Name:   copperline - Subject:   What about his temperament & judgement? Date:   5/17/2016 10:01:42 AM

I think we ought to stick to our knitting here, Obama is not running for President and Donald Trump is.  I’m talking about the characteristics everyone traditionally has thought a President needed, traits that we historically admired and represented the high standards we all agree­ (I thought) would be important for a President to have.   Things like Integrity, mature & reasoned judgement, intellectual honesty, a sense of history and devotion to the common good.    What I think Trump’s supporters are saying is that he really has these exemplary traits they want in a President, so they are going to support him.   But his actual behavior doesn't bear this out, and his supporters seem to be engaging in a lot of wishful thinking.

The problem for me is that when I look at his behavior, I see a personality who has none of these traits we have traditionally associated with a Commander in Chief.    He’s a showman, a creature of the entertainment industry.   He is not a deep thinker, he has no experience with governing, and he always believes he is the smartest guy in the room.   He is extremely vain and has shown time and again that his vanity takes precedence over both civility and diplomacy.    In temperament, he can be extremely immature (pretending to be your own publicist so you can give interviews about your sex life and romantic adventures is a good example).   He is completely lacking in humility and insight into the dangers of his style.

I’m talking about personality & character traits here.   His behavior points to personality traits that is completely out of sync with the necessities of the Presidency.      And the idea that he is going to transform himself into a Reagan-like statesman after the election is beyond wishful thinking, it ignores the facts and all of his history.   Where is the evidence that Trump has ever listened and conformed to advice from more experienced people?

Here's a clip from a Meet The Press discussion that points to what I am talking about.

https://www.facebook.com/Mediamatters/videos/10153536961401167/

Hey, it's not just a Progressive-Liberal point of view here.   Look at the opinions of all previous living Presidents, Paul Ryan & quite a few GOP members of Congress, former heads of the CIA & State Department from both parties, foreign heads of state & allies, evangelical pundits, GOP intellectuals.    We have never seen so many people in positions of experience & leadership from both sides of the political spectum who are actively trying to tell us that Trump isn't qualified for the most powerful job in the world.   The support he is getting from GOP leaders is so half-hearted & qualified that it is obvious they don't trust him.   Why do you?

You guys are betting the farm that what we see is somehow NOT what we will get.   That's not realistic.  It's dangerous.