1: While divorce is not a permanent stain, Reagan was divorced the circumstances of these Marge endings and beginnings are troubling.
While Trump was married to Ivana, he met Marla Maples, he knocked her up while married to Ivana. The baby was born before they were married. That lasted about ten years. The daughter Tiffany is now 22 years old. Not on the stage with her dad. She is doing OK but dad hadn't been much in her life. Then While he was married to Marla he met Melina, started an affiar with her and divorced Marla. And that started while married.
This is what we used to call adultery. In some nations it's considered a problem. Perhaps not here. I have an issue with it. How a man masters his own household is a clue as to how he will master his office..and it doesn't give me much confidence. There is that test. Honor and character matter.
2: His four time bankruptcies that broke many tradesmen and suppliers. I understand going bankrupt. I was almost there once myself. Yet, if you have screwed over people to advance yourself four times using laws that are on the books, that needs to be noted. Once I can understand.. four times is more than I can excuse. Trust me, if Trump becomes the nominee the Democrats have horror stories all stored up to roll out on him. His bluster will have a hard time countering the facts presented and he will look like a charlatan.
3: His big vision of the future. He says he has lots of big plans on how he is going to fix Obamacare, how he is going to deal with illegal immigration including the wall Mexico is going to pay for, how he is going to bring Iphone production back to the USA, how he is going to punish Carrier and Ford for taking jobs out of the country, how he is going to get even with China. It all is great sounding rhetoric without a shred of evidence on how this is going to happen. He has no plan. He's beyond accountability and while for now in the primary he can bluster his way thru, he will be shown for what he is.. big talk no plan. He has some advisers who may be able to help him with tax policy, but he is vacant of genuine solutions for most of the difficulty facing the USA. None of what I have heard gives me any confidence he has a clue what to do except talk big.
4: His lack of understanding of even the rudimentary foreign policy challenges in the USA is difficult. Kill ISIS. Bomb them. Show Putin down. Crush China. Make Mexico pay. It's all fantasy and illusion. He knows so little about foreign affairs it's crazy. When I was CEO years ago I traveled to many countries and they wined and dined me. Much. Made me feel important. Just as when Trump comes with his money. He says he gets along with international leaders all of which are now frightened by his lack of comprehension.
5: His capacity to be volatile, condescending, cruel, demeaning, dismissive, irreverent and intemperate. Threatening and telling everyone they have to come into line. People are trying to reach out to him, but he plays a role he hasn't earned. When I hear him talk about his opponents the way he does he reminds me sadly of childhood bullies I knew in the 5th grade. Big talk. Lots of bluster. Threatening. Then I beat the crap out of them and they shut up. Someone will. He will not last on the national stage.. he will be shut out.
6: His appeal is to a low denominator in our culture. Honey Boo Boo, Kardasian, Pawn Shop, American Pickers, Storage Shed Auction, and he Apprentice. All flowing from a poplulation that has been poorly educated in economics and real politics. It's like the nerve he has hit depends on lack of understanding. I'm sure there are a few who do have understanding who have jumped on the bandwagon. Rudy Gulianni, Mike Ditka, Sarah Palin, Dennis Rodman, Jesse Ventura, Charlie Sheen, Kid Rock, Gary Busey, Hulk Hogan, Ted Nugent, Larry Kudlow and Tia Tequila. What does this list have in common? You decide. I'm not on it. And won't be.
7: While he seems to be successful in building buildings, there are few other things he has done well. He trotted out steaks the other night, but they weren't his, he bought them in. He trotted out Water that had been reliable. The vineyard and winery is something John Kluge built and Donald bought. He didn't create anything. I won't even talk about his Trump University. His magazine? OK.. don't get it, but every city I travel to has a local nice glossy magazine.. subscriptions? Probably not. Sells some advertising.. I would like to see a P&L on that venture. I published at one time, it's harder than it looks. While Mitt Romney was pilloried for it, he was right. Trumps success is not nearly what he claims it to be. I even question his wealth. I remember the last time he went bankrupt in NYC. There was talk of his personal eviction from his own building. Color me unimpressed. I know business successes personally and they aren't like him. I have also known business people like him.. they don't last. I think his financials are secret because they would tell a truth he can't take.
8: His double minded approach to many things is troubling. The Bible says it is schizophrenia. Instability. While I know people can grow. Heck I was a liberal 40 years ago. Ronald Reagan was a democrat a few decades before he became President. While at one level he seems to be trying to defend Christianity (badly) out of the same mouth comes defense of Planned Parenthood. He doesn't even deny financial support for radical liberals in the last ten years. Opponents of all things that conservatives say they believe in. Then suddenly he has this epiphany, says he is a conservative but has such a hard time articulating what that means. EVEN the ultra liberal incompetent Paul Krugman (who won a Nobel prize) says that Trumps tax plan (yes he will increase taxes) is a good one. That is scary praise. He has been unstable in his approach to Immigration. Just 4 years ago he was in favor of a path to citizenship for those illegal in this country. What changed? He is erratic in his thinking. I don't doubt how quick on his feet he is, I do doubt his stability and wisdom. I am not convinced he knows who he is. See number one in this list.
9: Being anti establishment is not a workable position from which to govern, Electing a president, especially in a dangerous world, is important work. Anger and emotion should not govern the choice. Considered judgment should.Anger against the “Washington establishment” is not one. Those who worship Trump have an obligation to say why he is worthy of their faith. Given his liberal background and poor explanations of why he now believes differently, how do his supporters know he will govern conservatively should he win the White House? His politics are those of an averagely well-informed businessman: " Washington is full of problems; I am a problem-solver; let me at them". But if you have no familiarity with the relevant details and the levers of power, and no clear principles to guide you, you will, like most amateur, get rolled. He has shown no interest in limiting government, in reforming entitlements, or in the Constitution. He floats the idea of massive new taxes on imported goods and threatens to retaliate against companies that do too much manufacturing overseas for his taste. His obsession is with ‘winning,’ regardless of the means — a spirit that is anathema to the ordered liberty that conservatives hold dear and that depends for its preservation on limits on government power.
10: Last and most important, he can't win. I did say a while back when I made the estimate that there was wisdom in the collective electorate that he would be toast by December. I overestimated the collective discernment of the American people. Now even among christian leaders like Walnau and Jeffreies, they have been taken in. I am reminded of the Biblical statement of looking out for GREAT DECEPTION. That's a lot like Make America GREAT again. Deception sets in from anger. Anger however doesn't get us there. The new WSJ NBC poll.. today. Very hard to read:
Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders would handily defeat Donald Trump in a general election match-up, while a clash between Clinton and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz or Florida Sen. Marco Rubio would be a toss-up, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
The poll shows that Trump, who frequently boasts in interviews and campaign appearances that he would beat Clinton in November, would lose a one-on-one contest against her by double digits. In a head-to-head fight, Clinton gets the support of 51 percent of registered voters compared to 38 percent for the real estate mogul.
For Sanders, the margin of victory would be even greater, the poll shows.
The Vermont senator gets 55 percent support in a hypothetical two-person race against Trump, while the GOP front-runner would get just 37 percent.
You can say that you don't believe it, that he would crush Hillary. I'm not so much worried about Hillary, I am convinced that if she drops dead or fall apart that it will be President Sanders.
But if you want to whistle by the graveyard, and believe in your heart that he can win, stick to it.
This is my viewpoint. I have tried hard to only stick to facts, no slander. But in this election cycle facts don't seem to matter much.
Pardon me please for caring what happens to this good nation.
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