I just thought I’d say that to clarify because, as Bryan Caskey suggested in a Tweet earlier today, one might be forgiven for thinking Brad Warthen wrote it. Because I have, several times. Here’s what he was talking about:
The end of the election is now in sight. Some among the anti-Hillary brigades have decided, in deference to their exquisite sensibilities, to stay at home on Election Day, rather than vote for Mrs. Clinton. But most Americans will soon make their choice. It will be either Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton—experienced, forward-looking, indomitably determined and eminently sane. Her election alone is what stands between the American nation and the reign of the most unstable, proudly uninformed, psychologically unfit president ever to enter the White House.
Smart woman, that Dorothy Rabinowitz.
Anyway, that was the last graf of a column headlined “Hillary-Hatred Derangement Syndrome.” In it, she stated the painfully obvious fact that far, far too many Americans — mostly Republicans — that she is the only person who stands between us and the complete degradation of the U.S. presidency.
It simply is not intellectually or morally defensible to say, as too many of our Republican friends do, “Yes, Trump is awful, but so is Hillary.” No. Not even close. Not even in the same universe. Whatever else you say about her, she is a person with the experience, intellectual capacity and temperament to be president of the United States.
And Donald Trump most emphatically is not. All the rest is a waste of breath…
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For the record, I don’t believe she is correct when she says “most Americans” will soon [vote for either Donald or Hillary]. I believe fewer than half voted in the last Presidential election….which is shameful. There is every reason, if not more, to believe this will be the case this time, as well.
” I don’t believe she is correct when she says “most Americans” will soon [vote for either Donald or Hillary].” -KF
On that valid point I do agree with you. On the significance of voter fraud, however, which you have variously stated as either non-existent or insignificant, we still disagree.
http://www.nhregister.com/government-and-politics/20140926/bridgeport-state-rep-christina-ayala-arrested-on-19-voting-fraud-charges
The thing about personality disordered people is that they seem very persuasive – until they don’t. By then it’s always too late.
This is what we have with Trump. The sad part is watching other people defend them (him); even after they have come to realize the person they defend doesn’t need defense, but instead care.
I’ve wrestled with a hypothetical matchup between Trump, as a Democrat, and George W. Bush. I most assuredly would not vote for Trump. That would be unthinkable. But what about the execrable Bush? Does his level of horror rise to the level of making a vote for him a non starter? Or is he merely a terrible option that requires a strong grip of the nose but a vote for the scoundrel none the less? What a really, really terrible choice. As a resident of SC I could easily defend a non vote given the odious reality of the electoral college. But what if I lived in NC where my vote would actually matter? I’m still struggling with this. I just don’t see how I could vote for a man who lied us into war. Yet a Trump presidency is really scary on so many levels. I dunno. Probably wouldn’t vote as a matter of conscience but just not sure.
bud, what is this obsession with George W. Bush that is so ingrained, you simply cannot let it go? Based on your OCB when it comes to GWB, you remind me of Trump being up at 3:00 am tweeting about a former contestant from the 1995(?) Miss Universe and a supposed sex tape she made among other things. Your obsession continues to amaze me. I couldn’t believe your post trying to compare Trump and Bush. It defies reason when you compare a hypothetical that can only be conjured up in the mind of an obsessed person. I wouldn’t vote for Trump if he was the ONLY choice but the fact is, he is in the here and now running against Clinton, GWB is not.
Damn bud, get over it, GWB is no longer in the White House and cannot harm you again. Do you look under your bed and check the closets to be sure he isn’t lurking under or in either before you go to bed?
Excuse me, “OCD” not “OCB”.
Bart this is my attempt to empathize with GOP voters who strongly dislike Hillary. Not sure why that is but many must view her the same way I do W. Not an obsession just an attempt to understand Trump voters. Frankly the exercise sheds little light on why anyone could vote Trump.
Hillary has trouble filling a black church on Sunday morning.
http://www.theamericanmirror.com/empty-seats-hillary-sermon-nc-black-church/
Lots of white people, on their phones and laptops. Who brings a laptop to church? Maybe paid attendees?
Thanks for the reply and explanation bud. This may sound harsh but I cannot empathize with anyone voting for either Clinton or Trump.
Republicans have been standing in a circle for a long time with loaded weapons firing into the middle of the circle. They are so bad at shooting, all they have done is shoot most of their toes off and it may take decades before they are able to walk in a straight line again. All they have succeeded in doing is destroying any sense of responsibility and moderation just like the Democrats have been doing. You and others will most likely disagree but considering the two candidates, it is beyond my sense of reality that either one is on their respective party’s ticket.
