There are many things that bother me about Trump being our new president. Perhaps the worst is I believe he is a coward. Yes, the worse kind of coward. The type I call the basement hero who hides in the basement of his house and tells how outrageous things are but when in a face-to-face meeting with one of the objects of his scorn melts like the Wicked Witch of the West after encountering water.
Trump has no basement to live in but he has the equivalent. This is his little device attached to the Internet which allows him to tweet. He can be big and bold on the tweeter but when in a one on one situation he becomes a Casper Milktoast or a Shivering Sadie. All his life he has hidden behind lawyers and been in situations where he has not had to tell a person who was on an equal basis with him difficult news to that person’s face.
I would have to guess that is one reason he never was involved in public service. He would have to deal with people on his same level which would be difficult for him if he had to tell them something to their face they did not like. His life has been acting as a good time Charlie with his equals when dealing straight up with them; but when in difficult situation calling in lawyers and order them, his underlings, to do his dirty work.
What I am trying to get my head around is how this will cause him to act as president. When a guy like Putin calls him on the telephone and he cowers during his conversation with him will Putin take it as a green light to do whatever he wants. How about when he cowers when talking to the leaders of two nations which are antagonistic to each other like India and Pakistan? Will he send out confused signals which each one believing he is backing them up in a dispute?
I do not know if we have ever had such a cowardly president take office. And don’t think because of my dislike for Trump I am imagining his lack of fortitude. It is open and obvious to any of you who would take off your blinders and look at what he has done.
The first clear instance of this came with his signature selling point to his crowd that he was going to build a wall between Mexico and the United States and make Mexico pay for it. (He has backed away from that once elected.) Over and over he repeated it. Then, in the middle of the campaign, he flew off to Mexico to deal face to face with the Mexican president. What courage! He was going into the enemy’s camp and laying down his cards.
What happened? Trump said the subject of who was going to pay for the wall did not come up. What? How could that be? As one writer said: “But for a guy whose proposal to have Mexico pay for the wall has largely been dismissed as a ridiculous assertion, not bringing it up in a meeting with the Mexican president will only further that perception.”
That was my first indication that Trump lacked moral fortitude. It wasn’t like he was a spectator sitting in the audience, he was the one engaged in the conversation. How could he have not brought it up? The answer is simple it would have been an unpleasant subject that he feared talking about.
That thought passed back into the recesses of my mind until I read the transcript of his interview with the N.Y. Times. Here he was face to face with the people he excoriated during his campaign and on each issue they asked him about he backed down from what he said in his campaign. For an hour he crawled in front of the N.Y. Times telling them what great people they were and how their paper was the jewel of all papers. It made my skin crawl to see such cringing.
Then we have news of his call with Nawaz Sharif the prime minister of Pakistan. He has been excoriating this country over the past about harboring Osama bin Laden and other things. Here is what he said in a person to person conversation: “You have a very good reputation. You are a terrific guy,” it goes. In addition, Pakistan is “a fantastic country, fantastic place” with the most “intelligent” people and “your country is amazing with tremendous opportunities” He ended by saying: “Please convey to the Pakistani people that they are amazing and all Pakistanis I have known are exceptional people”
We really are in trouble as a nation with this guy. The basement bully is going to severely damage much of what is left of our nation’s reputation. Let’s hope that terrific and fantastic guy Kim Jong-un doesn’t call him.
When the Feds laid siege to Wounded Knee, they closed off all the roads into the AIM position. Re-supply was done by back-packers, young kids hauling eighty pound packs over ten miles of ridges. Finally, after all the foot trails were closed, things became tough. Food, and, ammo, were getting dangerously low. Having failed in their initial assault, the Feds sought to starve the warriors out.
