The 2016 Presidential Election Trainwreck

[SCcoug]

She'll have the corruption of Nixon but without the political and foreign policy talent.

[Omaha 680]

Do people on this august site still think that Obama is going to ruin the economy, run up huge bills, increase taxes 10fold, and let terrorists roam free, all while taking away our gun rights? I think Obama has been pretty good, all things considered, and I don't see Hillary changing the script all that much.

Psst...you should have left this one out of your list...

[Eddie]

Whether or not Obama has been a 'disaster', I think it's pretty clear that the majority of the country just doesn't see it that way. Many people may disagree with his politics and policies, but there isn't a huge movement to 'right the ship', other than from the GOP. And even they can't get their act together to articulate a coherent alternative.

As for myself, Obama hasn't been exceptional, but he's been adequate. All your dire statements really haven't come to fruition. They may in the future I suppose, but most voters don't see catastrophe yet. And I think Clinton will most likely be in the same vein. She will likely be the president the moderate/center left want her to be. I expect a steady hand and not much else.

I don't think many believe Obama is a disaster. But they must see him as a bit of a disappointment. All of the promises of the most transparent administration ever (which has been promised from everyone as long as I can remember), talk of hope and change - yet with the exception of the ACA, I don't see that a lot has changed, and I really don't see there being much more hope. Craptastic has become the new normal.

That said - craptastic in the USA is much better than good in most countries.

I'm disappointed that he allowed himself to be sucked into the "us versus them" when it comes to race relations rather than attempting to bridge differences. I wasn't a fan of his from the beginning, but I thought he would have some opportunities others haven't. I think most of them were lost.

She'll have the corruption of Nixon but without the political and foreign policy talent.

Nixon was a lightweight. Dude can't figure out how to erase less than 20 minutes of audio recording without having to resign. Meanwhile, Hillary is dumping tens of thousands of her email records and more than half the country thinks it's NBD.

[frank ryan]

Why? She certainly couldn't do it before. What has changed?

I personally see her being a very ineffective leader in the similar vein as her time as Sec of State. She won't screw it up too badly (well, ISIS was a pretty bad screw up but that's only agitator bit on her) but she won't be considered a great president.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Are you unaware that the POTUS is in charge of foreign policy positions and directions? There was always friction between her and Obama.

[Northwestcoug]

I am going to miss this expert level of trolling:

[creekster]

I wasn't a fan of his from the beginning, but I thought he would have some opportunities others haven't. I think most of them were lost.

That's pretty much how I feel.

[PaloAltoCougar]

At the Al Smith dinner tonight, Trump started out fairly strong, but then blew it with some bad lines about Hillary, drawing boos and catcalls from the audience. The guy shoots himself in the foot repeatedly.

One good line, something like, "The press is so obviously biased against me. Michele Obama gives a great speech and the press praises her endllessly. Then Melania gives the exact same speech and they tear her apart. Totally unfair!"

But after that and few other mildly good ones, he got into Hillary's corruption and other issues and not in a very funny way, and certainly not in keeping with the spirit of the evening. He didn't help himself.

[myboynoah]

At the Al Smith dinner tonight, Trump started out fairly strong, but then blew it with some bad lines about Hillary, drawing boos and catcalls from the audience. The guy shoots himself in the foot repeatedly.

One good line, something like, "The press is so obviously biased against me. Michele Obama gives a great speech and the press praises her endllessly. Then Melania gives the exact same speech and they tear her apart. Totally unfair!"

But after that and few other mildly good ones, he got into Hillary's corruption and other issues and not in a very funny way, and certainly not in keeping with the spirit of the evening. He didn't help himself.

Do you think he was aware that it was a joke?

[myboynoah]

It's not just women and minorities. Donald Trump has a Mormon problem

“They are completely disgusted with Trump’s candidacy and do not want to support him,” said Susan Udall, 54, who has not decided how she will vote — other than opposing Trump. “Even those who are going to support him, many, many — I would say the majority I have spoken with — are not happy they’re faced with this choice.”