I know Donald Trump is unhinged, he doesn’t hide it. Clinton is a much better operative and keeps her unhinged tirades hidden from the public. I don’t pay attention to one or two stories about her behind the scenes behavior but when they keep coming from different sources and yes I do read them, at some point the smoke indicates fire.
A secret service agent wrote about her behavior and like her or not, Linda (?) who outed the affair between Clinton and Lewinsky had a long interview about the way Clinton behaved when upset or angered. If the stories are accurate and I do emphasize the “if”, she is as irrational as Trump. Neither one should have access to nuclear codes or the red phone that may ring at 3:00 am.
I understand Clinton’s defenders and have no problem with it. As for Trump, he is about as open as anyone who has come along in decades and makes no excuses for his behavior, he simply blames everyone else and declares how misunderstood he is.
Some of the accusations aimed at both candidates need to be taken with a grain of salt and understanding. Yes Trump declared a loss of over $900 million and had enough deductions to avoid paying taxes for approximately 18 years. I can attest to the fact that loss deductions are deductible and can be spread over a long period of time. I have a relative who was able to spread loss deductions over several years but the loss was in the low 5 figures, not the high 9 figures Trump declared. And it is accurate that a huuuuuuge loss (had to throw that one in) declared in one year can be an accumulation of losses over a long period and the total declared just one time.
This doesn’t excuse Trump at all for all of his other shortcomings and character failures, there is no excuse.
Well, I think I have about exhausted all I have to say about either Clinton or Trump. The election will take place in November and it won’t be a surprise who wins, Clinton or Trump. The electorate has lost it’s collective mind and any sense of reason this time around. A reasonable moderate candidate, Democrat or Republican, would be running away in the polls by now and would win in a landslide in November.
Why not a Jimmy Carter vs Hillary Clinton election? Since we’re making stuff up now.
Well, now, that’s a toughie.
My instinct is to go with Jimmy, as I was a big fan of his in 1976.
But in Hillary’s defense, she takes a stronger, more hawkish line on national security than most people in either party (which is why a lot of GOP national security types, being neocons, are happy to back her over Trump), while Jimmy — despite having been a naval officer — is more dovish.
So personally, I like Jimmy better, but on foreign policy (which is what’s more important in a presidential election), I kind of prefer her…
Oh, and between Bush and Trump, there’s absolutely no contest. Of COURSE you go with Bush, for the exact same reason that you go with Clinton over Trump — Bush and Clinton are both members of that set of people who have the qualifications, and Trump is so far outside of that set, it’s like he’s not in the same solar system…
The breathtaking incompetence of Donald Trump to lose $916 million in one year ! I doubt even Doug Ross can defend this man as some “brilliant” businessman. He’s nothing but a fraud.
He recorded aggregate losses of $916M in on year. It took him – the Trump Organization – more than that to accumulate those losses.
Your point still holds. I don’t think it’s possible for Trump to have a worse week than the last one. So is he down and out, or just hitting bottom in this race?
It would seem most likely Trump has done two things this year – terminate his stillborn political career, and likely terminate his business (money making) career. It’s ncredible the amount of tarnish he can wipe, and already has smeared, on his brass brand. It’s not looking very shiny now.
What’s he worth now, bud? I assume you have never run a business or taken a risk in your life so you don’t understand what it means. Have you ever done anything except collect a check?
Doug you’ve earned a new nick name – ad hominem Doug. Why don’t you engage in the debate rather than launch into this scurious attack on my character. You’ve suggested Trump is this brilliant businessman. I find that claim absurd. I offer as evidence a partial tax return that shows a $900+ million net loss in 1995, a year that the economy as a whole was doing very well. Simply explain why anyone should believe Mr. Trump is some kind of super businessman. I see little evidence to support that assertion.
The New York Times paid no income tax in 2014. Pot meet kettle.
Bud, I’m still waiting for you to open that Subway store that you said was an easy way to make tons on money. If you’ve never run a business, how can you even comment on what it takes to do that?
What’s the biggest professional risk you’ve ever taken? I quit my job at age 50 to start my own company. Best decision I ever made. 50% more income and twice as much time off.
Will regulars here get discounts at bud’s Subway shop? If I could make a suggestion I’d suggest he go with a different chain, Subways is nasty with it’s precut slimy lunchmeat.
