What's Happening to Trump's Campaign?

[Baruch]

I supported Dukakis too ... and then couldn't believe the "tank commander" video that made him look like a fool.

Howard Dean destroyed himself with a scream ... he didn't even get the stupid T-shirt.

Presidential candidates have to be the right kind of ridiculous .. look like George Washington ... with powdered wig and wood/ivory dentures.  Or the Uncle Sam caricature.

[SGOS]

There are some candidates who seem to work VERY HARD to destroy their chances of winning a Presidential campaign.  But none as bizarre and self-destructive as Trump's.

He's an interesting case study.  To me that's the thing that draws my attention.  I don't dislike him.  I'm not afraid of him.  But I can't not think about him.  I find him fascinating to watch in the way one would watch the exhibits at a freak show.  And I think more about the dynamics that skyrocketed him to this point, only to seem to fail, than to be angry or fearful.  It's an interesting historical quirk, perhaps a symptom of the times.  I think the right word is a phenomenon.  Here is a guy that is unfit for president, yet he beat out a "clown car" of heavyweights in his own party.  I think Trump is real, or as the saying goes, "He wears it all on his sleeve."  He's good at being real (as self destructive as his realness is in the political arena).

But his presence in the election campaign says something about our country.  You can't get this far without appealing to a very large, huge, and potentially powerful subgroup of society.  And while Trump doesn't scare me, that subgroup does.

[Atheon]

I supported Dukakis too ... and then couldn't believe the "tank commander" video that made him look like a fool.

Howard Dean destroyed himself with a scream ... he didn't even get the stupid T-shirt.

Dukakis made the critical error of going on vacation in the midst of the campaign, allowing the Republicans to spread their lies and propaganda with nobody to counter the attacks. (And his tank commercial didn't help.) I still voted for him; after all, his opponent was a Republican.

Bill Clinton set up a "rapid response team" to immediately debunk the Republican lies before they had time to fester in people's minds. That was one part of his winning strategy. He also unleashed James Carville as his attack dog, who got in a lot of air time. (Where was Carville during the Gore campaign? Where was Gore's rapid response team?)

Howard Dean didn't destroy himself; the media destroyed him. For an enthusiastic yell, like people do. I still puzzle over it.

[Cavebear]

Yes, it it the subgroup of Trump supporters that scares me.  Its almost like the election of 1856, where too few suspected what was to come...

[SGOS]

Howard Dean didn't destroy himself; the media destroyed him. For an enthusiastic yell, like people do. I still puzzle over it.

That one perplexed me too.  I saw it when it happened, and I remember thinking it was a tad over enthusiastic, but not something worth focusing on.  And I was surprised by the effect it ended up having.

[trdsf]

That one perplexed me too.  I saw it when it happened, and I remember thinking it was a tad over enthusiastic, but not something worth focusing on.  And I was surprised by the effect it ended up having.

Especially since at the time, the main moaning in the media was that none of the candidates had any personality.  And as soon as one showed a genuine human reaction to a moment of joy, they crushed him essentially for displaying... personality.

[Atheon]

That's like the way they treat Hillary Clinton. Sometimes they say she's too unemotional, but when she shows emotion, suddenly she's criticized for being too emotional.

[Baruch]

Yes, it it the subgroup of Trump supporters that scares me.  Its almost like the election of 1856, where too few suspected what was to come...

Ah, but the South was right ... Death To New England!  Puritan Scum!

[Baruch]

He's an interesting case study.  To me that's the thing that draws my attention.  I don't dislike him.  I'm not afraid of him.  But I can't not think about him.  I find him fascinating to watch in the way one would watch the exhibits at a freak show.  And I think more about the dynamics that skyrocketed him to this point, only to seem to fail, than to be angry or fearful.  It's an interesting historical quirk, perhaps a symptom of the times.  I think the right word is a phenomenon.  Here is a guy that is unfit for president, yet he beat out a "clown car" of heavyweights in his own party.  I think Trump is real, or as the saying goes, "He wears it all on his sleeve."  He's good at being real (as self destructive as his realness is in the political arena).

But his presence in the election campaign says something about our country.  You can't get this far without appealing to a very large, huge, and potentially powerful subgroup of society.  And while Trump doesn't scare me, that subgroup does.

So a B-movie actor from California didn't say to you ... beginning of the end?

[Baruch]

That's like the way they treat Hillary Clinton. Sometimes they say she's too unemotional, but when she shows emotion, suddenly she's criticized for being too emotional.

Standard "double standard".  Probably every female leader has this chip on their shoulder (put there by men).

[Baruch]

Especially since at the time, the main moaning in the media was that none of the candidates had any personality.  And as soon as one showed a genuine human reaction to a moment of joy, they crushed him essentially for displaying... personality.

Ah, but the Media isn't biased ... you are a tin foil hat ... they are the entirely neutral 4th branch of government.

[Jason Harvestdancer]

I will say this ... a lot of people are going to be retracting a lot of negative comments when Trump's campaign is over and he goes back to being a Democrat.

No, they won't.  The American Electorate's memory is about 15 minutes long, tops.

[Cavebear]

No, he won't be a Democrat, either.  He will just be the self-absorbed crazy (several unprintable adjectives) person he always has been...

[SGOS]

Trump is more like an independent voter.  He registered as a Democrat in 2001, and then as a Republican in 2009.  Before 2001, he was a Republican.

http://www.programmerinterview.com/index.php/assortment/is-donald-trump-a-republican/

[Atheon]

Wasn't Trump a member of the Reform Party for a spell?