The Trump for president?

[Guest 6.8 AR]

If he did run as an independent he would be another Perot. He ought to know that.

[Oh Shoot]

If he did run as an independent he would be another Perot. He ought to know that.

No telling what's really in his head. Ya only go around once, and he's personally worth close to 3 billion. I have a feeling he knows he can't take it with him.

- OS

[Guest 6.8 AR]

You may be right. He may intentionally be a spoiler against the Republicans. The way he was talking about

the Tea Party, the other day, he may be trying to steer them into the mainstream and kill the Republicans.

He's got to know that could be done other ways, though. Man, I'd hate to see that commie get re-elected

because of something like this, or, well anything else that caused it.

[Guest mosinon]

I am completely and utterly disheartened by the republican response to Obama. The logical response is "THIS IS THE BEST DEMOCRAT PRESIDENT EVER" It is a little bit like if Romney got elected and the dems bitched about him. Which, of course, they would.

I guess it is all about the r or the d behind the name. And that is sad.

[Guest HvyMtl]

If he did run as an independent he would be another Perot. He ought to know that.

Well, yes, he is starting to act like Perot.

""I have a great relationship with the blacks," Trump told Albany's Talk Radio 1300 Thursday. "I've always had a great relationship with the blacks."

Remember that "you people" fiasco of Perot's? Yeah. Trump just did it faster...

[Guest 6.8 AR]

They became the National Association for the Advancement of You People because of Perot.

I still think Trump is a temporary spoiler. I don't think he will run. Something is going on somewhere where

he smells money. Maybe he will buy CSX or NS. Act like Warren Buffet for awhile.

[hornett22]

I like Trump. He's making more sense than any candidate has in a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time! with the exception of Ron Paul and his son.

[1gewehr]

I like Trump. He's making more sense than any candidate has in a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time! with the exception of Ron Paul and his son.

Makes sense? He's in favor of comprehensive National Health Care (but ObamaCare is doing it wrong?), in favor of banning 'assault weapons' (but against gun control?), supports Federally-funded abortions, supported and voted for Obama in 2008, likes Nancy Pelosi, contributed mostly to Democrats over the past decade, and was against US military action overseas until he decided to explore running for President.

The man is a shameless self-promoter with a record of failed business ventures that should cause investors to run. But his celebrity status is what enables him to continue to increase his personal wealth at the expense of those who invest their money in his projects. All flash and no substance, and definitely no conservative!

[kieefer]

Trump has flipped flopped on so many issues he'd make John Kerry proud. He's getting attention by speaking out and loving every minute of it.

[JPR1959]

Makes sense? He's in favor of comprehensive National Health Care (but ObamaCare is doing it wrong?), in favor of banning 'assault weapons' (but against gun control?), supports Federally-funded abortions, supported and voted for Obama in 2008, likes Nancy Pelosi, contributed mostly to Democrats over the past decade, and was against US military action overseas until he decided to explore running for President.

The man is a shameless self-promoter with a record of failed business ventures that should cause investors to run. But his celebrity status is what enables him to continue to increase his personal wealth at the expense of those who invest their money in his projects. All flash and no substance, and definitely no conservative!

+1. Great sound bites, but no substance.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

On the Greta Susteren show last night, Trump was asked what he would do about Libya if he were president.

I'm too lazy to find the exact quote, but his reply was close to, "I'd take their oil and go in and impose order."

That is just about perfect foreign policy (not). At least if he can invade nations, take the resources, and impose order, then it would be a no-brainer to make the trains run on time.

Am certain he would be a hands-on pres out there toting a gun pacifying the natives or perhaps disarming IED's with his teeth. Surely he wouldn't expect peons to actually do the hard work.

Trump could be useful in taking the oil anyway. He is surely a world-champion at siphoning, because he sucks so much.

[Glenn]

The only thing we can hope for is that all the attention Trump is getting will force the Rebublicans to give us a decent candidate, which they haven't in a while.

Glenn

[Oh Shoot]

The only thing we can hope for is that all the attention Trump is getting will force the Rebublicans to give us a decent candidate, which they haven't in a while....

The Donald is now showing 10% lead over nearest of the best known GOP possibles, on some poll FOX is discussing right now.

- OS

[Erik88]

Makes sense? He's in favor of comprehensive National Health Care (but ObamaCare is doing it wrong?), in favor of banning 'assault weapons' (but against gun control?), supports Federally-funded abortions, supported and voted for Obama in 2008, likes Nancy Pelosi, contributed mostly to Democrats over the past decade, and was against US military action overseas until he decided to explore running for President.

