Posted on 04/12/2011 10:19:25 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
For well over a year, I, along with the rest of the conservative base in America, have lamented the lack of decent possible Republican presidential candidates. Despite the fact that he has run the most incompetent administration in history, President Obama remains a solid bet for re-election in 2012. Obama's frontrunner status springs from two crucial facts: first, by overexposing himself in the public eye, he has made himself larger than life; second, the Republican field is pathetically weak.
Mitt Romney has about as much charm as a Ziploc bag, and his support for Romneycare in Massachusetts should immediately put him out of the running. Though brilliant, Newt Gingrich is chameleonic and impossible to peg down to principle; therefore, he's unacceptable to many primary voters. Sarah Palin is polarizing; Haley Barbour bears too strong a resemblance to Deputy Dawg; Mike Huckabee isn't interested in running, and his religious background makes him a beloved target of the secular press; Tim Pawlenty makes Ben Stein seem colorful.
The Republican field has not been this wide open since ... well, since 2008. Sadly, the intervening three years have not cleared up any questions.
If Republicans were to construct an ideal candidate, he would have to be rich beyond belief -- Obama is going to raise $1 billion for his next election campaign, and no Republican candidate has the ability to come close to those numbers without deep pockets. The ideal Republican candidate would have significant name recognition with the general public -- no Republican candidate has ever won the presidency without significant name recognition going into the primaries since Warren G. Harding in 1920. The ideal Republican candidate would have stage presence, an intimidation factor, and a willingness to play dirty.
In the last several weeks, that ideal Republican candidate has materialized.
His name is Donald Trump. His slogan is ready-made: "You're Fired." He does not give a damn what the media thinks of him -- he steamrolled Meredith Vieira during his NBC interview with her last week. He can self-fund to the tune of $1 billion.
And what's more, he can win.
Pay no attention to the recent polls showing Obama crushing Trump by 20 points in a head-to-head matchup. That disparity is attributable to the public perception that Trump is a loudmouth with no true interest in running. The moment he declares in earnest and gets on the campaign stump, his numbers will rise dramatically.
Trump has across-the-board appeal. His show, "The Apprentice," routinely draws nearly 9 million viewers per episode. Blue-collar workers identify with Trump's rough-and-tumble attitude. He even has union support -- he's made a political mint bashing outsourcing, and he recently told Human Events that he has made "many billions of dollars working with the unions," though he does not disagree that public sector unions bilk taxpayers.
Trump's image boils down to this: he's a no-nonsense businessman who is brash enough to take on Obama directly. He's big enough to stand toe-to-toe with Obama and slug it out.
The biggest question that surrounds Trump of late is his focus on the question of Obama's birth certificate. Trump has stated routinely and openly that he wonders whether Obama was born in the United States, and he has called on Obama to release his birth certificate. This has earned him the ire and scorn of Obama's lackeys, who say he has "zero chance" of getting elected.
In reality, the birth certificate issue is specifically geared toward certain political ends for Trump. First, it is obviously calculated to attract the most anti-Obama segment of the conservative base -- and it has already succeeded, if primary polling is any indicator. Second, it is designed to force Obama into defending his character -- Trump has already suggested that at best, Obama refuses to come clean with the American people. Finally, it shows Obama that if Trump is nominated, the campaign will not be a McCain-style hands-off lovefest. It will be a knockdown drag-out brawl. Trump will stop emphasizing the birth certificate issue, to be sure, but not until he's milked it for all it is worth.
Is Donald Trump the best Republican candidate for president out there? It would be tough to argue otherwise. He's got all the makings of a breakout star; he's got bravado and the cash to back it up. If he really runs, he won't have any trouble finding supporters. And as he puts it, he is the Obama administration's "worst nightmare." So far, who can argue with him?
I likee.
Only one problem. He isn’t running.
Nice post ! Well written article
Donald - by definition : “great chief; mighty”
Trump - by definition :
“Something, especially something held in reserve, that gives one a decisive advantage” as a trump card.