On a recent morning, Udall was at a Muslim charity not far from her Mesa home, overseeing an assembly line of volunteers packing boxes with rice, beans, cooking oil and children’s clothing for shipment to Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Like many of her faith, she was offended in December when Trump called for a blanket ban on Muslim immigrants, as a way, he said, to fight terrorism. The church, which teaches compassion for immigrants and sends missionaries proselytizing throughout the world, issued a statement extolling religious freedom and swiping, indirectly, at Trump.

Earlier this month, the church-owned Deseret News went further, breaking with 80 years of precedent and issuing a scathing editorial urging the GOP standard-bearer “to step down from his pursuit of the American presidency.” Udall posted the editorial on her Facebook page.

“I find him extremely divisive and deprecative of people he considers weak,” said Udall, a mother of three boys who has the take-charge manner of someone used to mustering volunteer forces. “Women, minorities, POWs, immigrants, refugees.”

. . . . . . . .

But Sanchez won’t have anything to do with Trump, “a con artist and buffoon,” in his estimation. He plans to support McMullin for president.

Like many fellow Mormons and Republican faithful, Sanchez described the campaign as a sad and wrenching ordeal, which — he hopes — will end in a crushing Trump defeat.

Then, he said, “We will take back the party from this nonsense.”

Go Mormons!!!

[Non Sequitur]

She's got to be related to Morris Udall. Am I the only one old enough to remember Morris Udall?

[myboynoah]

She's got to be related to Morris Udall. Am I the only one old enough to remember Morris Udall?

I remember him, and his sons.

[Uncle Ted]

Do people on this august site still think that Obama is going to ruin the economy, run up huge bills, increase taxes 10fold, and let terrorists roam free, all while taking away our gun rights? I think Obama has been pretty good, all things considered, and I don't see Hillary changing the script all that much.

Besides Obamacare, what has Obama done besides played a lot of golf? He can't take credit for the economy; the economy is bigger than any president and GDP growth still sucks. He tried to close gitmo; didn't happen. He said he was going to get us out of Iraq; didn't happen. He said was going to shut down spying on americans by the government (aka, the so called "patriot" act); didn't happen. He said he was going to increase transparency in the government; the snowden leaks don't count.

Yeah, I see Clinton doing more of the same except she will get a lot of "pay-to-play" money donated to her foundation. That $12mm she got under-the-table from the Moroccan King will be considered nothing.

[BlueK]

My biggest gripe with Obama has been his foreign policy, esp. with Russia. If nothing else, I think Hillary is capable of being more assertive and aggressive with those fuckheads in the Kremlin.

The whole Russia connection to Trump and how Republicans have tiptoed around it or ignored it or tried to pretend Russia is our friend now even though they hack into our systems is bizarre.

[creekster]

I remember him, and his sons.

Me too.

Plus she introduced me to a new word: "deprecative."

Go Mormons!

[myboynoah]

Why Donald Trump personifies what Mormons don’t believe in

Boyd Petersen, the editor of a Mormon journal, says adherents of the faith see Mr Trump an example of a showy and unrefined lifestyle that is diametrically opposed to the kind of “virtuous, non-ostentatious” way of living to which they aspire. The fact that young Mormon men engage in missionary activity, with particular success in Latin America, means they are free of any chauvinistic aversion to foreigners. Given the high numbers of Latino Mormons, most followers of the faith “have experience dealing with people from other cultures” and “tend to be unfraid” of things foreign.

In a country where individual achievement is prized, the Mormon ethos present an unusual mixture. They certainly excel as individuals, whether in business or the professions, but they have a strong sense of the common good, whether among Mormons or among the nation as a whole. Helping one another, and all needy people, in times of adversity is an important part of their religious culture.

According to Philip Barlow, who directs religious studies at Utah State University, Mormons remain very proud of the political achievements of Mitt Romney, a follower of their faith who was Republican presidential candidate in 2012 and a very successful businessman. They regarded Mr Romney as a cautious, respectful, family-minded character and Mr Trump “strikes many Mormons as the inversion of those qualities” or “a kind of anti-Romney”. Mr Romney’s strong and public stance against Mr Trump has reinforced that view.

Go Mormons!!!

Write in Mitt!!! (unless of course you live in Utah or another state in which Evan is on the the ballot)