One hungry morning, look-outs pointed to a tiny speck in the great blue sky. Soon an engine could be heard. The speck became a plane. Rocky Pomerance put the single engine Piper down right in the center of the position. His wheels never stopped moving as Joaquin Villalobos feverishly kicked out boxes of bullets, and, duffle bags of food. Fifty caliber rounds from the tracks kicked up clouds of dirt as they chased the little plane down Wounded Knee’s impromptu runway. Up into the sky they rose. The little plane, after gaining altitude, turned and dived back down on the tracks. Showing the high raised hammer-fist, Rocky and Juan buzzed the APCs in defiance. Grim faced fighters who’d thought they’d seen their last day, exploded into cheers. Their smiles were wide.
Its strange the things that old men remember. All power to the dialectic!
Wa-llahi! The hunter don’t like it, when the rabbit got the gun.
War is a fire-storm. Once it gets roaring, it has a life of its own. Military conflagrations don’t die down, until, all their fuel is consumed. A lot of lives will be going up in smoke by next summer. Fluctuations in the market will only matter to those who are “creating wealth” from the bloodshed. Regular folks will be more concerned with saying good-bye to their sons and daughters.
Everything goes up, before it goes down. Buy gold. When the war hits, the economic indicators will go crazy. The old world is at the brink. It won’t take much of a shove to get things rolling. Any further major military commitment in Iraq will make the domestic scene roil.
Are you watching North Dakota? The Left is beginning to mobilize. The AIM warriors plan to fight. Remember the second battle of Wounded Knee? Weather People trucked in supplies before, and, during, the fight. The warriors bunkered-up, and, fought the Feds to a draw. Even supported by APCs, the wasichu dogs could not take the warriors’ position. AIM left the field with their weapons in their hands, and, their flags flying.
All power to the dialectic!
Yes, I was watching North Dakota today.
Trump took the high road.
typical……..
you never answer t he direct question………………….
A tweet is like a slogan; it’s a simple message for simple people. Glorious Leader knows what he’s doing. Bread and circuses are the order of the day. Tweets establish a false intimacy between Trump, and, his followers.
Anybody following Mosul? Glorious Leader is going to inherit a major battle in progress. It will be the first real test of his abilities. There are, already, US combat troops on the firing line. Obama has been slipping troops into the struggle for some time. American proxy forces are being ground down by a clever, and, tenacious, DAESH defense. Without direct US support, especially, more infantry, a stalemate will develop. What happens, if Glorious Leader doubles down on the Iraqi wager? Are the American people ready to back his play?
K,
Clever tool. He uses it well.
Think back to the origin of bread and circus,….the destruction of an empire.
GL helped us avoid that.
We are ON THE WAY UP.
NOT DOWN.
Check today’s economic indicators…..
Rather:
Too many generals hanging around. It’s a bad sign. Things are a lot more out of control in the Mideast than the public appreciates. Whoever’s giving the orders can’t make a mistake. If GL avoids stepping in it, I’ll be impressed. What’s coming may be way beyond anyone’s control.
K,
Can whatever is coming be worse than existing?
I resoundingly present myself as part of the solution,….not the problem.
No defense.
To Bill C. You are normalizing Trump. Stop.
Hey Lady ……
You are stuck in the past.
The campaign is over.
It’s President Trump to you………
Sky……..the dropper of throwaway lines once in a while, but unrebutted as of yet…………..any lawyers around?
Matt: Someone said, “Jimmy Carter and Mike Dukakis, men of reputedly good character, did some good but were wrong on many issues, too.” and “Flawed characters like Richard Nixon also did a lot of good: ex: ending the Vietnam War and creating the EPA.”
The issues come down to choosing to do what’s right, what’s good, what’s better, what’s best . . . and, for a president, to choose what’s good and best for the American people.
George W. Bush, sober, faithful Christian, loyal husband, good family man, great American of unquestioned integrity and good character, wrongly decided some issues and gave us the Iraq War and an expanded federal government.
JFK, one my heroes, had his character flaws, which were mostly hidden, but he did a lot of good, in civil rights and avoiding nuclear war over Cuba. Trump’s flaws are there for all the world to see; hopefully he too will choose to do what’s right and good for the American people.
