jvcarroll
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2012
- Messages
- 2,354
- Reaction score
- 2,001
Popped back in to poop this here. I know what most forum members would likely say so I'm not planning to reply and won't likely be goaded into a conversation. I write this for those members who read threads, but don't engage. I'm telling things like they are regardless of my being a progressive for three of the seven presidential elections that I've participated in. I'm offering perspective over party and then really planning to stay off the forums. I just feel that we've finally reached a tipping point.
This goes beyond partisanship, distasteful tweets, or his weird relationship with Russia and cuts to the heart of the problem. He has absolutely no talent for political deal making or knowledge about tough to solve American issues. Why would he? He's not a politician, ran on that platform and won!
People neglect to point out how many former Democrats actually supported the guy. Underneath all the crazy controversy that he created, his messaging was better than his opponent in the election. She'd provide shaded and contrived answers and he'd shoot back with some catchy bumper sticker slogan. That's highly effective and it pains me how bad progressives are on that count. Truly terrible! His only strength in life has been branding.
If he really had any excellence in deal-making skills, he wouldn't have gone bankrupt 3 times. To use a golf phrase - One's a mulligan. Two means he didn't learn from his mistakes; and three means he's reckless and just doesn't care about the people who invested their money with him. However bad he is in business, he's not only good at telling people that his failures don't matter; he convinces his supporters that his failures are actually wins.
Even though I don't like him, the one good thing about him was that he wasn't beholden to Republicans or Democrats. He was beholden to the American people. He had the perfect opportunity in all of American history to do what he wanted and to write his own ticket once he got into the White House. That would mean he'd have to learn a lot very quickly. He hasn't done that and doesn't seem to want to. His knowledge on both national and world affairs is literally less than the average middle school student. That's not hyperbole. That's just the honest truth.
It should be clear to anyone now that he doesn't care about the issues. He doesn't really care about the content of the legislation he passes or how he passes it. He just wants to pass something - anything, tell you how "great" it is and receive applause for it. Again, that's branding without any real meaning.
Branding is why people buy one type of paper towel over another, less expensive one that's just as good or better. It's a sticker and a slogan. It's cheap and easy. The work is what's hard. That's the thankless hours spend away from the lights, cameras and supporters - the stuff people don't see. The stuff that hasn't yet been in our president to do. Notice that I still call him that because even though he doesn't represent any of my values, as an American citizen, he still represents me. It doesn't matter who you are, what you believe or how many hopes you put into this man. That is all he's ever been and there's no indication of that changing.
If anyone contradicts him, makes him look bad at his job or even if a longtime ally can't wave a magic wand and do his job for him, he won't hesitate to throw that person under the bus. What I'm saying is, this president is completely without desire to do the work to make the country better like he said he would. He has a lot of opposition. Every president does. Say what you will about Obama, he didn't whine like this. Most of what both Dems and Republicans are doing right now is not mere stonewalling. It's about the substance of the issues. Whether you voted for the man or not, that's something everyone should care deeply about. Nonetheless, the president lacks integrity doesn't seem to have any quantifiable moral compass. That's disturbing.
Maybe his antics were cute and novel before. It's not now. So many of his supporters call for civility toward him and each other that he doesn't show for others. The horrible shooting was a perfect opportunity to band together. Mental illness knows no party. Most Republicans and Democrats did just that. Even Republicans I've spent over a decade railing about stepped up and impressed the heck out of me. It was the president who squandered that good will with his tweets. I get the feeling that he wants this division among the American people. He thrives on it. I understand the angst of his supporters. What I don't understand is how so many can continue to turn a blind eye to his behavior or his lack of skill at his job.
There comes a time when you stop blaming other people and crying that the world is so unfair and you find a way to reach out and do something about it. All he does is bark at people. Any person with any business sense will tell you that's the opposite of how an effective leader behaves. The thing is, every second, every moment is an opportunity to change and be better than we were before.
I challenge the president to do that. Set differences aside, call the bipartisan leadership of congress to the table and hammer some of these things out like he said he would. And do all of this even though it's hard and not likely to work out the exact way he wants it to - if at all. It's said that all good legislation leaves both sides disappointed. He wants the quick fix. Don't we all? But the president is supposed to be the adult in the room. Our country is scrambling for a sense of leadership. A good president presses through. He has the opportunity to do that. I don't think it's in him, but I'd be the happiest person in the world if he surprised us all.
That said, it's clearly a pipe dream. This meme reflects my angst about the current president's ignorance and impotence. He was a guy that said he knew your problems, felt your pain and had quick and easy solutions to solve them (and promised to do so in his first 100 days). The thing is, he could decide to change this, but people rarely go against their nature.
Also, I’ve heard the bizarre hyperbole from some of his supporters who claim that he could cure cancer and still not get credit. The truth is, he’s more like a snake-oil salesman that will sell you an expensive cure for cancer and let your illness go untreated until you’re worse off than you were before. Unless something changes soon, this is the president’s prescription for America. I respect the reasons many people voted for this man. What I don't understand is the unwillingness to see that the result has not matched the person they voted for.
