Trump University didnâ€™t make these Americans great: lawsuit

But can you talk more about your views on Trump’s questionable political views in the past (not his business capabilities) versus what he is saying in the now?

That is, of course, the million dollar question.

And at the risk of sounding flippant, it comes down to a personal prejudice: I don't believe one can reach the level of success Trump has reached, in the business he has reached it, while being an ideological liberal.

He's not some computer whiz-kid who has fallen onto a vast fortune simply by virtue of being the first to do something.

Trump has succeeded in VERY "mature" businesses. There's not a lot of "new" in such businesses, so your competition is just as well schooled as you are. Mistakes and misjudgments are ruthlessly exploited to ones own detriment.

So the short answer, by virtue of my personal estimations, and the easy way Trump has slipped into very convincing "conservative" thought processes (while still retaining enough liberal ambiguity to let the star struck cheer him) is that he was "playing the part" before, not now.

This does not mean I believe Trump is "conservative" in the FreeRepublic sense. I don't think he gives a rip about what the underclass does with their "problem" pregnancies. He obviously doesn't see "all" individual liberties as sacrosanct. He just not that much of an ideologue. Nevertheless, I believe he is enough of an ideological "American" to trust his moral compass to do the best for our country. And his seeming ideological "about-face" leads me to believe he has not adopted and internalized the bizarre pastiche of moral imperatives and bureaucratic submissions that characterize ALL professional politicians in our "government" industry. He

I don't believe one can reach the level of success Trump has reached, in the business he has reached it, while being an ideological liberal.

Why not? Soros did it, and he's definitely not anything near conservative.

This does not mean I believe Trump is "conservative" in the FreeRepublic sense.

I agree

Nevertheless, I believe he is enough of an ideological "American" to trust his moral compass to do the best for our country.

I hope you're right. If you're not, we're screwed.

Why not? Soros did it, and he's definitely not anything near conservative.

Not at all. Soros' industry is much different from that of Trump. Trump is a builder, Soros is a trader.

You will also notice Trump has shown open disdain for only one kind of "money" mogul...hedge fund guys. Guys like Soros.

There are people all over the globe who are businessmen, and builders at that. Even the Saudis build stuff. How is this something that makes him uniquely special?

True enough, but you have to factor in Trump's operating in THIS country, in THIS market, and by THIS set of standards. That, in and of itself places him in the forefront of the best of the best at what he does.

As Dinesh D'Sousa has observed, you can go to deepest Africa and you will find some kid wearing a Chicago Bulls cap. THAT is how pervasive American exceptionalism and cultural hegemony is throughout the globe. They may not like us, but they still aspire to be us.

And Donald Trump is thoroughly and unapologetically, American.

If we EVER want to have a national leader with "American" legibly written on his soul, as opposed to value structures imposed by administrative bureaucracies and academic segregationists, Trump is our best chance.

Again, to paraphrase D'Sousa... "America" is a set of ideals, not a bloodline or ethnicity. It's the only country in the world you can move to and be just as thoroughly American as someone born here.

Holding American citizenship no more makes you "American" in this sense than a Frenchman holding German citizenship makes him German.

This is where I draw the distinction between a Donald Trump, and a Hillary Clinton.

Now I've already answered your question regarding "praise and donations." They were a function of playing a part for the circles for which he wanted access. You do not have to approve, nor agree, but you certainly can not, with any degree of intellectual integrity, dismiss my rationale as "ignoring his history."

As we now seem to have gone full circle I'll close this dialog with hopes for your good fortune and health.

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