I run my own one-man shop, so I guess I’m one of those entrepreneurial types you’re always going on about. But it really shouldn’t make any difference, because a person’s worth should not be judged based on his market value. You seem to have drawn many wrong lessons from life.
“because a person’s worth should not be judged based on his market value. You seem to have drawn many wrong lessons from life.”
I’ll file that under: “You don’t know me”
But I’d be interested to learn what other life lessons you think I have learned.
I judge you by what you say. And from that it looks like you take a pretty brutishly Darwinian view of humanity. Folks who come at the world this way like to wrap their motivations in high-sounding words, like “libertarian,” but it’s really nothing more than the same old heathenish dog-eat-dog.
And you’d be wrong…
I just happen to appreciate talent and hard work more than others do. I don’t ascribe luck to success when measured over decades like many liberals do.
Trump has a skill set none of us will ever have when it comes to business. He also has a personality that is unacceptable in many situations. But the latter doesn’t negate the former. His personal ambition/drive/willingness to take risks/ability to come back from failure is off the charts. He has done things in terms of creating businesses, creating a brand, creating television shows that NONE of us could ever do — even if given millions of dollars to get started.
“Trump has a skill set none of us will ever have when it comes to business. He also has a personality that is unacceptable in many situations. But the latter doesn’t negate the former.”
That’s right, because the two things have nothing to do with each other. And only one of them — his utter unsuitability in dealing with other human beings — has any bearing whatsoever upon whether he would be acceptable as president of the United States. I can’t for the life of me see how the size of his bank account bears on it one way or the other — except as examination of HOW he acquires money bears upon our assessment of his character…
“except as examination of HOW he acquires money bears upon our assessment of his character…”
Ok, now apply that same standard to Hillary. What exactly did she do to become a multi-millionaire? Did she produce anything tangible? She has traded influence for dollars since Bill left office.
I don’t care about the Donald’s personal taxes. I care about his proposed tax policies that would further skew wealth distribution and bankrupt the economy with horrendous “supply side” gambles.
Neither Trump nor Hillary can implement tax policy. They are both liars presenting fictional plans that have zero chance of being enacted.
So did the Clinton campaign just decide to say no to yard signs this election? I have never seen one and I’m reading a large active forum and people around the country say they have seen a few bumper stickers but no yard signs.
Trump hasn’the just made money, he’s made it on the backs of small business owners who can’t afford the litigation it would take to sue him to get what’s owed to them. If that’s smart I want no part of it.
Ok, so Trump apparently has this long history of bankruptcies and stiffing small businessmen. Apparently this was obvious to EVERYONE for decades.
And yet banks still loaned him money and small businesses lined up to get his business. How dumb were they? Which banks WOULDN’T loan Trump money today if he asked for it?
Karen,
When projects are as large as the ones Trump builds, it is very likely a full bond is required. The bond is supposed to be a safeguard against an owner trying to stiff suppliers and subcontractors. Depending on the bond and what it covers, it can offer protection down to a third tier supplier or subcontractor. Apparently the sizes of the contract with the contractor, subcontractors, and suppliers were large enough to warrant them asking for a bond and if they don’t and if they go ahead anyway considering Trump’s reputation, then I have no sympathy. And if they don’t document every item that is questionable and keep extensive records on every change, etc., again considering Trump’s reputation, no sympathy.
I know of what I speak because I have been through that ringer on a couple of occasions and documentation, documentation, and more documentation with signatures of people with authority is essential. Ask Bryan if you need confirmation. Never, ever make a change to a contract or subcontract without a change order first and it should be signed by the architect, bank, and owner before proceeding.
Another essential part of the construction process at that level is to have your attorney read the contract or subcontract and if there is anything in it that is a “gotcha”, either have it changed or walk away from the contract. After so many years associated with the construction industry, one rule I learned, you have no friends when it comes to the bottom line and signing a contract that is one-sided is no way to do business. I know I advise my clients to not sign if they are not fair or as fair as they can be.
Trump is greedy and understands greed and takes advantage of anyone else who is greedy but doesn’t understand how the game is played. I would advise any homeowner to never sign a contract with anyone if it is over $1,000.00 unless it is reviewed by an attorney, no matter if the person is a friend or family member. When it comes to money, green is thicker than blood in most instances. And never agree to a change in the scope of work (would advise determining exactly what is expected up front and everyone sign on the dotted line acknowledging what is and is not included in the contract).
Trump just knows how to bleed others dry of their green and keep his own.
And if you need to wonder what one of the many reasons I do not trust Trump, this is just one.