Peace.
This goes beyond partisanship, distasteful tweets, or his weird relationship with Russia and cuts to the heart of the problem. He has absolutely no talent for political deal making or knowledge about tough to solve American issues. Why would he? He's not a politician, ran on that platform and won!
People neglect to point out how many former Democrats actually supported the guy. Underneath all the crazy controversy that he created, his messaging was better than his opponent in the election. She'd provide shaded and contrived answers and he'd shoot back with some catchy bumper sticker slogan. That's highly effective and it pains me how bad progressives are on that count. Truly terrible! His only strength in life has been branding.
If he really had any excellence in deal-making skills, he wouldn't have gone bankrupt 3 times. To use a golf phrase - One's a mulligan. Two means he didn't learn from his mistakes; and three means he's reckless and just doesn't care about the people who invested their money with him. However bad he is in business, he's not only good at telling people that his failures don't matter; he convinces his supporters that his failures are actually wins.
Even though I don't like him, the one good thing about him was that he wasn't beholden to Republicans or Democrats. He was beholden to the American people. He had the perfect opportunity in all of American history to do what he wanted and to write his own ticket once he got into the White House. That would mean he'd have to learn a lot very quickly. He hasn't done that and doesn't seem to want to. His knowledge on both national and world affairs is literally less than the average middle school student. That's not hyperbole. That's just the honest truth.
It should be clear to anyone now that he doesn't care about the issues. He doesn't really care about the content of the legislation he passes or how he passes it. He just wants to pass something - anything, tell you how "great" it is and receive applause for it. Again, that's branding without any real meaning.
Branding is why people buy one type of paper towel over another, less expensive one that's just as good or better. It's a sticker and a slogan. It's cheap and easy. The work is what's hard. That's the thankless hours spend away from the lights, cameras and supporters - the stuff people don't see. The stuff that hasn't yet been in our president to do. Notice that I still call him that because even though he doesn't represent any of my values, as an American citizen, he still represents me. It doesn't matter who you are, what you believe or how many hopes you put into this man. That is all he's ever been and there's no indication of that changing.
If anyone contradicts him, makes him look bad at his job or even if a longtime ally can't wave a magic wand and do his job for him, he won't hesitate to throw that person under the bus. What I'm saying is, this president is completely without desire to do the work to make the country better like he said he would. He has a lot of opposition. Every president does. Say what you will about Obama, he didn't whine like this. Most of what both Dems and Republicans are doing right now is not mere stonewalling. It's about the substance of the issues. Whether you voted for the man or not, that's something everyone should care deeply about. Nonetheless, the president lacks integrity doesn't seem to have any quantifiable moral compass. That's disturbing.
Maybe his antics were cute and novel before. It's not now. So many of his supporters call for civility toward him and each other that he doesn't show for others. The horrible shooting was a perfect opportunity to band together. Mental illness knows no party. Most Republicans and Democrats did just that. Even Republicans I've spent over a decade railing about stepped up and impressed the heck out of me. It was the president who squandered that good will with his tweets. I get the feeling that he wants this division among the American people. He thrives on it. I understand the angst of his supporters. What I don't understand is how so many can continue to turn a blind eye to his behavior or his lack of skill at his job.
There comes a time when you stop blaming other people and crying that the world is so unfair and you find a way to reach out and do something about it. All he does is bark at people. Any person with any business sense will tell you that's the opposite of how an effective leader behaves. The thing is, every second, every moment is an opportunity to change and be better than we were before.
I challenge the president to do that. Set differences aside, call the bipartisan leadership of congress to the table and hammer some of these things out like he said he would. And do all of this even though it's hard and not likely to work out the exact way he wants it to - if at all. It's said that all good legislation leaves both sides disappointed. He wants the quick fix. Don't we all? But the president is supposed to be the adult in the room. Our country is scrambling for a sense of leadership. A good president presses through. He has the opportunity to do that. I don't think it's in him, but I'd be the happiest person in the world if he surprised us all.
That said, it's clearly a pipe dream. This meme reflects my angst about the current president's ignorance and impotence. He was a guy that said he knew your problems, felt your pain and had quick and easy solutions to solve them (and promised to do so in his first 100 days). The thing is, he could decide to change this, but people rarely go against their nature.
Also, I’ve heard the bizarre hyperbole from some of his supporters who claim that he could cure cancer and still not get credit. The truth is, he’s more like a snake-oil salesman that will sell you an expensive cure for cancer and let your illness go untreated until you’re worse off than you were before. Unless something changes soon, this is the president’s prescription for America. I respect the reasons many people voted for this man. What I don't understand is the unwillingness to see that the result has not matched the person they voted for.
Peace.
Last edited: