Sunday, May 22, 2016

"What Could Hurt Trump"

Mickey Kaus:  In a campaign of normal length, Trump would probably win the fight. (He seems to be winning now.)  The trouble is, at this rate we’ll have run through a normal campaign’s worth of thrusts and parries by the middle of next month– and there’ll still be five months still to go. That will force voters to learn what is like to live with each of the candidates, and weigh their flaws and virtues with special thoroughness. Hell, by September it will seem as if Trump’s already been president for a year. That means attacking him over last fall’s insults may not work — after all, they will have been a looong time ago, and now we’ll know the guy. If voters turn out to like living with their Daily Trump, he could easily be ten points ahead by Labor Day. But we might also tire of his personality the way … married couples do the way voters typically tire of a President about halfway through his first term. In particular, I suspect Manafort Trump will not wear so well. … And the constant hints of future sellouts “moderation” could eventually sap Trump’s disruptive aura, as would repetitive attempts to reacquire it.

Via instapundit, where it caused a stir 

22 comments:

edutcher said...

Sounds like some wishful thinking on the part of Kaus.

He forgets we've been through 8 years of the Obmanation and Smart Diplomacy.

And, yeah, we have heard this before.

The Dude said...

Kommie Kaus, Obama voter. Morons gotta moron.

ricpic said...

And the public's NOT going to tire of exposure to Rodham in those six months?

Especially since Trump's barbs are going to FORCE Rodham to come out screeching and that gets tiresome real quick.

edutcher said...

FWIW an interesting point about how desperate Hillary is.

When she says she'll use Willie to fix the economy - which is supposed to be her job - does she come off like the hausfrau who can't balance a checkbook?

PS I'll bet she never has.

Trooper York said...

I think this is a legitimate point. I have often felt that Obama was on every channel on every day and never gave you a break.

The difference is that Trump has been a TV star for ten years. He is already a very familiar face. Plus Trump is nothing if not change. He is always saying something outrageous or different that puts a fox amongst the chickens. Trump is a lot of things. But he is never boring. Boring would be the problem Kraus is talking about.

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

Agreed. Trump is not boring. Wait till Obama and Trump really get into it.

Trump can pivot a bit on Latinos, blacks, women and if he manages to peel off even a moderate % he wins. Going more alt right would do the opposite.

edutcher said...

Good point about Pissy. He will eventually want the election to be about HIM.

Even better point about her negatives among some of the Demos' most cherished oppressed groups - 52% among women, 27 among blacks, 49 among Hispanics.

Those numbers can be exploited.

Trooper York said...

Trump is not genuinely alt-right Evi. He has some of the right attitudes. Totally anti-political correctness. Pro-gun rights. Anti-crime. He has some of the right positions.

The fact is he is more moderate than I would like. He is much softer on the social issues than a radical social conservative like me. But I can accept that. Because I think he is above all a problem solver. A deal maker. He can return America to the way it should be. He can work through Congress and not through executive orders. He is the antithesis of Obama.

Trooper York said...

The #Nevertrump camp have proven to be utter fools.

First they told us that Trump was a stalking horse for Hillary. That he got in the race at the direction of Bill Clinton to help Hillary win. That was a lie.

Then they told us he couldn't win a primary. That was a lie.

Then they told us he only could win a plurality of the voters and only in an "Open" primary. That when it was only Republicans a "True Conservative" would win. That was a lie.

Then they told us he would never get over 50% in a primary because there were not enough racists and bigots to vote for him in any primary election. That was a lie.

Then they said they could hold him under the number necessary to get the nomination and that there would be an open convention where someone else would be selected. That was a lie.

Then they said he would never be the nominee of the Republican party. Another lie.

Now you might say lie is too strong a term. That these assertions were just mistakes or a misreading of the circumstances of this election. I think they were in fact blatant lies in the service of their agenda. To keep their sinecures as gatekeepers and the intellectual heart of the conservative movement and the Republican party. They are quite simple both fools and knaves.

You should think twice before joining in with their idiocy.

Rabel said...

"PS I'll bet she never has."

Disagree. Hillary is very much about the money and always has been. I'd be willing to bet that she knows their net worth to the penny. Those 2 dollar tax deductions for used socks didn't come from Bill.

Chip Ahoy said...

Everyone here read I Claudius.

That's actually interrogative but I didn't want to end [I claudius?].

Well, didjya huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Didjya huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Because I love love love the part where after the assassination of Caligula the praetorian guards look around to see who to kill and they see Claudius limping way crawling along the wall like a rat and as a boisterous joke they grab him, lift him up off the floor, hoist him over their heads and carry him around showing off their new emperor. And that's how he describes being chosen. There was nobody left in the available convenient families.

