[DoughtyOne]

All of this annoys conservative intellectuals, who patiently point out to Trump voters that they shouldn't want leadership from someone who supports single payer...

This is just intellectually dishonest, and what it reveals rather than Trump supporters being fooled or impure, is that they are paying attention far better than this guy.

Trump has openly advocated a robust "private sector" replacement for Obamacare. He has advocated tearing down state border limitations on insurance companies, so that they can compete nationally. He has specifically stated he wants more competition to spur lower cost policies and a more robust array of policies available.

In what sense is this single payer. He's been saying this for over a month now.

[Carry_Okie]

What you describe looks to me like he says whatever he thinks the audience he's hustling at the moment wants to hear.

[jonrick46]

The effort to tie ones current thinking to thinking that occurred years ago is the oldest trick in the book. I know for a fact that my thinking about matters has changed over the years. To pin someone down because of what they said years ago is for the fools stupid enough to believe it.

[Chaguito]

In 2011, Trump was already declaring Obamacare a disaster to be repealed and replaced, and not by single payer. He was already proposing to eliminate state borders to increase competition. OTOH, he wasn’t super-specific about how to be sure everybody is insured. It would be swell if he realized that that isn’t government’s job.

[gleeaikin]

Also, what about allowing purchases from legitimate drug companies in Canada especially in bulk for clinics and hospitals to bring down costs. VA buys medicine in bulk. My late husband’s Alzheimer’s medication was something like $7 a month. My Kaiser Permanente thyroid medication is $15 for 3 months.

[LS]

It's a good piece. When you think of real leaders in America, they were very flawed men. Patton was a dyslexic egotist who often conflated his own glory with his units' military accomplishments. Davy Crockett abandoned his wife for months at a time---supposedly "hunting". Ike had a running affair with an aide, was presumed to be a Democrat before he announced as a Republican. Lincoln suffered from severe depression and was viewed as an outsider even as president.

That "something" of leadership is impossible to define---if we could define it, mostt of us would check off the boxes and buy or develop what we need. No one can predict how long that intangible holds. For Rudy Guliani it faded after a few months. We will see how long Trump keeps "it" but his history as a businessman, then as a TV star, and now as a candidate (though still not a politician) suggests he will have "it" for a long time.