This presidential primary campaign has taken on a bizarre appearance, largely because Donald Trump has been dominating the political discourse. But, bizarre though it may be, it’s going to be very intriguing to witness the many twists and turns it will take before the winner is declared in November 2016.
Why bizarre? Well, listening to Trump deliver his outrageous comments and present his off-the-wall solutions to this country’s many problems, the word bizarre fits perfectly. If you listen very closely to those “solutions”, and how he would implement them, he sounds as if he has every intention of becoming America’s first dictator.
When is the last time we’ve seen the candidate of a particular political party be so highly critical of its outdated ideology and then proclaim that he’s in this race for himself, not the party? Trump, with his rebellious attitude, apparently knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows that if the GOP constituency view him as being cut out of the same cloth as his fellow GOP candidates, those who blindly adhere to the party’s outdated principles, then his candidacy will be dead in the water.
What else is bizarre? While the people of this country are extremely weary of the same old ineffective politics of the past, they now find that they must endure watching the spectacle of another Clinton and another Bush running for president. These frustrated Americans yearn for fresh blood, new thinking and new ideas; they need problem-solvers, not caretakers overseeing the status quo; they don’t want a couple of retreads.
If Donald Trump represents the bizarre side of this developing presidential race, Senator Bernie Sanders represents the serious, rational side. These two candidates, Trump the pseudo-Republican and Sanders, the independent turned Democrat, are polar opposites; while both are aware of this nation’s most critical problems, and who in America isn’t by now, their solutions could not be more different.
Trump would go after these problems like a bull in a china shop while Sanders would identify their root causes and come up with effective solutions. What if Trump has to debate Sanders in the general election campaign? For him it will be like “death by a thousand cuts”, politically speaking, that is.
Trump, most certainly in his own mind, is a respected, successful businessman. Unfortunately, his background and experience includes the bankruptcies of 4 of his companies. He dismisses these bankruptcies as just a part of conducting business and claims they had nothing to do with his management skills. And with this checkered record he still is under the illusion that he has the expertise to manage this entire country – now that’s really bizarre.
This maverick candidate is masterful at tapping into the frustration and anger of many millions of Americans. He is a master at getting the mainstream media to follow him around like a bunch of poodles; he plays them like a drum and they can’t get enough of him even when he confronts, belittles and demeans them. He throws them raw red meat and they scramble to devour it.
The more outrageous that Trump becomes the more this woeful mainstream media loves it; this is like a TV soap opera which can be seen every day at noon. Millions of Americans tune in to see and hear what over-the-top comment Trump will come up with next.
Let’s explore the candidacy of Hillary Clinton; she’s been the front runner in most polls and the favorite to become our next president. Well, maybe she has been so far, but she is running a dull, lackluster campaign with a message that is anything but inspiring. Hillary has a problem in that she seems to have no real passion; she looks like she is going through the motions to ascend to the presidency without really earning it.
She evades the tough issues and questions about her stand on the Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement as well as the Keystone pipeline; and if she has a specific, positive agenda to solve this country’s many problems we’re still waiting for it to be presented. But the biggest problem of all is that a growing number of Americans simply no longer trust her.
Realistically, can Trump be elected president? It’s clear that to be elected, he needs a sizable percent of the Hispanic vote; but instead of reaching out to this increasingly powerful voting bloc, he insults them and refers to them as criminals of one kind or another.
Trump also needs the support of women but, instead praising them for their achievements and the positive contributions they make in this society, he belittles and demeans them, clearly showing what a control freak he really is.
Lastly, he would need the strong support of not only the majority of Republican voters but also that of independents, and even some Democrats; the probability of that happening is very slight. So put together these three factors and they greatly diminish his chances.
Might age be a factor in this race? Some might think so, but the apparent front runners are all up in their years; Sanders is 73 years old, Trump is 69 and Hillary Clinton is 68. So age should not be a major factor in the outcome of these campaigns.
Here are some relevant questions to consider:
*Will the other 16 GOP political nonentities team up and attack Trump and his wild and crazy statements and take him down by some ingenious ways?
*Can Sanders continue to inspire the American people, inspire them with his populist message, and overtake Hillary Clinton? Can he, who openly admits to espousing a social democratic ideology, go on to become president?
*Will Trump, weighed down by his over the top statements and positions, begin to implode and decide to remove himself from the campaign?
*Will the Republican Party hierarchy find a way to move him out of the way, or will they resign themselves to the fact that he is their best hope to take back the White House?
Here’s a really serious problem for Trump who has 25% of the total Republican vote. That means that 75% of likely Republican voters are supporting the other 16 lackluster candidates and that’s not a good sign for The Donald. If 75% of these potential GOP voters don’t support him now why would they gravitate to him when most of the other candidates decide to drop out of the race?
How will this bizarre but intriguing presidential race end; who will lead America into the future? That, of course, cannot be determined at this point; but it’s highly likely that Trump, as he continues to escalate his outrageous rantings and, at the same time, fails to produce concrete recommendations for solving this country’s many problems, will convince the vast majority of the American people that he is most certainly not qualified in any way to become president.
The mouth that roars will then be silenced and his massive ego trip will come to an abrupt end.
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