Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Poor Donald
Date:	10/26/2015 7:16:07 PM

Said he got started with a small loan from his Dad....a million dollars....if it ends up being Donald v Shrillary....OMG, is that possible?

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Poor Donald
Date:	10/26/2015 8:18:07 PM

Where is George Wallace when we need him?

Name:	copperline -	Reply
Subject:	Surely not..
Date:	10/26/2015 11:43:22 PM

I still cannot believe that Trump will make it to nomination, frankly I have more faith in the Republican Party than that.  The very idea of a guy with his lack of experience + arrogance + boastfulness in charge of the largest military on earth is pretty sobering.  

It looks like Hillary will be our nominee, but I'll still put on a Sanders sticker because I think the issues he points out are really important, conversations we need to be having.   

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Don't believe it
Date:	10/27/2015 11:06:30 AM

His Dad loaned him $1M for a real estate deal.  He had way more than that available to him, not to mention the leverage of his Dad's prominent real estate business.  Look at it this way, his Dad's estate netted Trump between $40M and $200M, depending on who you ask.  But if you look at Trump's net worth in the mid 1980's and what it is today he has actually done a lousy job.  Fortune magazine estimated that if he had sinmply invested his money in a Dow index fund he would be worth over $13B insterad of the $4B he is today.  Trump says a lot of things that appeal to many conservatives, especially on immigration, but to support him because he is a brilliant businessman seems to me to be a bad idea.  He has been a medicore businessman at best.

And I am not talking about the real estate deals that went belly up.  That is the nature of real estate and any investor has some winners and some losers.  But if you look at the risks he took with his investments you would rightly expect a return way more than the paltry 300% he has gotten since the mid 1980s.  In comparison Bill Gates grew 7,000% and Warren Buffett close to 3,000%.  I wouldnt want them as my candidate either. In my view being a successful businessman does not exactly qualify you to be POTUS, but being a mediocre one even less so.  There may be lots of other reasons to support Trump but his business acumen isn't one of them.

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Don't believe it
Date:	10/27/2015 11:13:36 AM

The optics of a "small" million dollar loan are not good in the eyes of the masses.

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Surely not..
Date:	10/27/2015 11:31:14 AM

The very idea of a guy with his lack of experience + arrogance + boastfulness in charge of the largest military on earth is pretty sobering.  

I wholeheartedly agree.  That is what we have now!

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Don't believe it
Date:	10/27/2015 12:09:38 PM

Especially when combined with whining about how tough he had it.  I don't get how these privileged people get so tone deaf to say these kinds of things.  Tony private schools, rich dad, etc. and we are supposed to feel sorry for how tough he had it?!?!?  Dumb, just plain dumb.

Name:	copperline -	Reply
Subject:	But what does it mean?
Date:	10/27/2015 1:07:34 PM

I still wonder how we should interpret Trump's popularity and what this means about the state of that portion of the electorate.   It seems to me that he is admired for being rich, brash, and unabashedly self-serving.   He makes no secret of his disdain for "losers" (defined as anyone who isn't rich or agreeing with him), and is completely dismissive of traits we used to seek in political leaders... like sincerity, humility, and thoughtful concern for someone other than himself.    He likes to over-simplify issues to the point of losing all sight of the complexities, and....really... did anyone think this guy was going to become the champion of the little guy?   He hates little guys, they are losers.

But you know, instead it looks like we admire him.   Maybe because he is the embodiment of the way we are as a nation.

He should be a wake up call for the GOP.   Years of dumbing down have led to this, and now about to nominate a rich, shallow guy who is a self-described entertainer.   Sheesh.   

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	But what does it mean?
Date:	10/27/2015 3:52:53 PM

"Years of dumbing down"?  I think not.  And for a liberal to accuse Republicans/conservatives of dumbing down is like the pot calling the kettle black.  It seems now in Iowa that Carson is forging ahead of Trump.  Would you use the same adjectives when describing him?  Between the two they capture a huge chunk of the votes.  That should tell you something.

