Make America Great Again?

Yet another salvo on the Trump issue.  That's because I have some more thoughts on this issue.

Putin’s Support For Trump.   Perhaps we’re a bit too caught up on the premise that Putin supports Trump because he believes Trump, having been helped into office by his comrade Vladimir, will reciprocate in some way.  While I wouldn’t entirely put it past Trump to honor some under-the-table agreement hatched at some meeting in Moscow before the election, a much more mundane idea is this.

Putin’s Russia is angling for more power and influence in the world.  It wants to replace the US as the #1 big shot on the world stage.  Its obvious rival therein is none other than the US of A.   He doesn’t need an American run by a Manchurian candidate either brainwashed, corrupt, or blackmailed (though two of these are sadly plausible).  All he needs is a US president who can’t even talk to Fox News people ostensibly favorable to him without compromising half his policy positions.   A weak and incompetent US president is perfect for Putin’s ambitions. 

[Having said that, given the circumstances we certainly should investigate whether Trump is, in fact, a Russian agent.  We’ll see where all this leads…]

Make America Great Again.  This is rather silly.  Aside from Russian spies or Islamic terrorists, is there anyone in the US who doesn’t want America to be great again?  Did all those people vote for Hillary because they thought she would ruin the country?   Even if Bernie Sanders’ idea of a “great” America resembles Denmark or Sweden, at least he and his supporters are sincere in their ideals – if somewhat misguided (!). 

By the way, speaking of Hillary Clinton.  It’s clear to me that she represents everything that non-Democrats hate about Democrats.  Arrogant, full of herself, confident she knows better than anyone else and that anyone who disagrees with her is an idiot.  She had no charisma, no charm, and no redeeming values.  Hillary weaseled her way to the nomination, pure and simple.  [FYI I voted for Gary Johnson in 2016 and have NEVER voted Democrat in any election, going back to my first in 1988].  The parties were supposed to put forward their best candidates, instead we got their worst.  This 2016 election was as if the last Super Bowl had been between the New York Giants (3-13) (even the hapless Lions hit 9-7) and the Cleveland Browns (0-16).  That would have been a game, huh?

Anyhow.

We have no issue rejecting ads promising to increase our penis size by 3” (probably a plastic extension measuring exactly 3”) or Viagra/Cialis pills at a mere fraction of what the pharmacist charges (probably placebos).  An offer to sell us the Brooklyn Bridge should be just as easily dismissed.  “Make America Great Again” is just as empty. 

The question is not whether we want America to be great again.  The question is why on GOD’S GREEN EARTH anyone believes that Donald Trump, of all people, could possibly make this happen.

Let’s examine who is making this promise.  While Trump himself has never filed personal bankruptcy, plenty of his companies have.  He no longer owns the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.  His airline, college, and meat business all went under – under strong charges of fraud.  Although Trump claims he never settles cases, he does so all the time.  He’s screwed up lots of real estate deals, including one for the upper west side of Manhattan.  He inherited his money from his father, and has less money today than if he simply invested his inheritance in a mutual fund.  Trump’s wealth came from his father and his own dumb luck at not losing it all, not from any brilliance or business savvy.  If it were Mark Cuban, Warren Buffett, Ross Perot, or other far more capable business magnates, I’d be more inclined to believe “Make America Great Again” to be a plausible promise.  From Trump it’s nothing more than cow manure.   Though at least cow manure is actually good for something.

I’ll repeat my earlier point about Trump’s golfing.   If what he accomplishes in the Oval Office is as likely to make Russia great as the US, I’m all for him spending more time on the golf course than in the White House. 

The sad irony of impeachment is that even if, somehow, that happens, we still wind up with Mike Pence as President.  Would anyone have voted for him as a Presidential candidate?  Who knows – and we may well find out in 2024.  In the meantime we have to simply hang on for the ride.  “May you live in interesting times…”