No one is peerless! We’re all flawed: even Hillary!
I wish the newly elected president well.
Trump’s critics have to come up with something better than name calling. Name calling didn’t work in the campaign so why would it be a persuasive argument now? Is his immigration plan good or bad? Do you support open borders or should there be limits? Should the southern border be secured? Should taxes stay as they are or be cut? Do you believe in static scoring or dynamic scoring? Do we need regulatory relief? A Supreme Court Justice of the Sotomayer stripe or the Scalia type? More defense spending or less? Sanctuary Cities or no? Re negotiated trade deals? Lobbying reform? Closed coal mines or energy independence? Late term abortion or Pro Life? The 10th Amendment or total control by the Feds? A corrupt justice department or change? Debate the issues.
NC:
All the issues come down to the character of the person in charge.
whoa, wait a minute – Bush 41 tried that character thing against Slick Willie Klinton of the Klinton Krime Family. I remember it distinctly. Bush 41 lost – then they became best friends forever.
Matt, you can reduce taxes for all if you spur economic growth, bring jobs back from overseas and reduce the size of government. Without re-checking the exact data, I recall reading that today government (fed, state, local) takes 46% of every dollar earned, whereas in @ 1960 it took 30%. Less government is the answer.
Matt: The distinguished former conservative intellectual Secretary of Education Bill Bennett compares Donald Trump to Ronald Reagan. (on last night’s Kelly File).
Bennett’s a realist.
2. There are those who view Trump through a glass darkly.
3. Having neither dark glasses nor rose-colored glasses, my view is crystal clear: I like Trump’s cabinet picks, e.g. Mad Dog Mattis, and his advisers, especially Kellyanne Conway, and his spokespersons, especially Katrina Pierson, to mention a few.
Matt: A coward doesn’t risk hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money in a long-shot run for the presidency. A coward doesn’t stand up to the wrath of liberal orthodoxy and the leftist MSM.
Trump sometimes flatters his opposition. He praised Hillary for being a “fighter”. So, what? He engages in conciliation and reconciliation. So, what?
Here’s what he said at the very beginning of his face-face- meeting with the New York Times (condemning them for “unfairly” reporting):
“I think I’ve been treated very rough. It’s well out there that I’ve been treated extremely unfairly in a sense, in a true sense. I wouldn’t only complain about The Times. I would say The Times was about the roughest of all. You could make the case The Washington Post was bad, but every once in a while I’d actually get a good article. Not often, Dean, but every once in awhile. Look, I have great respect for The Times, and I’d like to turn it around. I think it would make the job I am doing much easier. We’re working very hard. We have great people coming in. I think you’ll be very impressed with the names. We’ll be announcing some very shortly.”
He did criticize the Times face-to-face!
Read the whole Transcript. He backed up on nothing; he only indicated he would “consider” other options, like maybe Hillary had suffered enough! He took nothing completely off the table. He said he’d keep “an open mind”. He questioned the orthodoxy on climate change, saying brilliant people had differing views; saying you have to consider jobs; he said he was in favor of clean air, clean water; etc, nothing inconsistent there.
He’s still going to build a wall. (The Mexican President told Trump Mexico wasn’t going to pay for the wall – – -Trump said they didn’t “discuss it”; Perhaps Trump meant they didn’t discuss it at length.)
He’s spoken highly of Mexican-Americans, and criticized criminal illegals. So?
He’s spoken highly of Pakistanis, and criticized terrorists and those who harbor terrorists. So?
The only thing he may have backtracked on is the prosecution of Hillary, saying maybe she’s suffered enough, and he’d rather concentrate on looking forward, not backward. He’s not called on Congress to stop investigations.
Since the election, many defeated liberal Dems say that all is darkness and gloom: Chuck Schumer, for example, says Trump “will wage war on the elderly.” It was cowardly of Schumer to scare the elderly.