Editorial: GOP can't be serious

The Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | April 10, 2011 | The Editors

[2ndDivisionVet]

Donald Trump. Really?

The federal government is running out of money. The country's armed forces are involved in three wars. President Obama has kick-started his reelection campaign. And who is getting the most ink as a potential Republican presidential candidate? The Donald. Seriously?

"I have never been so serious as I am now," says Trump, who was also a potential candidate in 2000, 2004, and 2008. What Trump is really serious about is his brand name.

"I have great respect for Donald Trump, but that's the last thing the country needs is a showboat," said Glenn Beck in a recent interview with Bill O'Reilly. Guess it takes one to know one. Beck appeared to be a potential candidate himself after holding that giant rally in Washington last year. But last week he was fired by Fox News for losing advertisers as well as audience share.

Suddenly, Beck is day-old bread. Meanwhile, Fox News has signed up Trump to do a "Monday Mornings with Trump" segment on the show Fox & Friends. Since Trump won't be paid, he can do the show unless and until he officially declares himself a candidate, when federal election rules would kick in.

Trump says his paid TV gig will determine the timing of any announcement. He has to wait until Celebrity Apprentice is over. That show accounts for a lot of his popularity. But Trump for president?

The thought cannot be dismissed. Not when the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll of expected Republican primary voters shows Trump tied for second place with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. They both got 17 percent, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney well within range at 21 percent.

But here's the kicker: Trump leads the other contenders among Republicans who identify themselves as tea-party followers. Trump got 20 percent of the support from that group to Romney's 17 percent and Huckabee's 14 percent.

You can't help but draw a line from Trump's appeal to tea-party folks to his remarks questioning Obama's being born in the United States. The "birther" movement is strong among tea-party activists. In a Today Show interview last week, Trump actually used the word lying in reference to Obama. He claimed the president has spent $2 million to hide the truth.

People who like Trump talk about his business acumen, how he was on the bottom and is back on top. They like what they see on Celebrity Apprentice, where Trump often fires people based on a gut feeling - a contrast to Obama's logic-driven approach.

But it's Trump's attacks on Obama's citizenship that signal the type of campaign he would run. It wouldn't be about finding the truth; it would be about further dividing America. Here's hoping those polls showing that's the direction in which Republican voters are leaning are wrong.

[2ndDivisionVet]

2ndDivisionVet in 2008 to Democrats: A guy who has never run so much as the smallest department in the smallest retail store in Chicago? A man who never even commanded an eight man squad in the military? Someone who never hired, fired or disciplined anyone in his life? An individual who's never met a payroll, sold so much as a hot dog and has no idea what business taxes are like? A community organizer? And you nominated him for what?!

[Cowboy Bob]

The Liberals are scared. I can smell their fear...

[J Edgar]

” ... The country’s armed forces are involved in three wars. President Obama has kick-started his reelection campaign ...”

---

The Donald’s question is indeed most relevant due to the above cited realities, namely, just who is The Usurper?

[Vendome]

MuBarak Obama? Seriously? Seriously?

[tsowellfan]

I smell fear in those dems. This fear was not shown towards McCain

[EGPWS]

“Trumps fault” in our future?

[caww]

rotflol....I can see that happening! Ha!

[Lancey Howard]

Newspapers don’t get more liberal Democrat than the Stinky.

[Quiller]

A guy who has never run so much as the smallest department in the smallest retail store in Chicago? A man who never even commanded an eight man squad in the military? Someone who never hired, fired or disciplined anyone in his life? An individual who's never met a payroll, sold so much as a hot dog and has no idea what business taxes are like? A community organizer? And you nominated him for what?!

Actually, that CV sounds perfect for the libs' idea of a president -- accomplishes nothing but organizing people to slurp at the public trough, has little clue about reality.

How could a lib president be any more like what they look for in government?

As far as Trump goes, rising to the measure of becoming a cause for liberal hyperventilation is a mark in his favor in my book.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“But last week he was fired by Fox News for losing advertisers as well as audience share.”

Is this true about Beck? I didn’t know he was fired.

