve enjoyed posting every day, I have to cut back. It
takes me several hours a day to produce a string of words that I think will amuse
and/or inform you, and that won’t embarrass me.
I started this blog to share the sustainability efforts in my neighbourhood and on
the island. I’m accepting Thursday’s dump of goop as the last throe of winter. We’ve
had gorgeous weather since. This means that it’s time for me to get away from the
keyboard and outside to a huge list of projects. To share these with you, I actually
have to build them.
So I’ll still be around, at least a few times a week and whenever I have major scoop.
Please consider subscribing to the blog by e-mail. Then you’ll know when I post.
Jude’s in the garden, Lee’s outside fixing the truck, Ollie’s hunting robins and
Slinkee’s overseeing all of that. I’m off to join them. Have a great weekend and
a happy May Day. I’ll be in touch.
Comments are closed.
Anchor Struck 
Thanks Allen for sharing your writings with us, your adoring publics. A daily post is quite a commitment.
Try not to become too much like Mr. Green Jeans.
Love & Kisses!
Thank you, random citizen. Are you back in the loving arms of Chicago now?
I’m amazed that someone as astute as you would think that a thinking person would ever consider D Trump as a serious candidate and I don’t think he considers himself as one. What I do believe he is doing is just what has been happening. He’s got Oboma (right spelling) off of his game. I believe that was Trump’s plan from the beginninmg. Obomma produced his fake birth certificate and I’ll bet Trump trumps him in other areas as well. We’ll see. He’s not a viable candidate, but right now he’s the best friend the Republicans have. Obomma’s furious and when people get mad, they make mistakes. In Obomma’s case, more mistakes than he usually makes.
Obama didn’t look furious at the White House Corespondents’ Dinner last night. He skewered himself and Biden, but saved his best to lampoon Trump, who never laughed when the camera was on him, even as others at his table did. If he’s doing the Republicans any favors, it’s by forcing the mainstream GOP to separate from the birthers. Even Michelle Bachmann is distancing herself. What’s with the Obomma spelling?
OBAMA was America’s chance to re-birth itself in the eyes of the world. His intentions were good and I believe he is a genuinely honest politician. He found, however that the realities of office were possibly more complicated than he had thought. The republicans were not about to let him do what he had wanted and had promised to do. Mainstream America (and most definitely the Republican Party) is operating under the delusion that America knows best and can do whatever it wants in this world. Hence the Iraq war. This attitude will continue to adversely affect the world’s view of the US, which somehow seems to come as a surprise to most Americans. I generalize, of course.
Obama was the most promising presidential candidate I’d seen since JFK. He ran an honorable campaign, refreshingly free of mudslinging. The morass he’s found proves the inflexibility of the US political system, hamstrung by special interests. At least he’s reducing the population at Guantanamo.
You are right, it’s often hard to find time to post every day. I will miss it though! Anyway, I subscribe by google reader, and the reader just pops your name up when you post. Much easier than email!
I didn’t know about that google reader thing, beanie. I’ll suggest that next time I post. Thanks.
Okay, we can understand how large a chunk of valuable time it takes to post an entry every day, so we will permit you to adjust your publishing schedule. Just don’t lose your flow and end up posting only once a month. That would suck. Remember: even a short post can be sweet, and won’t disappoint your faithful readers, as a short entry is better than no entry.
Your permission is most appreciated, Ms. Blathers. I’ve adjusted my schedule to avoid losing my flow. Sucking is not an option. I enjoyed visiting your cyber-cafe. Your vision evokes images of a donut shop in Kansas where my mother used to live: a flood of farmers in the morning, congenial exchanges of BS and identical political views, mass exit. May I add the cafe to my blogroll?
Should you add the caf to your blogroll, we would be honoured.
Indeed, when it comes to federal politics, Brainie and I seem to see eye to eye with the readers who have commented. Nary a dissenting view has been offered.
In local cafés you do hear a lot of opinions about politics these days. So many opinions are uneducated, though freely and forcefully given, that it’s difficult to sort the chaff of fearful ignorance from the wheat of thoughtful observation.
Glad you’ll continue to post entries frequently, so I won’t have to miss you.
🙂
“. . . it’s difficult to sort the chaff of fearful ignorance from the wheat of thoughtful observation.” Well said. That’s really the crux of it.
Please keep me on your list, Allen – I really enjoy your story-telling! I always knew you’d somehow end up a writer!
You can count on it, Charlotte.