I finally put my finger on it

So let me preface all this with the following disclaimer.  I in no way can bring myself to support a single Democrat candidate currently in the field.  I do not think a single one of them should be put into the White House.  But I'll tell you, I honestly think that if Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination, I won't be able to bring myself to vote for him.  But for the longest time, I couldn't really pin down specifically why.



Sure, he's a demagogue.  Sure, he says outrageous things.  Sure, he's playing to a certain base.  But that's politics.  So what bothers me about him?  Leave aside all the conspiracy talk that he's a stalking horse for Hillary Clinton.  Yes, it has a little sense to it, but then without a kernel of truth or believably to a conspiracy theory, no one would ever buy it.  And I still believe that outrageous claims of conspiracy require extraordinary proof.  And as of yet, I haven't seen any.  So... why does he bother me?

This morning it hit me.  Because he's Barack Obama.  Now hear me out.  He's a narcissist, beyond a doubt.  If he ever has a self-reflecting moment, I've never heard of it.  He believes himself to be smarter, braver, kinder, and just plain better than anyone else he knows.  And he won't hesitate to tell you all about it.  And it's not just him being cocky.  This is a man who reacts instantly and vitriolically to personal insults and snubs.  Just like the President does.  His opponents aren't just people who believe differently in his view, they're evil or stupid... they're the enemy.  And frankly, eight years of that is more than enough for me.

And it doesn't stop there.  We all mocked Obama's "Hope and Change" campaign, because it was meaningless rhetoric.  Hope for what?  What kind of change?  We never heard any specifics, and lo and behold, his Hope and Change amounted to pretty much nothing.  It was empty words that reflected his complete lack of any sort of plan for anything.  And yet we have Trump with his "Make America Great Again".  Ok, how?  What specifics?  We don't really have any.  Oh, sure, he's opposed to illegal immigrants.  Fine.  But what else?  Well, just trust him.  ...  ...  Yeah, no.  Every other policy he's outlined is an off the cuff response to whatever was in the news.  His plan exists only in the imagination, and whatever way he reacts to events around him.  More of the same.

I'd love to say that at least he's going to be able to handle international politics better than he does his domestic rivals, but I've seen exactly no indication of it.  Sure, I expect he'll be smarter in handling America's enemies than President "why can't we all just get along" has (because say what you will of Trump, at least he's not a doormat), but I think he'll do as equally bad a job as the current POTUS at handling our international friends.  Because all it will take is one snub, one harsh comment, and he's going to turn it into an international incident.  And I don't know how many of our allies will put up with another four years of being treated with more distrust and hostility than we give our enemies.

So that's what bothers me.  He's a stuffed shirt running on empty promises, and I've already had eight years of that.  I'd prefer just about anyone (save for a Socialist and a grasping, power-hungry harpy who has contempt for both the laws of this nation and the Constitution) to another Obama.  This may be the first election in my adult life that I just sit out.

8 comments:

  1. Trump is indeed the shadow of Obama in many ways. I'm afraid you didn't name the worst ones. Of course, that's just why he is so likely to win. It's the kind of thing that works in American electoral politics, as Obama himself proves. And the resentments Obama has nurtured are the reverse of the ones he himself used to climb to the top.

    If it comes down to Trump/Clinton, I'll write in a candidate. If it comes down to Trump/Sanders, I'd have to consider the socialist.

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  2. Anonymous10:43 AM

    Trump is running the cheapest Campaign of all of them. This proves he will handle the peoples money in a tight fisted way. I can put up with a lot of crap if we get our fiscal house in order and everyone goes back to work.
    My idea of govt size is 1/8th the current size.

    That is my hope with Trump.

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  3. If it comes down to Trump/Clinton, I'll write in a candidate. If it comes down to Trump/Sanders, I'd have to consider the socialist.

    I hate to say the same, and I don't know that I could bring myself to do it. Senator Sanders is, in my estimation 100% honest and sincere. My problem is he is sincere in his foolish faith in an economic system that has brought about more human misery and suffering than almost any other. I don't know that I could cast a ballot in favor of that. However, I will be sorely tempted to grab a Democrat primary ballot when they come to SC in order to vote for him over Hillary. As I'd much rather stumble into an honest fool in the White House than her.

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  4. I read somewhere this week that Donald Trump is what would happen if the comments section became human and ran for president.

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  5. Anonymous7:47 PM

    why 1/8th?

    Always ask for more than you can get.
    With Politicians always overstate as they are such Liars.

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  6. I just wondered if there was a principle behind the figure. Is it that you think that 1/8 is the ideal size for some reason, or that you really want to get to 1/4 and you think that asking for 1/8 might get you there? Which eighth, by the way, and why?

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  7. Ymar Sakar7:16 PM

    This is a man who reacts instantly and vitriolically to personal insults and snubs.

    He's pretty tame from my pov.

    Cruz is more cunning. Trump has more silver spoons from his birth days and upbringing.

    America, a nation full of narcissists, not the brave, will feel better for voting for someone just like them. That's how it goes in a decadent culture.

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