The man is a shameless self-promoter with a record of failed business ventures that should cause investors to run. But his celebrity status is what enables him to continue to increase his personal wealth at the expense of those who invest their money in his projects. All flash and no substance, and definitely no conservative!

damn! Nicely said sir!

[JG55]

Thomas Sowell

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April 26, 2011 12:00 A.M.

Obama’s Trump Card

The damage the Donald can do

The boomlet for Donald Trump as a Republican nominee for president of the United States ought to be a wake-up call for Republican candidates and Republican party leaders alike.

Why has Trump surged ahead of other Republican candidates and potential candidates in the polls? It is not likely that his resurrection of the issue of Barack Obama’s birth certificate has aroused all this support

The birth-certificate issue does more political damage to Obama’s critics than to the president himself, because it enables the media to paint those critics as kooks. Nor are Donald Trump’s political positions such as to create a stampede to his cause.

Radio-talk-show host Mark Levin has rebroadcast Trump’s varied and mutually contradictory statements on political issues and personalities over the years. It was a devastating revelation of Trump’s “versatility of convictions,†to use a phrase coined long ago by Thorstein Veblen. So then what is Donald Trump’s appeal? And why should it concern Republican leaders in general?

Trump has what so many other Republicans are so painfully lacking: the ability and the willingness to articulate arguments clearly, forcefully, and in plain English. Too many Republicans talk like the actor of whom a critic once said, “he played the king like he was afraid that someone else was going to play the ace.â€

What electrified so many Republicans about Sarah Palin in the 2008 election campaign was that her speeches offered such a contrast to the usual mealy-mouthed talk common among other Republican candidates, including Sen. John McCain. Whether you agreed or disagreed with her position on the issues, you didn’t have to wave your hand in front of her eyes to see if she was awake.

Donald Trump is dangerous in at least two senses. If, by some tragic miracle, he should become the Republicans’ candidate for president in 2012, that would be the closest thing to an iron-clad guarantee of a second term in the White House for Barack Obama.

That would be a huge setback for the Republicans — and, far more important — a historic catastrophe for this country.

What seems more likely is that Donald Trump as a candidate for the Republican nomination would use his superior articulation skills — not to mention brash irresponsibility — to trash all the other Republican candidates for that nomination, leaving them damaged goods in the eyes of the public, and therefore less able to gather the votes needed to prevent the reelection of Obama.

Why Republicans seem not to understand the crucial importance of putting the same time and attention into articulating their positions as the Democrats do is one of the enduring mysteries of American politics.

It was obvious that the Democrats coordinated their talking points and catch-phrases — “social justice,†“tax cuts for the rich,†etc. — even before the overheard and recorded statements of Sen. Chuck Schumer about Democrats’ plans to repeatedly use the word “extreme†to characterize Republicans.

But how many Republican catch phrases can you remember? Republican rhetoric tends to range from low key to no key.

Nor is there much evidence that Republicans have asked themselves how the left wing of the Democratic party gained such ascendancy in recent years, in a country where millions more people identify themselves as conservative than as liberals.

In short, there is little or no evidence that most Republicans see any need to fundamentally change their approach to the public. But if they think that they can rely on Obama’s declining popularity to win the 2012 election, they may be in for a rude shock. Worse yet, the whole future of this country and of Western civilization will be in jeopardy — in a world where the likes of Iran and North Korea become nuclear powers while we engage in empty talk at the U.N.

Barack Obama’s declining support in public-opinion polls makes some conservatives feel that his reelection hopes are doomed. But Donald Trump can be Barack Obama’s secret weapon in his fight to remain in the White House. The Donald can be his Trump card.

— Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. © 2011 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

Edited April 26, 2011 by JG55

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I gotta say Soule makes a lot of sense. I didn't

consider Trump to be an intentional spoiler.

It's interesting what he said about Sarah Palin while

a lot of people reject her. She has been more consistent

in her actions than most politicians. She woke up a

sleeping giant, yet is still consistently derided by many.

That's just something I don't understand.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[G27]

He makes the real point - the very fact that Trump is leading should be a wake up call for the repubs. But then, 2008 should have been as well, yet we see little / nothing has changed.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

They are doing a lot of stupid things that appear to be only for re-election calculations. That will be regrettable.

They need a new calculator.

[G27]

They are doing a lot of stupid things that appear to be only for re-election calculations. That will be regrettable.

They need a new calculator.

"Meet the new boss..."

[Glenn]

"Meet the new boss..."

"same as the old boss"

[eapking]

Yeah, I'm cooling off on The Donald, the more I hear and read. Michael Bloomberg toyed with the idea of running about a year ago, as an independent. It sounded like all he was trying to do was split the Repub vote intentionally to get Barry reelected. For whatever reason he's backed off.