Kurtser, I was going to reply to your last response to kcar and literally RP could not handle the amount of data that would have been included in my reply and timed out the page!
Good timing given my reply was going to be....have you fella's ever thought of just having a phone call?
"He showed his clout and gravitas with that accomplishment."
Frankly, I never followed that birther bullshit so I can't respond to your assertion that Trump got Obama to "produce his actual birth certificate." IIRC you're talking about Obama's long-form birth certificate which really didn't add much info. That entire "controversy" was PATHETIC. The GOP was desperate to make Obama unqualified to be President. Dinesh D'Souza was probably the worst offender, writing a book that claimed Obama was driven by his father's "anti-colonial rage" to enact policies that D'Souza claimed were destructive to America.
Who gives a crap about the birth certificate?!? Everyone knew that Obama was born in the US. The GOP AND Hillary would have used that like issue a sledgehammer against Obama's campaign in '08 if there were the slightest possibility that Obama was not eligible to be POTUS. Trump kept bringing it up long after the issue had died down. Trump was far more interested in keeping his own name in the news.
"He has done well, very well, especially while doing everything on the fly."
In a normal election cycle, Trump would have had his ass handed to him well before Christmas. I'll admit that he's brilliant at tapping into and understanding voter anger, but his act would have gone nowhere in '08 or even '12. Remember that he briefly flirted with running for POTUS twice before but those efforts went nowhere.
"He quickly assembled a real team to fix things and make necessary adjustments to get back on track."
Really great that he made a mid-campaign correction but a lot of candidates do that. As for his proposed team of advisors on foreign and domestic policy, the New York Times reported that the provided names left most experts baffled as to who these people were. His understanding of foreign policy is a badly confused mess. His plans for overhauling the ACA are at best a sketch that look a lot like Obamacare. Good luck on figuring out how he's going to generate all the jobs he's promised, because Trump hasn't said anything that's provided clarity. Trump as POTUS would not have the authority to force US firms like Carrier to bring jobs back to the US or the authority to build the wall along the Mexican border.
Donald Trump has no clue that it takes years to prepare to be POTUS, and I'm not talking just about campaigning. Almost every modern President has said that there is NO time to learn on the job. Trump's lack of preparation, his inability to find common ground and areas of compromise with other people, and his runaway narcissism would make him a disastrous President, far worse than Carter and worse even than GW Bush.
"We have had, imo, only two natural born leaders since Truman, Kennedy and Reagan."
Not sure what your yardstick for being a natural born leader is, but a President needs to do more than look and sound good on TV. Most historians rate Eisenhower pretty highly these days as POTUS. Kennedy wasn't even in office a full three years and made a hash of the Bay of Pigs—not his original plan, but he should have called it off. His efforts at pushing the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts went nowhere while he was alive: it was Johnson who got those major laws passed and made a strong effort to fight poverty in this country. LBJ was also one of the best Senate Majority Leaders of all time before he became VP. I loathe Nixon but he did open relations with China, pushed forward nuclear arms talks and created the EPA. I'll leave off with Reagan: the man looked the part but does not deserve credit for ending the Cold War. His foreign policy was uneven—I think his proxy war against the USSR in Afghanistan was a good idea but his support of thugs in Latin America was foolish. The Iran-Contra scandal should have brought him down. He was excessively committed to government deregulation and his lack of response to the AIDS crisis was astounding.
In general I think you give Trump far, far too much credit when it comes to intelligence, preparedness and the ability of personality to work effectively at national-level politics. Spouting bigotry, hatred, anger and vague promises of good policy before vetted primary audiences isn't the same as being the President or helping to run the country. Donald Trump truly is a 24/7 narcissistic blowhard buffoon. I can understand why some people like Trump but he would BADLY disappoint them if ever became President.
Good luck on figuring out how he's going to generate all the jobs he's promised, because Trump hasn't said anything that's provided clarity. Trump as POTUS would not have the authority to force US firms like Carrier to bring jobs back to the US or the authority to build the wall along the Mexican border.
The jobs. There is an estimated 2 trillion dollars of US corporate capital sitting offshore. One of Trump's primary plans is to create a one time tax break to bring it back home. That will be reinfused into our domestic economy. How could that not help create jobs ? No Trump could not force Carrier to return jobs to the US if they left before he became POTUS, but he could impose taxes on their foreign made products coming in. He could do much to stop corporate inversion dead in its tracks. He was / is the only one even talking about it the entire campaign season. He also understands currency manipulation, no other candidate has a clue about it. In the 30's during the real depression, we all know that trade wars and tariffs were an underlying reason things got worse instead of better. Most do not understand how currency manipulation today is the same thing. Its about making your county's product cheaper than the other country's and effectively functions the same as a tariff amplifying trade imbalances. Regardless of any trade treaties. Currency manipulation nullifies any treaty.
Lastly, the Wall was authorized by Congress under Reagan, but largely stifled by the Democratic Congress and the EPA, (eff you Nixon). Being authorized, he can get it done even if he orders the ACE to build it as CIC.
Not sure what your yardstick for being a natural born leader is
Its someone who understands their job, its responsibilities, how to articulate it and build a consensus towards a worthy goal or vision. Truman, The buck stops here. Kennedy, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. We will put a man on the moon by the end of this decade. Reagan, trust but verify, Jan 20, 1981 - Reagan's First Inaugural: “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem"
Eisenhower was a steward, a good one, but a merely a steward out of WWII. LBJ was so bad as POTUS, he didn't run for reelection in 68 giving us the choice of HHH v RMN. Nixon, not a leader really, but a desperate reaction to the Democrat lies and failure in Viet Nam. Wage and price freezes ? Really ? You do remember those, right ? You mentioned the EPA and China. I wish to see the EPA abolished and replaced and China, howze that working for us right now ? Watergate ? Sorry, these are not examples of great leaders.
I no longer believe in the myth that only a politician is qualified to be POTUS. Says who ? Politicians ... protecting their turf. Its time to break this glass mirror. POTUS is not an on the job training situation. The hell it ain't. The only ones who have a clue is someone who was VP prior. Everyone else learns on the job, period.
(...) (Reagan's) foreign policy was uneven—I think his proxy war against the USSR in Afghanistan was a good idea but his support of thugs in Latin America was foolish. The Iran-Contra scandal should have brought him down. (...)
rotekz wrote:
