And so it begins…
The 2016 Presidential Campaign
(Or… I’ve been thinking about The Donald)

 

Well… even when people get frustrated by the arrival of Christmas on the shelves of stores in August, eventually December arrives. The calendar moves. For those that may have missed it, the time has passed for Happy New Year wishes.

It’s 2016 now. And, in a few weeks, the opening round of voting will kick off for candidates interested in becoming the next President of the United States.

Several months ago I was one of those holding my hands in the air, vaguely looking like the end of Animal House, as I asked for the media tidal wave of election hyping to relax and calm down. Instead, the swarm of hysteria grew and grew.

I’m still on the periphery of the madness. And yet, like the outer edges of a sink just as the drain is opened… though I’m not in danger of being swept into the pipes of this election just yet, the whirlpool has begun spinning and I’m feeling the pull. I’ve come to an interesting realization.

Donald Trump is a brilliant candidate.

Ok… ok… THAT admission requires some explaining. Because honestly, if such a thought is occurring anyplace near plumbing, it’s not in a sink.

Donald Trump, in my opinion, is horrible beyond description. His personality is nauseating. The way he treats people is at its worst unforgivable, inappropriately entitled, and disgusting… and when not reaching the depths of unforgivable, the majority of the time his actions rise only to the levels of self-absorbed, infuriating, and ignorant.

Amazingly, I am close to believing that he may be the great hope for change in American politics.

I wrote a few essays last summer… check out “I could only hope it wouldn’t get worse… (and then…)” as a summary and collecting point involving three of them… and basically the main concepts of these fell into two areas of concern and hope:

First – American politics, especially on a national level, have turned into a circus and we deserve better.

Second – We won’t get better as long as we keep playing out the same cycle… elect clowns, watch clowns do stupid things in office, talk about how things are going to change next time, see only clowns developing into candidates but not recognizing the humor (in ways such as 40% of those eligible to vote deciding not to cast a ballot or by holding up signs with the names of clowns above words like hope), elect clowns, repeat.

The thing is, without drastic motivation, we’re going to get the same old game. Again… and again… and candidate promises hope, campaigns for change, gets elected and nothing changes as hope is lost… and again… and…

Watch…

Does anyone feel that Washington is a different place, behaving better, with our current President?

Amazing that I know the overwhelming majority of you rolled your eyes and laughed at that question… you know, considering Barack Obama told us in 2008 there was hope and promised he was going to bring change, and in 2012 told us the job of restoring hope and bringing change wasn’t done, and in 2016 we’re looking at candidates talking about the need for change.

Which in turn brings us to Donald Trump and that brilliant candidate thing.

Despite all reasonable thought and practice, Donald Trump remains a leader in the race to the White House.

As a side note, I think I have figured out why. It’s kind of like those contestants on talent shows that last until the final five or six, despite the fact… and while I’m stating opinion, let’s face it, it is fact… despite the fact that they are so limited or lacking when compared to other contestants, we can all see they should have been eliminated before the public voting even began. But they aren’t. Instead they manage to sneak through, week after week, without even landing in the bottom, end-of-the-show, thank-you-but-go-home segment.

What I’ve come to theorize is that these contestants have a solid block of voters in their corner that will not be swayed by fact… they will not be swayed by skills, abilities, or realities… they will not abandon their star. They’ve latched on to their flavor of the season, and they’ll stay with it until it’s over.

And it’s a solid block. Those that recognize the realities are the exact same people. Those that are delusional and misguided are the exact same people.

So, week after week, these contestants keep racking up exactly the same number of votes. Doesn’t change. If they get 2,357,243 votes in the first round of live voting, they get 2,357,243 votes in round two… 2,357,243 in round three… and so on. Then, eventually, 2,357,243 votes aren’t enough to escape the elimination moment. And they’re gone.

Donald Trump.

There he is, week after week, with basically the exact same polling numbers. That’s what they tell me. Every week, when the new numbers are released, we get told Trump is holding steady. The problem is… much like in Rhode Island, where capturing a third of the votes cast can elect a governor… those same polling numbers during the primary season could get Donald Trump to the convention instead of elimination. I wish I was kidding. But with every passing day, it could happen. And I’ve been forced… like many… to consider that what we might have as the leading candidates when November arrives.

This is a circus beyond three rings and the largest tent ever pitched. Which is why it hit me…

If we’re going to need something horrible beyond comprehension to actually come to pass in order to get American citizens to care… it might just be coming.

And so… I don’t like Donald Trump the candidate on any level. Don’t like his personality when the lights and cameras are on… don’t like his egotistical persona… don’t like most of his potential policies.

But color me intrigued about what politics could look like after Donald Trump the candidate storms through, because the recovery could be epic.


If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail me at Bob@inmybackpack.com