Posted on 02/04/2020 3:48:29 AM PST by Kaslin
When candidate Donald Trump campaigned on calling China to account for its trade piracy, observers thought he was either crazy or dangerous.
Conventional Washington wisdom had assumed that an ascendant Beijing was almost preordained to world hegemony. Trump's tariffs and polarization of China were considered about the worst thing an American president could do.
The accepted bipartisan strategy was to accommodate, not oppose, China's growing power. The hope was that its newfound wealth and global influence would liberalize the ruling communist government.
Four years later, only a naif believes that. Instead, there is an emerging consensus that China's cutthroat violations of international norms were long ago overdue for an accounting.
China's re-education camps, its Orwellian internal surveillance, its crackdown on Hong Kong democracy activists and its secrecy about the deadly coronavirus outbreak have all convinced the world that China has now become a dangerous international outlier.
Trump courted moderate Arab nations in forming an anti-Iranian coalition opposed to Iran's terrorist and nuclear agendas. His policies utterly reversed the Obama administration's estrangement from Israel and outreach to Tehran.
Last week, Trump nonchalantly offered the Palestinians a take-it-or-leave-it independent state on the West Bank, but without believing that a West Bank settlement was the key to peace in the entire Middle East.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
Keeping America great should be the unofficial “orthodoxy” if there is to be one.
The stock futures are up 300 points this morning. Are investors seeing the the Iowa debacle a sign that Trump’s gonna win in November?
Dr. Hansen has brilliantly listed a series of substantive reasons why Pres. Trump has created a new orthodoxy. He only briefly touches on style as opposed to substance.I take the liberty of rewriting the headline:
LOL, no.
The Democrats are the mental midgets in the room, Moe, Curly, and Larry. Meanwhile, Trump runs circles around their idiocy, and is making the world a more better place.
No, it’s just a correction from the vastly oversold Friday stock dump. The markets can deal with anything in a rational way if it has information but what the street hates the most is uncertainty.
Funny now those “eddikated” east coast dolts have been totally outmaneuvered by the Trumpster.
They repeated their lies for years and years and believed them.
Heck, they probably still believe them.
One of the first things President Trump needs to do when reelected is to establish a training college for future conservative presidents, senators and congressmen.
Not just to win elections, but how to organize and lead an administration, how to ferret out saboteurs and the corrupt, and how to purge the “at will” parts of the government after compiling a list of their replacements: especially federal prosecutors and ambassadors.
There should also be a second college to train and vet future federal judge nominees.
All of these people should be ready to go on Inauguration Day, assuming a friendly senate.
I don’t think it’s a “dead cat bounce”, as they sometimes describe a slight rise that follows a sudden and significant drop. I predict new record highs for DJIA, NASDAQ, Russell 2000, S & P...by the end of this week!
As tools, the American political process/executive protocols exist at the disposal of each President, equally. Liberals construe that as an opportunity to impeach a President, grab power and toss the system altogether, in favor or their OWN.
Why is anyone surprised?
I mean- every single President from the very beginning, has made the Presidency his own and has carried out his duties with his own personal style. Why challenge THIS President for doing something that is expected, necessary, natural, equally accepted and legitimate for all WH occupants?
VDH hits another one out of the park!
Conventional Washington wisdom had assumed that an ascendant Beijing was almost preordained to world hegemony... Four years later... China's re-education camps, its Orwellian internal surveillance, its crackdown on Hong Kong democracy activists and its secrecy about the deadly coronavirus outbreak have all convinced the world that China has now become a dangerous international outlier.
Trump courted moderate Arab nations in forming an anti-Iranian coalition opposed to Iran's terrorist and nuclear agendas. His policies utterly reversed the Obama administration's estrangement from Israel and outreach to Tehran.
Last week, Trump nonchalantly offered the Palestinians a take-it-or-leave-it independent state on the West Bank, but without believing that a West Bank settlement was the key to peace in the entire Middle East.
American presidents did not do much when EU nations typically racked up large trade surpluses with the U.S., often a result of asymmetrical fees, tariffs and fines. The U.S. largely ignored the increasingly anti-democratic and anti-American tone of the EU.
Nor did Americans object much when lackadaisical European NATO nations habitually welched on their defense-spending commitments. Apparently, past U.S. administrations supposed that a paternalistic America would always be more eager to defend Europe than Europe would be to defend itself.
But then Trump again blew up more old assumptions.
NATO will now only survive if its members keep their word and meet their spending promises. An economically stagnant, oil-hungry and top-heavy EU will have to make radical changes, or it will sink into irrelevance and eventually break apart.
But, but, but - the orange man fired John Bolton...and Joe Scarborough doesn't like him...
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Last week, Trump nonchalantly offered the Palestinians a take-it-or-leave-it independent state on the West Bank
Not often I disagree with VDH, but imo President Trump offered his vision of a long term settlement subject to negotiation. I think it's unlikely, but if Israel decides to cede Jerusalem to the Palestinians, they can. More likely were there a negotiating partner, land swaps could be made despite the fact this isn't a "land for peace" fiasco. Simply a plan rooted in reality, but subject to negotiation. Not take it or leave it, that's the Palestinian's rationale for rejection.
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