DeSantis is a good man and a good governor, but that did not make him ready to run for president against Trump. As his team of lushly paid professional campaign consultants and operatives found DeSantis inadequate for his role, they began to flail away at the media and then at outsiders for not getting aboard. This almost certainly reflects the views of DeSantis and his over-involved spouse.
These are ordinary human failings and not to be assessed too much against DeSantis and his wife as people or against his campaign team. Yet, facing far worse circumstances and treatment, Trump and his circle have done much better. One sees Trump on the campaign trail showing not just strength and a strong sense of mission, but even enjoying himself.
This is an inadequately appreciated reason for Trump's appeal. His defects and mistakes do not negate his virtues and good record as President. In a tough spot due to the election stealing in 2020 and grossly unfair indictments and lawsuits against him, Trump is showing strength and courage in adversity by running for reelection. More than that, Trump is demonstrating a resilience of spirit that Americans traditionally called grit and saw as a dimension of character and a mark of true leadership.
Our greatest leaders and public figures showed grit and it inspired those around them and America as a whole. We know the slogans and incidents of history by heart.
With an Army defeated, cold, starving, nearly in rags, close to dissolving, and the Revolution itself near collapse, George Washington rallied his men for a night march from Valley Forge. They crossed the Delaware River in a snowstorm, then marched to Trenton and attacked and routed British and professional Hessian soldiers on Christmas Day.
With a US Navy crew shot to pieces and their vessel sinking, John Paul Jones rejected a British surrender request by saying: "I have not yet begun to fight!"
When the US Navy's attack on Mobile Bay during the Civil War hung in the balance, Admiral Farragut commanded: "Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead."
Against the Depression and a fear that America itself was failing, FDR offered: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
With our country in trouble, Trump seems poised to win in 2024 and may one day be seen by history as among the best. Against that, what can DeSantis offer? A good resume. That is not enough, and it galls DeSantis and his people as that sinks in.
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Very well said, Rockingham. Merry Christmas to you and to all FReepers.
You mentioned the word "grit" and I dug up the speech President Trump gave at the 2017 commencement at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
This 6-minute core of his speech talks a lot about American success and grit and his immortal words are highlighted with world-class production values in video clips and inspirational music fit to President Trump's remarks.
It's one for the history books and it deserves to be seen again in prep for 2024, a year where an existential threat to America exists and we need the fortitude of heart and grit to win a big one for We The People and our Constitutional republic.