I will go on record right now and say that he won’t run. And if he does it will be as a third party, drawing needed votes away from the GOP nominee like Ross Perot. I’m tired of him sucking all the air out of the room.
And I happen to think Ben Stein IS colorful! Maybe that's why I kind of like Tim Pawlenty.
It is truly amazing that it takes someone like Trump to make an issue of the birth certificate. Anyone with half a brain knows that a COLB is not a BC, and yet nearly everyone in the mainstream media pretends there is no difference. They take the word of an unelected bureaucrat who claims to have seen the BC. Trump is right - it would be the biggest scam in American History. This issue has to be settled.
Problem is, I’m not sure if he runs in the primary if he even has standing. But some of the states should force the issue, imho, by requiring the BC to get on the ballot.
I agree with this article, Trumps numbers would rise if he declared. It is easy to discount the chances of someone who isn’t running. Not sure if he is the man I want as President, but I would have preferred Hillary! to Obama if I had the choice.
The more I hear the more I like. I love his take no prisoners approach. Would love to watch him debate Obama, he would eat Obama alive. He’s squishy on social issues, but for the sake of the country Im more than willing to set some of those doubts aside. I hope he does run.
Newt will not be the Nom because (sadly) due to his former Marital woes.
The Team is Palin/West.......HOWEVER Donald Trump is saying all the right things. And.....the Donald is now "Pro-Life". Huge.
It'll get interesting SOON.
His comment about Sarah P.- “polarizing”.
I take that very positively.
Dividing the sheep from the goats.
As satire, this is hilarious.
Elsewhere Trump is reported to be mulling the idea of running as an independent. This is where Trump’s achilles’ heel — his dauntless ego — might tragically override common sense. The only possible upside is if Trump makes Barack Obama look so much like a clown that Obama’s support falls below a third of the voters. It would be delicious to see the Democrats so deep-sixed in 2012 that they are a mere byword, a mere joke.
Musing... beyond a certain point, wealth brings drastically diminishing returns in a presidential campaign. Trump could certainly ensure that he dogs every single step of Barack Obama, and that everyone down to the park squirrels have heard about him a thousand times by Election Day, but if he’s not well liked it won’t make a difference, and if he is well liked he could save the dough.
Sarah Palin isn’t campaigning for President, yet. She is still only a political pundit. The MSM controls her image, which they want to look like an unbalanced fool. If she can speak past the news censors like Ronald Reagan did, with credible campaign promises, many who were her enemies for no good reason will cease to be so.
Donald Trump knows how to screw over the banks while the Democrats and Republicans only know how to get screwed by them.
A thought ocurred to me, as he droned pleasantly in the backgrount. Obama's media thugs will tear through Pawlenty like a grizzly bear mauling a hippie filmmaker.
It's not just Tim. The entire GOP field is weak as a girl scout troop. They won't be able to rally opposition to Obama. They won't be able to withstand the media assault.
What I'll say in Trump's defense is that he's an all-hype kryptonite to the all-hype Obama razzle-dazzle. Trump's celebrity popularity draws from the same well as Obama's. McCain laughed at the celebrity angle. Now his celebrity nitwit daughter writes for Daily Beast, and McCain is a forgotten old fool.
What we learned in the last 100 years of media warfare are muskets and horse cavalry in 2010. Obama figured this out, and amazed the greybeards by skating effortlessly to the White House. Trump is poised to follow his footsteps right straight in.
I think HI just passed new regs that individuals will be issued COLB only. Long forms will no longer be available. Thus Obama can tell states that require BC that HI will offer only COLB for everyone and since he already served one term he cannot be denied name on ballot. It means more court cases to resolve issue (what happens when two state laws conflict). Dems already made their counter move to state BC requirements. Some very powerful Obama backers are going all out to prevent release of BC. We live in very interesting times folks.
I concur. It is my fervent hope that she will air it out.
She will find widespread support when she does. Take it to the bank.
Palin has said Trump can ask the question all he wants about Obama’s past. Yeah she’s “polarizing” to the Media and the establishment of both parties.
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