That's as uncharitable as you can be. Are you taking that from what he’s said, or from what his opponents say about him (including the MSM)?
What he’s said. How he speaks on topics he claims to care about. Maybe you would suggest he is just the most easily flustered man we have had in office. Unable to pull his thoughts together when put on the spot. The man speaks exclusively in platitudes and campaign rhetoric. He speaks for effect and almost never to convey information. His desperation to either be adored or to portray himself as a martyr is all consuming.
I like to think that if someone had an actual opinion on any given policy they could relay that to the people in a coherent manner. Even Bush Jr. could manage that and, at the time, a lot of us thought he sounded foolish doing so. While he had the misfortune of being bookended by two good public speakers, I can’t say, even while I teased him occasionally, I didn’t understand his position. The only way I can reconcile what Trump says and how his positions change in both substance and fervor is that he doesn’t give a *censored*. He wants to be loved. He wants credit. If something big may be accomplished, he will speak as if HE is at the wheel steering the ship. If it seems likely to fail, he will scatter blame widely or find a worthy sacrifice to shed failure from his presence.
I’ve never seen a public figure so blatantly selfish and petty. I’m not saying others aren’t power hungry or selfish, they just aren’t this transparent. But hey, maybe this is the transparency we’ve all been calling for…
We've talked Healthcare endlessly, there's a lot of different ways for improvement. Flat out the last admin's law was a mistake, and I don't care if you want universal healthcare or not when I say that. Creating a law that is designed to hurt people - which this one does - so they'll demand your preferred policy goal is next to evil. It should be torn down.
While I thought they went about several things improperly regarding ACA, I think the execution was even better than I anticipated. I hope that we do go from here to universal health care, but even if we don’t, we’re better (as a country) for having the ACA passed. Republicans (as well as Democrats) want to improve it? I’m all for it. Tearing it down, is first chaotic, and second, what we had previously was just a worse status quo. If nothing or nobody else has changed your opinion on this by now, nothing I say ever could though.
Just to clarify, when you say MSM, do you mean “Main Stream Media”? And if I somehow claimed the Obama administration was “scandal free” I apologize. He, and his administration acted as I expect a president to act.
And has that caused you to tune out the Russian scandal after a year of not finding a wolf? Why not?
Honestly? I had for awhile tuned it out as nonsense, wishful thinking of those too focused on a “do over” instead of facing that the Democratic party is every bit as much to blame as the Republican party for Trump. However, the stunningly inept way the Trump administration has handled the optics on this place me back in the, “Well who knows, maybe he really did something we can’t let slide?”
We may not have found a wolf but I’m sure getting sick of those around him trying to cover up all the paw prints and changing their story to what is least damning that they think they can sell… until the next time.
Again, I don’t condemn him or his staff for what they may have done that broke laws regarding Russian collusion. I condemn them for giving Putin the opening he needed to cast doubt on this whole administration regardless of if any actual wrongdoing occurred. This was a setup that I think any local bumpkin of a mayor would have seen coming and avoided. But Trump is a business man first, and a politician… never. He is wired to exploit opportunities. He was an easy mark. I hate him for that; not “his” policies. (If I believed he had any.)
Obama is one of the best public speakers I've ever seen. If only he'd used those powers for good.
Other than continuing the “evil” of previous administrations and expanding presidential powers, not much evil happened from where I’m sitting. A few errors in judgment weighing in on social issues bothered me at the time, but his statements seem tame and of no note compared to the dawning of Twitter in Chief’s freeform fun.
I think you're miscalculating if you think Trump was a reaction solely to Hillary
Not solely no.
He caught the attention of a large group of voters who have routinely been lied to because there is nothing they can do about it.
Well, at least they’re use to being lied to.
Can you imagine the nightmare it'll be for the Democrats if Trump's policies actually show improvement for black voters, more jobs and more safety and real economic improvement?
I have a hard time picturing that outcome, but if it did happen, I don’t think it would be a nightmare. I’d welcome it anyhow. Look, I don’t want the guy to fail at any cost. The one good thing about a man who worships himself and wants other worshipers is that he will claim ANY victory within reach. He chose the party and talking points that was low hanging fruit. If he sees other opportunities for credit, I think he’d be willing to cross party lines to achieve it if he didn’t have to sacrifice his base. That threshold apparently offers wide latitude.
Paint the enemy as "other" than human and its easier to hate.
He’s the one holding the brush Seriati! The man is about as “other” as we’ve ever seen at this level of our government.
Make an assumption that he actually is trying to make things better
I think on immigration he believes he is trying. I think it’s a flawed plan, but I think he’s trying. On dropping out of the Paris Accords I think he was trying to get us “a better deal”. Though that deal should never have been measured in sharply economic criteria. Healthcare I don’t believe for a moment he has a clue on how to improve things. He just knows that “repeal” is the war cry and he loves the feeling he gets leading the chant.
Make an assumption that he doesn’t care about anything but his own fame and power and influence. Listen to what he says. Listen to how he talks about policy. Ask yourself, “If he really cared, wouldn’t he have something of more substance to say?” Ask yourself, “If he had an actual agenda, would he waste time on X, Y or Z topic? Wouldn’t he be trying to get support in congress for this?”
I’m curious to see him get to tax reform. Seeing them try to argue against the math of health care reform causing amazingly disproportionate damage to THEIR BASE, it should be an impressive show. Now maybe I’m wrong. (Wow would I love to be wrong) Maybe they will produce a plan that helps the average Joe rather than being a gift to big business and the already amazingly rich. I expect it will be more, “Sacrifice in the name of your principals and the American Dream! Praise Jesus!” and then rely on reflex to keep their base in line.
All indications are that he delegates and takes advice, but that he also expects results.
All indications that have nothing to do with communication you mean? Because MSM would just corrupt it anyhow?
Honestly, Hillary had no reason to believe it wouldn't work, we have direct evidence that she was colluding with media sources to put articles out in favorable ways (by the way, that's legitimate the scariest thing that was revealed in this campaign, and of course the media isn't going to cover it, but there is no excuse for us dropping it).
I found the DNC’s (and the media’s) blatant favoritism towards Hillary as scarier, but that was pretty awful stuff.