When you get caught in the act, that’s all you got. The Democratic Convention is telling America that everything’s just fine, and if you see it differently you’re a racist or something. Good luck with that.
I’d no more watch this Convention than go to the dentist, if I didn’t have to. We’ve had 28 years of BushClintonObama and we don’t have a lot to show for it. Foreign boondoggles, a limping economy and a white working class that’s losing hope. From what I gather, the VP pick, Kaine, is supposed to appeal to these people. A gesture, a crumb off the table. The Democrats have written off the white working class, and it could cost them the election. That’s where I came from, and I remember my roots, and I’m loyal to them, and I’m not alone. They’ve been screwed by BushClintonObama, and they’re not going to take it any more. Trump’s a blunt instrument, but in times like these they don’t feel choosy. He’s their guy, and they’re sticking with him.
David French at NRO seems like a good guy, and he got shafted when neocon Bill Kristol floated his name as a candidate. He’s got a piece out on Trump that’s worth reading. In politics, the first thing, and sometimes the only thing, that you need is name ID. If you’re a first time candidate, you spend most of your time and money trying to get people to at least remember your name. If you’re a state legislative candidate, as I was, a lot of people had no interest in the office you’re running for, and just vote for a name they recognize. The guy I moved to Alaska to take out, U.S. Senator Mike Gravel, was a very colorful and controversial guy, and he said he didn’t really care what was written about him, as long as they spelled his name right. As a celebrity in his own right, Trump started off with an enormous advantage, and retains it to this day.
I’ve never watched The Apprentice, just as I’ve never watched pro wrestling, or any reality show. I’m into history and politics, which puts me in a tiny minority. I know a lot about politics, and I know virtually nothing of popular culture. I wouldn’t recognize Kim Kardashian if she knocked on my front door. I don’t even know who she is, or what she does. I hear there’s some guy named Kanye West. All I know about him is his name. Maybe people as out of touch as I am should tone down our pronouncements about what’s happening in this country. That’s Babbie’s position, and she’s got a point.
I expect the election to be decided in the three debates, starting on September 26th at Hofstra, ending on October 19th in Vegas. Trump could lose it if he looks too ignorant. He’ll need to hit the books, or at least a book. But he probably won’t. He’s been B.S.ing his way through life for 70 years, so why should he change now? The only person who will be capable of doing debate prep with him is Ivanka, so it’s all on her. She’ll need to bone up on all the issues, and explain them to her father. He’ll eat it up.
I think Trump will win the debates on the strength of his personality, but all he really needs to do is look Presidential. The American people take these debates seriously, and he’s got to be on his best behavior. Clinton, perhaps with the moderator’s help, will try to bait him into losing his temper. That’s the one thing he can’t do, and he understands that, or should.
I submitted a piece to American Thinker called “A Russian-American Entente Cordiale?” which I’ll link to if they run it. It’s a rewrite of the last few days on RP. It puts flesh on the bone of Trump’s policy toward Russia.
When Babbie and I got married I tried to find a Russian Orthodox priest to do the ceremony. This was 1971, and the Catholic Church had turned too hard left to suit my tastes. I went to San Francisco to the Russian Orthodox Church, but no luck. It couldn’t be arranged. In Anchorage I took Babbie to a Russian Orthodox Mass, but it lasted forever and she wouldn’t go back.
The Russians are not our enemies. They’re good people, and Christians to boot.
reaganproject.com 