Then you read and he becomes more cy-cy-cy-cynical as it goes and you see that he and the nation and the world really do need a strong sensible ruthless woman running things as usual so he marries the worst possible relative and we all see together his own impending doom as he limps and stutters right into it.

Recommended. I bet you can buy it for 1¢.

I win the bet. You can.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Via Drudge: Begrudging WaPo poll: Trump 46%, Clinton 44%

ricpic said...

I'll never read I Claudius cause I was ruined by the BBC TV version.

That English actress who played Livia was the GREATEST!

The Dude said...

Sejanus later found work driving a star ship.

edutcher said...

Rabel said...

PS I'll bet she never has.

Disagree. Hillary is very much about the money and always has been. I'd be willing to bet that she knows their net worth to the penny. Those 2 dollar tax deductions for used socks didn't come from Bill.


Think so?

She was the one who grew up well off, if not rich, went to one of the Seven Sisters and then to an Ivy League law school.

Willie was the one who grew up with a man-chasing much-divorced mother who left him with her parents while she went to Nawlins, presumably studying to be a nurse (sound familiar?). He was the one who was working, class, if not poor.

Trooper York said...

Trump is not genuinely alt-right Evi. He has some of the right attitudes. Totally anti-political correctness. Pro-gun rights. Anti-crime. He has some of the right positions.

The fact is he is more moderate than I would like. He is much softer on the social issues than a radical social conservative like me.


Is he, really, or is this some of the Cruzzer propaganda, like he invited the Ozark Mafia to his wedding, that simply stick.

Having heard him on Cavuto countless times, he always struck me as more Conservative than some would imagine. As for social Conservatism, he seems to be willing to take in new data and change his mind - witness abortion - and, as for the business about the bathrooms, he was looking at it from the position of what does it cost to add a third bathroom if SCUS ordains it, given the economy doesn't need an unnecessary hit like that. He also seems to be a live-and-let-live guy to a great degree.

YMMV

But I can accept that. Because I think he is above all a problem solver.

This is why I was a Rudy guy in '08. He was right on the big issues and I doubt I'd ever find somebody who agrees with me on everything, so I took the best I could get.

PS Lem, that poll is registered voters, so you may want to take it with a grain of salt, but he now leads the RCP average (since it's a mix of stuff, some rather old, I don't get too wound up over it, but you can bet the Demos are going into a tailspin at the very thought).

PPS Another poll with a skew of 8 for Hillary. Seems to be SOP these days. Wonder if Pissy gets the same bump?

ricpic said...

That English actress who played Livia was the GREATEST!

Sian Phillips, the former Mrs Lawrence of Arabia.

And she's Welsh.

The Dude said...

My beloved, dear, sweet ex-wife read the book, and as I recall, it was fiction, but based on a true story, or something.

My favorite part was where Livia poisoned each and every fig on a tree "Stayed up all night doing it, too!" - that is dedication right there, and I admire dedication.

I understand that Nancy Marchand's character in the Sopranos was named after the I Claudius character - well played, writer dude!

Trooper York said...

The TV series was excellent but the Robert Graves book is an excellent read. It is often cited by pretentious pussy intellectual book reviewers as a great read. Based on the account of Suetonius it is indeed well done.

If you are interested in this period there are many excellent retellings. Believe it or not there is a superior series of books by noted genre and romance Novelist Colleen Mccllough of "Thorn Birds" fame. Her "Masters of Rome" series traces the history of the end of the Republic through Julius Caesar's ascendancy in a very entertaining and informative way. She traces the rise and fall of such characters as Marius and Sulla and Caesar and Mark Anthony in a way that you will find very adsorbing. I bet those novels will be available very cheaply on Amazon.

It is a good series to read since our current situation mirrors so closely the end of the Roman Republic.

The Dude said...

Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, or molecules from a gas, liquid, or dissolved solid to a surface. I had to look that up.

I like the idea that we are allowing our barbarians into our country, giving them money, citizenship and weapons, and the elites expect nothing bad will come of it.

I have stood in the Roman Forum, and trust me, the Vandals were against 'um.

Trooper York said...

Well that is the lesson of ancient Rome that the elites refuse to acknowledge.

Rabel said...

Criminy. I hope I get to go a couple of rounds with the vestal virgins before it all hits the fan.

Trooper York said...

You would be disappointed.

Go with the experience. You will be glad you did. Just sayn'

Rabel said...

Teaching is a calling. It can be very rewarding in many ways.