President Trump: Making America Great Again...

[Walter Sobchak]

There is something more sinister about a Russian hack than a bungled nighttime burglary in DNC headquarters.

What did the Russians "hack" again? I'd like to know what you and your crowd of reasonable people have to say here, specifically.

[Omaha 680]

I would hope they would have the common sense to see that Pence will be far better in the position of POS. I fear though you could get a real clash in the streets. Those who would protest against Pence and those who are ticked Trump got impeached. Hopefully all the cooler heads would prevail.

With all the crap hitting the fan, I don't understand why Trumps approval numbers while under 50%, have been trending up.

LOL.

[BlueK]

The Remake of Government will be fascinating to watch.

At stake: the Institution of the Presidency, the world Status of the United States as a military and economic leader, the Administrative State, the Economy, including world trade order, Immigration and the Judiciary.

Not much at stake, but Trump came to DC as a revolutionary force, and these forces are not easily controlled once unleashed. The Dems are fighting for their geographical demographic lives and are engaging in nuclear options. Trump, no respecter of convention or history, is intent on nuking the government systems from inside. As a historian, these times will be interesting to reflect upon, but as an onlooker or player, there is reason for trepidation.

Does this revolution involve trashing our Constitution and starting over with some kind of monarch or supreme leader who can then eventually pass it off to Jared and Ivanka? Regardless of whether it could be pulled off, are we certain that type of idea isn't in the mind of Donald Trump and/or Steve Bannon?

[BlueK]

I have to say that the first month of the Trump presidency has gone just about like I expected.

Exactly. No one should be surprised.

[frank ryan]

The electoral college is now considered "extreme gerrymandering"?

Bad news, frank....it doesn't really matter if democrats continue to win the popular election because they win NY and CA by such large margins. Those are two large electoral college hauls to get, but you don't get extra points for winning them big.

I wasn't talking about that, I was talking GOP representation in congress.

[SeattleUte]

What did the Russians "hack" again? I'd like to know what you and your crowd of reasonable people have to say here, specifically.

They hacked the DNC's computers.

[SeattleUte]

Interesting thoughts, SU. If Trump goes the way of Nixon, I hope the American people react as they did back in the '70s. As I recall, a great many of Nixon's supporters eventually flipped, going from approving to disapproving rather quickly, rather than being merely ambivalent. It'll be interesting to see if Trump's core support (blue collar whites, etc.) abandons him, or if we're facing severe and worsening societal division. I think they'd bail on Trump only if they find an attractive substitute; I'm unaware of any such candidate.

The NYT is looking for a kill shot.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/o...ol-left-region

[Omaha 680]

I wasn't talking about that, I was talking GOP representation in congress.

Maybe. But the balance of power in statehouses and governorships wouldn't be much different, right?

[creekster]

They hacked the DNC's computers.

Are you talking about podestas phished password or something rise?

[BlueK]

I've been saying since December that Trump would be impeached because of the Russian hack (it's in writing and I have witnesses). It's hardly far fetched. In the past 42 years a president has resigned to avoid certain impeachment and conviction, and another president has been impeached albeit acquitted. Trump has so many enemies who are just the ones to bring him down. The CIA hates him; it was the CIA that destroyed Flynn, and they have access to all the dirt on Trump. All the credible press hates him; the Wall Street Journal editors are in a civil war over him, and that paper's owned by Rupert Murdock. Even Fox has reporters who hate him. Pence is greasing the slide.

This is precisely the same crime as Watergate, but they may even get a smoking gun that Trump knew about it before it happened--Nixon only tried to cover up. Trump could be committing impeachable offenses now if he's obstructing justice in any way, which is how they got Clinton as well as Nixon. He's caught in the web; he's a dead man. They'll find some smoking gun. The great thing is that he'll fall prey to his most glaring weakness; hubris and a callousness about grave matters. He'll go down in history like Aaron Burr; one of the worst villains in U.S. history, but much more of a buffoon and a farce.

Nixon was one of the most popular presidents in history when the WP started running its stories, and the Watergate break in was originally a little noticed local story. Nixon won reelection in maybe the biggest landslide in history, taking maybe 48 states. He was popular among conservatives for his “silent majority” shtick, and hatred for hippies, but liberals too were supportive because he started EPA, of his meetings with China, of the nuclear arms disarmament treaties with Russia, and efforts to bring peace between the PLO and Israel. Trump didn’t win the popular vote and has many enemies among powerful Republicans.

There is something more sinister about a Russian hack than a bungled nighttime burglary in DNC headquarters. Much of the country believed Watergate was just politics and much ado about nothing; many people still do. It was the elites, the Supreme Court and the Washington Post and the New York Times and Congress that finally brought down Nixon—on grounds of principle, not only because of politics. I don’t see anyone trivializing the Russian hack.

Now the NYT has a secret inside source at the CIA like the WP did.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/u...e-iphone-share

The contacts in the year before the election were revealed by intercepted communications, according to four current and former senior American officials.

Good points. This is one of your best posts ever.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

In his press conference with Bebe, President Trump was asked about the rise in antisemitism around the country starting with his campaign.

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[Walter Sobchak]

They hacked the DNC's computers.

The available evidence does not support that claim. See here and here.

At best, the CIA has overstated its case. As you also have.

[BlueK]

Interesting thoughts, SU. If Trump goes the way of Nixon, I hope the American people react as they did back in the '70s. As I recall, a great many of Nixon's supporters eventually flipped, going from approving to disapproving rather quickly, rather than being merely ambivalent. It'll be interesting to see if Trump's core support (blue collar whites, etc.) abandons him, or if we're facing severe and worsening societal division. I think they'd bail on Trump only if they find an attractive substitute; I'm unaware of any such candidate.

There will be some of both. Trump's overall approval ratings are already starting to tank. There is always a little bit of a time delay between events and the polls. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump's approval numbers drop into the low 30s by the end of next week.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

lol, Trump says Flynn was the subject of unfair media attacks.

Of course he was. Without the media (and Pence) finding out about it, he'd still have his job.

[BlueK]

With all the crap hitting the fan, I don't understand why Trumps approval numbers while under 50%, have been trending up.

Not really trending up. All of these polls have slightly different sampling methodologies, so you have to take that into consideration to be comparing apples to apples. Rasmussen is the most positive, but it uses "likely voters" which I don't think right now is entirely relevant since there isn't a presidential election coming soon. Most of the others are not looking good at all for Trump.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...oval-6179.html