The two have one thing in common, they are not career politicians.  In my opinion the Trumpers are not supporting Trump so much as opposing the status quo.  They are making a statement and given another viable option when it comes time to pull the lever will stray from the Trump camp.

And your hero Bernie Sanders would make Obammer look like a Scrooge while bankrupting the country.  Where does he think the money will come from to pay for his giveaways?  Or like Obammer does he not shive a git?

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	But what does it mean?
Date:	10/27/2015 9:21:46 PM

I think you are missing the bigger point about what is going on.  Look at the combined totals of Trump, Carson and Fiorina. The non politicians are getting close to 60% of the support in current polls and there is nothing dumb about that.  What the GOP primary voters are saying is they are fed up with career politicians who promise to do something and then do nothing. It's not that they are dumb, they are sick of the establishment saying they oppose illegal immigration and will build a fence and then don't. They are sick of them claiming to be for smaller government and then go along with Obama on his profligate spending and taxing.  And they don't want another Bush, which ought to make you happy.  But they also don't want another loser RINO like Romney or McCain.

I frankly don't believe any of the three outsiders will be the nominee but the message is clear as to what is driving this.  Whether the GOP gets the message is anyone's guess but I would much rather have our slate of candidates that represent the diversity of America versus the Dems that are trotting out an old, worn out, competent white congenital liar, a worn out, old white socialist and some nobody white guy from Maryland.  Pretty much says it all about your party doesn't it?

My only point with my post is that those who claim to support Trump because he is a brilliant businessman would do well to look at his actual record.  What is dumb is the American people sending Obama back for another four years in 2102 after being a miserable failure. Any of the GOP candidates would be infinitely better than the old white left wing nuts being put forward by the Democrat party. 

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Minor correction.....
Date:	10/28/2015 9:19:44 AM

The old white woman candidate is incompetent..........

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Competent???
Date:	10/28/2015 11:20:33 AM

MM, which of these Presidents do you consider were competent?

Nixon

Carter

Reagan

Bush 41

Clinton

Bush 43

Obama

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Competent???
Date:	10/28/2015 2:41:06 PM

All had certain competencies and weaknesses. 

Name:	copperline -	Reply
Subject:	Carson
Date:	10/28/2015 3:54:41 PM

We all can be impressed by Carson's medical career but still doubt that he has the ability to run the country.   Becoming a brain surgeon is a feat, but if no political experience is needed to be POTUS... then maybe medical school isn't necessary to perform competent neurosurgery.   

  Carson's positions opposing science are really astonishing for an educated man.   He doesnt' believe in evolution and declines to reject fundamentalist myths that the universe is only 6000 years old!   

I really am trying to see the bigger picture, and it looks to me that many years of conservative propaganda and the cultivation of fear and anger among the electorate has brought us to the point where the leading GOP figures are valued because they are really wealthy and excel at producing media sound bites, or by increasing our suspicions of non-whites, non-christians, immigrants and anyone else who can be labled "other than us" while claiming to be living examples of Christian virtue.  

As regards 'dumbing down' the electorate, to be fair this is true of all of us.   However, even when the acting out of the Left Wing was at it's height, we didn't nominate Eldridge Cleaver or Abby Hoffman.  But the GOP is coming really close to nominating their very own Al Sharpton....;)

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Carson
Date:	10/28/2015 8:19:14 PM (updated 10/28/2015 8:26:08 PM)

Unlike Cleaver and Hoffman, neither Trump nor Carson have engaged in criminal acts.  That is a bogus comparison.  And wait until the nomination process is done before you spout accusations about a Republican Al Sharpton....in fact I am curious as to what leads you to such a comparison.  Sharpton is a charlatan of the first degree.  Which of the Republicans comes anywhere close to his exploitation of unfortunate situations for personal gain?  Which Republican has a Tawana Brawley in his or her resume'?

Name:	copperline -	Reply
Subject:	Carson
Date:	10/28/2015 10:42:06 PM

I agree.  Sharpton is a charlatan of the first degree.  All those references were supposed to be funny, sorta admitting that the Left has had it's share of this craziness, too.

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Carson
Date:	10/29/2015 7:12:07 AM

Roger, noted.  Peace.