Wednesday, June 15, 2016

The Conundrum...





"I have said before, Donald Trump's biggest asset is Donald Trump. By the same token, Donald Trump's biggest liability is Donald Trump."



Yesterday I had lunch with an old neighbor. We usually discuss sports, family issues or something benign. Seldom if ever, politics. Then out of the clear blue he asked me a political question. "What are we going to do about this election?" I asked him what he meant. He continued, "I can't vote for Trump and I refuse to vote for Hillary." In other words, he like many, saw this election as a conundrum.

I have said before, Donald Trump's biggest asset is Donald Trump. By the same token, Donald Trump's biggest liability is Donald Trump. And the past two weeks have not been good for Mr. Trump. He was gone from neck and neck with Hillary to the latest poll showing him behind by 12 points. And the percentage of women and Hispanics who say they will refuse to vote for Trump keeps growing.

Here is the irony. The country is in a mess - especially the economy. Earlier in the week I posted an article which described how companies are continuing to shed good paying jobs. Even I was not prepared for the punchline in the article. Just this year alone, American companies have shed 250,000 jobs. The Administration can talk all they want about job creation - the truth remains we are losing far more jobs than we are creating.

I believe that if Donald Trump were President, he would really shake things up. Could he fix the entire economy? Doubtful - it will take years to fix with the right mechanic. However, Trump would immediately start to improve it. Of that I am sure. But other than that, I just don't know how good of a job he would do as Commander-in-Chief.

With Hillary, we know what we are going to get. More of the same. The economy will continue to creak along. Wall Street fat cats will continue to get fatter. The number of people out of the work force will climb from 95 million to closer to 100 million. The national debt will continue to grow and our trade deals will still suck. Like I say, Trump could do a much better job with the economy.

As we sit halfway through June, with the national convention only a month away, many of us are filled with emotions which range from apprehension to out an out dread. Some still believe the party apparatchik will pull a rabbit out of their hat in July. The convention will become brokered. A Paul Ryan type candidate will emerge. Others believe our fate is cast in concrete. That Trump is incapable of changing. Of becoming electable. And Hillary is going to mop the floor with him. 

Me? I am going to stay positive about November. I am very hopeful the FBI will find the smoking gun on Hillary's emails. Then we might, we just might, have a fighting chance for the White House in November. 


1 comment:

  1. Not sure Larry. Surely Hillary should be indicted. Would Obama pardon her with some line like "let the voters decide"? If he doesn't and (as speculation circles) Joe Biden were the candidate, his negatives are far lower than Hillary - he might be a stronger candidate. On our side, if the establishment pulls some hinkey crap at the convention, the Trump people (and there are a lot of them) will not stand for it. It will be the end of the GOP, possibly resulting in a Trump 3rd party run and guaranteeing and Dem win in November. Under a Dem president... supreme court nominations? Turmoil on the GOP side with a 3rd party run may result in the loss of the senate... Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader? I try to look at the whole picture and as much as I am CERTAIN that Donald Trump does not stand for my constitutional conservative values - the alternative is far far far worse. I put it in the nightmare scenario. The #nevertrump people have got to get their heads in the game and consider the alternatives and how disasterous across the board a Dem win will be. Love the blog, I read about 90% of your posts but this is my first time commenting.

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