[spokeshave]

Yeah and I see the completion of all the buildings at the 9/11 (never forget) site by the end of Trump’s first term.

[He Rides A White Horse]

But it's Trump's attacks on Obama's citizenship that signal the type of campaign he would run. It wouldn't be about finding the truth; it would be about further dividing America. Here's hoping those polls showing that's the direction in which Republican voters are leaning are wrong.

It seems to me that Trump is trying to discover the truth. I'll give him credit for that undertaking. it would be about further dividing America.

What hubris....the left has made a living on doing just that.

Once again, the left is telling us what an acceptable candidate is.

I will continue to monitor articles of this nature. At least I know I can get the truth here.

[Daisyjane69]

They dislike Trump for the same reason they dislike SP. They both tell it like it is and make it perfectly clear that Obama does not impress them, they aren't afraid of him, they know Obama is full of sh*t, and they will not be cowed by charges of "racism." IOW, these are the only two that are not afraid to say that the emperor has no clothes. If one sits down and does a "back of the envelope" calculation, the numbers for The Donald would be scary-good. He'd pick up a lot of states (like Florida) that are bulging with retirees from NY & NJ. He'd need a solid social conservative like SP with him (no telling if she would do it, btw) in the South. But the more serious Trump seems to be about this, the smaller Mitt Romney seems to get, don't you think? Moreover, Trump has a long history of donating to incumbents (usually Democrats) who represent areas where he has casinos, properties, etc. Reid, Schumer, Gillebrand, etc. These are people he'll have some cache with; people he can poke in the chest and say "Hey, I helped you out. Now, you help me out." I am no expert, but I think Trump is doing this because he is simply mortified at the state of this nation. He's getting to "that age" we all get to, when we start thinking of the next generation. The presidency gives him nothing he doesn't already have: fame, money, power, influence. I heard recently that his daughter Ivanka is expecting what would be his first grandchild. If that is true (plus the new young family he's started with his young wife) this tells me exactly why he's willing to piss away $ 600 million. He's scared as hell that this country is going to hell. Just my two cents.

[He Rides A White Horse]

They dislike Trump for the same reason they dislike SP. They both tell it like it is and make it perfectly clear that Obama does not impress them, they aren't afraid of him, they know Obama is full of sh*t, and they will not be cowed by charges of "racism."

The racist canard has no meaning. I'm not a racist. This card is a refuge for scoundrels.

[Daisyjane69]

You are correct.

But we have a lot of wimpy types mentioned in the current field that will mumble, stumble, and fumble their way through such an accusation. Probably looking at their shoes as they do.

What no one except for a couple are willing to say is this:

Obama is not being criticized and targeted because of his race, whether it’s the BC, or his incompetence.

It is that he is expecting (and getting) a PASS because of his race, whether it’s the BC, or his incompetence. No white candidate would get a pass on this performance thus far. Jimmy Carter sure didn’t.

Big difference.

[doggieboy]

Hard to find a more arrogant ass than Obama. Finally...success.

[Daisyjane69]

I’ve got no secret information here, with respect to GB. But I’ve begun to wonder if Murdoch’s minor Saudi investor was getting a bit antsy with respect to GB over the last month focusing on an Islamic Caliphate, etc. Makes you wonder if someone made a phone call. Or two. Or twenty five.

It cannot be the lack of top tier advertisers. GB’s show has been running in the UK for at least the last couple years with NO advertisers, only PSA’s. His show is so controversial in the UK that no advertiser will touch it!

Just a thought...

[BfloGuy]

Trump's a big-government crony-capitalist. We'd be nuts to nominate him. That said, in the meantime, I'm loving his crusade about the birth certificate. It's really making 'em squirm.

And they hate to squirm.

[samtheman]

If Trump brings down Obama on the eligibility issue, he will be the next president. There will be no stopping him.

If so, I would like to see a Trump/Palin ticket but considering the possibility that neither Trump nor Palin would want that (for different reasons), an alternative I’d like to see is:

The Business Ticket: Trump/Cain’12

[JudgemAll]

why so serious, says the joker