I think Manafort will do a competent, and even very good job at not messing up the job Trump has already done getting the country engaged.
I think the election is very much a deal between Trump himself and the American people. His organization of course must be competent and support and compliment that, and not get in the way of it, and help legitimize it in the eyes of those who mistake Trump's strong brash personality as a problem ... but other than that, it's between Trump and individual voters.
I'm not sure the fraud machine will matter ... but likely it will be tamped down simply because in the past, Republicans themselves are so ethically and professionally compromised that they couldn't throw stones. Trump and his campaign can call out anything they want without fear of the enemy exposing Trump's own sins ... because Trump really doesn't have anything to hide.
By all-other-native-born ... I mean typical Americans who aren't part of some victim tribe ... and I don't say 'white middle class' because there are plenty of so called minority 'members' who don't identify with the victim tribes/clans and there comes a time to quit identifying ourselves as black / white / latino. There are real Americans, self identified victims with American citizenship, anti Americans with American citizenship. At some point, if we don't start looking at things as MLK did, we will be a country perpetually used by politicians pushing clan/gang mentality between us.
Even as Obama has sharpened the clan distinction and tried to fire it up, I think it's not as prevalent across the country as the media and hate-hoaxes and fake prosecutions make it ... so I think all American's who either love the country or dont-hate-it-and-just-want-to-make-a-good-free-life see their way of life as threatened, so will show up to vote in strong numbers, mostly because of Trump. Maybe my number is too high because moderate-demmy-liberal-lights might just stay home. They don't hate America, don't really understand the issues but are liberal to be fashionable, but I don't think they like Hillary since no one does, certainly can't stomach Trump because of attachment to their identities, so they will stay home.
That means weak turn out from two 15%'s of the voting populations, strong turn out from 50% percent ... so a moderatelystrong-to-verystrong overall turnout.
I just don't see it being close enough for fraud to matter. Maybe that changes with Biden ... but really Biden's only draw is that he's not Hillary and dems don't hate him, harder for Trump to stamp. But ... he has nothing to offer, he's just an unhated hillary light.
I suspect landslide ... almost willing to put money on landslide.
Tinyowl, I do hope you are right about the landslide.
I would offer a word of caution about the attendance and enthusiasm at Trump’s rallies. Those numbers have to translate into people going to the polls and filing a vote for him, and having that vote be accurately counted. I’d thought Romney would win in ‘12 due to his “huge rallies” and we were sadly mistaken. Remember the ORCA project? Yeah.
Will this election resemble that of 1968? The vote was close then, and California, Ohio, and Illinois were crucial states. We were a different country then, but some things haven’t changed.
Trump has some of the best minds and best strategists on his side. Between now and Election Day, nothing, not the tiniest thing, can be taken for granted.
The nation’s last primary elections are on June 7. I’ll be voting then, and will try to make careful observations about voter mood and turnout. Primary elections usually draw fewer voters than the general election, but this year might be different. We’ll see.
I’m cautiously optimistic.