They knew it the first time they saw her.
It's why they go insane every time they think of her.
Posted on 04/16/2011 3:03:55 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
In the “gotcha” era, most people who think about running for elective office are so afraid of offending someone that they don’t say anything interesting.
Not Donald Trump. And here’s the reason: The Donald doesn’t care if we like him — because, as is plainly obvious, he loves himself enough for everyone.
For most phenomenally successful people, their greatest gift is also their worst affliction: self-adoration. And Trump, whose net worth is said to exceed $2 billion, is a prime example.
So, as the real estate investor-turned-reality TV star toys with running for president — even if, as many people suggest, it is just to create media buzz to boost ratings for his television show, “The Apprentice” — Trump can say things that other candidates won’t dare utter. Like suggesting that President Obama might not have been born in the United States.
The liberal media went ballistic. But Trump just tossed it back. It seems that he cares even less what the media thinks of him — and that is saying something for someone who has spent so much of his life seeking media attention.
And, in a world where presidential candidates are taught the art of talking without really saying anything, a number of Republicans seem to find Trump and his brazenness refreshing.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll that asked likely GOP voters who they would support for president found Trump tied with Mike Huckabee at 19 percent. Sarah Palin came in second, with 12 percent. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich were tied in third place, each with 11 percent.
An earlier Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll put Trump in second place, again tied with Huckabee, this time at 17 percent. Both trailed Romney who led the poll with 21 percent. Gingrich was in third place, with 11 percent. And Trump led the entire GOP field in support from self-described tea party voters, who represent an important part of the Republican base.
Here are the secrets to Trump’s success. For one, he is the new Sarah Palin. Whereas once the broadcast media couldn’t stop talking about the former Alaska governor — even if only to criticize her — it now gives that around-the-clock attention to Trump.
Also, Trump stepped into the vacuum created when the candidate that most GOP primary voters would love to see run for president — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — said he would sit out the 2012 race. Like Trump, Christie speaks his mind, likes a good fight, and doesn’t seem to care what people think of him.
Lastly, Trump is a good alternative to the person who was thought to be the presumptive Republican front-runner until the poll data started rolling in: Romney. The former Massachusetts governor isn’t a favorite of tea party voters, and it doesn’t help that he comes across as arrogant and dismissive.
Here’s one example: A couple of years ago, when Time magazine put Palin on its list of “the most influential people,” Romney was asked about it and quipped to the reporter: “Was that the issue on the most beautiful people or the most influential people?”
Now, was that really necessary? Romney has two degrees from Harvard — in law and business, and Palin went to at least four different colleges in six years to get a degree. And he has to pick on her? Why? Because she could turn out 20,000 people for rallies and Romney couldn’t?
The co-founder of Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm, Romney is a smart and capable fellow with an estimated net worth in the neighborhood of $200 million, but he’s not especially likable. And this made him vulnerable to a challenge. So here comes Trump, a graduate of the Wharton School of Business who has arguably been more successful than Romney and who — judging from most of the polls — seems to have greater appeal with Republican voters. At last, a fair fight.
Romney knows who his real competition is. During a recent appearance on CNBC’s “Kudlow Report,” he said that he disagrees with Trump that there are doubts about Obama’s citizenship and thinks it’s time to stop questioning it.
For the tea party and some other members of the GOP base, a comment like this will only raise more doubts about Romney and build more support for Trump.
Score another point for The Donald. If you think Trump loved himself before he started playing politics, just wait.
Trump is a shill and was never conservative. Trump is no Gov. Palin...
Trump is no Sarah Palin.
...and Levin has some great points regarding this Trump bump. I don’t think DT has ever considered the obsurdity of his past positions other than it helped him grease the buracracy in his favor.
But if he wants to be president, that’s a level of responsibility DT IMO has never seriously considered. Sarah has.
He is just a really good business guy, but sending boys to war?? I’m not there by any stretch. He’s got a lot of splainin’ to do and I don’t think his achilles ego can be controlled.
Compare and contrast to 0bama and Libya. How long are we going to allow him to give his Dem allies in Congress cover by NOT making them vote either for or against this military action?
Don’t be baffled. The answer as to why is obvious. We are no longer a serious nation with a populace willing to face serious issues. Roughly half the electorate will once again vote for Obama, a self-professed Marxist. Roughly half may be prepared to vote for a self-promoting, self-loving showman in the best P.T. Barnum tradition. The mystery is not why Trump has spiked in the polls. The mystery is how our once great nation hasn’t collapsed yet.
Trump is a fraud.
Trump is a fraud.
Trump is a fraud.
[How true. Can’t say it often enough.]
Think of it this way...
The Democrats are the Harlem Globetrotters and the Republicans are the Washinton Generals.
I think, as per your analogy, the only ones getting ‘gamed’ is anyone in the audience who takes it seriously. Well, damn it, I take the Constitution seriously.
Hardly, Trump is a liberal in conservative clothes right now, Palin is instinctively a conservative like me meaning all three planks of the conservative stool.
Anything Ruben Navrette says is salient, WHY?
They knew it the first time they saw her.
It's why they go insane every time they think of her.
“Trump becomes the ‘new Sarah Palin’”
I doubt it, but we’ll see.
Donald Trump Just on Fox News: Bring on the Trade War with China
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2624420/posts
Donald Trump Says He Would Threaten to Tax China 25%
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2698460/posts
Donald Trump: Chinese ‘Looking to Strip Us of Everything’
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2666755/posts
Palin Speaks to Investors in Hong Kong
(in favor of “free trade”)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2346270/posts
The Chinese Connection via the CLSA: Sarah Palin Enters the Lion’s Den
(in favor of globalism)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2345119/posts
Trump’s own audio clips from Mark Levin show.
Devastating in my opinion, and I’m sad to say they were a real eye-opener to me. Decide for yourself. This is really, really not good.
http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2011/04/sound-trumpet.html
Highlights:
He says he is “liberal” on healthcare, and that we must have universal Canadian-style healthcare
He says he can’t understand why Nancy Pelosi didn’t do more to impeach the “evil” (his word) George Bush for “lying” to get us into Iraq.
He says he doesn’t understand why John Kerry didn’t win in 2004.
Said that George Bush was the worst president ever, although now he has changed his story to say Obama and Carter were the worst.
Don’t be fooled by this guy.
Any comparison of Trump to Palin is such an insult to her.
I believe he is a fraud and watching all these FReepers getting sucked in makes me sick.
You may have to wait. Palin’s Wisconsin speech did nothing to unite the GOP in opposition. I found it incoherent—first she applauds unions, then she condemns unions.
For giving sound-bites to the dims, even Frank Lunzt couldn’t do better.
Lot’s of emotion, but nothing that will help win votes from conservative Independents.
His track record shows that he throws his money behind the RATs.
He’s a fraud.
She did not condemn unions. She condemned union leaders.
Perhaps you found it incoherent because you wanted it to be incoherent. There was nothing incoherent about it.
Um, no...
Agreed, which is why this among other revelations about Trump made my opinion of him as a candidate plummet.
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