# Thoughts about the election that don't seem to belong anywhere else **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 14, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002 "2016-11-14T20:57:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/241 "2016-12-05T16:41:11Z")
> [@](#): > > …Neither. He has very talented and experienced military advisors, maybe the best. They had been telling him that our efforts against these enemies need to be carried out in a wholly different manner. In the weeks before the election, which is when the articles you linked were written, he translated this advice into political rhetoric that resonated with voters, especially members of the armed forces, and got him elected. This will enable us to fight these enemies with a new strategic vision. I am hopeful, but far from certain, that it will be an improvement… Have you a YouTube video to solidify those claims? Have you _anything_, outside of your own authoritative pronouncements? Anyway, cool story, **Brer**. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/242 "2016-12-05T18:45:31Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I’m not much of a “nothing to be done” kind of guy. Thing is, conditions are such already that people are pissed off enough to elect the likes of Trump. The kind of reset trigger you are talking about would have to be far worse. > > I’m better off than a lot of folks, so potentially at least I may ride things out. But I don’t think I’ll much enjoy watching half the country descending into chaos as the “harbringer of change” :mad: True, conditions are that enough people were pissed enough to elect Trump. What’s telling to me is that these people are so pissed despite the economy being at the height of an economic boom and the Federal government still running a deficit of around 3.5% of GDP at historically low interest rates. Just wait until the US(im not American) goes through a recession, the gov’t is running a deficit of nearly 10%, and that that deficit is being spent largely on debt repayments and medical treatment for retirees. That imo will be the reset in US politics. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/243 "2016-12-05T21:07:02Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > … the economy being at the height of an economic boom … I’m curious how you came to that conclusion. My sense is that we’re out of recession, but the recovery has been fairly lackluster, certainly not what I’d call “booming” or “at the height of an economic boom”. What metrics are you looking at? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/244 "2016-12-05T21:44:17Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > True, conditions are that enough people were pissed enough to elect Trump. What’s telling to me is that these people are so pissed despite the economy being at the height of an economic boom and the Federal government still running a deficit of around 3.5% of GDP at historically low interest rates. Just wait until the US(im not American) goes through a recession, the gov’t is running a deficit of nearly 10%, and that that deficit is being spent largely on debt repayments and medical treatment for retirees. That imo will be the reset in US politics. So, where\* do\* you live? Climate change will make it harder for us to put the oldsters on ice floes… ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/245 "2016-12-05T21:52:10Z")
> [@BrerRobert](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by ThelmaLou > > Trump has not been all that successful in business. Yeah, he has a lot of money, but that’s no measure of his skill as a businessman. He has a lot of money in spite of his entrepreneurial skills, not because of them. > > > > Trump has declared bankruptcy six times. Does that sound like a success? > > Of course it does. Trump has started hundreds of businesses. “About 50% of new U.S. companies fail in their first five years.” [http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/178787/why-new-companies-fail-during-first-five-years.aspx](http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/178787/why-new-companies-fail-during-first-five-years.aspx) > > > [@](#): > > > > Quote: > > Plus this: “Trump Worth $10 Billion Less Than If He’d Simply Invested in Index Funds” > > That is a garbage argument, since it uses data cherry picked from a particular date with the benefit of hindsight. You might as well claim that lottery winners are better entrepreneurs than mutual fund investors. The money invested into mutual funds would generate a better return if it was instead used to purchase Powerball tickets with numbers that we now know are winners. > > And then there is the fact that Trump was able to leverage the fame of his brand into becoming the most powerful person on the planet. There is no telling how profitable this prominence will be over the following decades. The Clintons managed to become worth $150 million iirc, and that was just through simple book deals and talks, they didn’t have a string of hotels and golf courses branded in their name. Re The Donald’s entrepreneurial prowess-- not moneymaking [del]skill[/del] luck, but the ability to run a successful business (quoted from another thread-my bold): > [@Trump may not submit a budget next year](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-may-not-submit-a-budget-next-year/773843/64): > > Well put (the whole post). > > Trump’s historical solution to these problems has been to; > > a) say that the people you hired did a terrible job, and refuse to pay them > > and if that fails, then > > b) declare bankruptcy > \*\*This is really all he knows about running a business. \*\*Good luck with that when running a country. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/246 "2016-12-05T22:04:50Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m curious how you came to that conclusion. My sense is that we’re out of recession, but the recovery has been fairly lackluster, certainly not what I’d call “booming” or “at the height of an economic boom”. What metrics are you looking at? I meant “height of an economic boom” loosely as meaning the US is at the upper end of this particular economic cycle. There may be a year or two more of this “boom” before a downturn, but the US employment and deficit stats won’t improve too much more before the next recession. I suspect economists will look back at this particular period as the good times. I don’t have metrics other than previous economic cycles as an indicator. Economic cycles usually repeat themselves every 7 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/247 "2016-12-06T06:20:28Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > True, conditions are that enough people were pissed enough to elect Trump. What’s telling to me is that these people are so pissed despite the economy being at the height of an economic boom and the Federal government still running a deficit of around 3.5% of GDP at historically low interest rates. Just wait until the US(im not American) goes through a recession, the gov’t is running a deficit of nearly 10%, and that that deficit is being spent largely on debt repayments and medical treatment for retirees. That imo will be the reset in US politics. Heh. And you mentioned 7-year economic cycles in your other post. Let me tell you perhaps the craziest thing about me, and we’ll open it up to the judgement of you and the rest of the 'dope. I have had recurring thoughts about the 7 Skinny Cows from the Pharaoh’s dream (yeah, from the Bible, [cite](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+41&version=ESV). No, I am not an especially religious person) for several years now. When it first started, let’s say 4 years ago, I had a sense that the Skinny Cows were kind of vaguely “out there”, off in the future, but coming down the pike eventually. They bothered me for maybe 6 months or so, and long story short I got the feeling that I ought to find a way to be prepared for their arrival, and then I just went on with things. I did become kinda thrifty. Well, lately the 7 Skinny Cows are bothering me again. This time I feel like they have crested the horizon and are headed our way. “Our”? Is this a national thing? Maybe it is only about me. I keep returning to this classic story though. ISTM the Skinny Cows are much closer, maybe a few years away at most, and marching straight towards us. I am not sure what happens when they arrive… That’s my internal context for your story of economic resets and 7 year cycles. Darn it, **Fuzzy Wuzzy**! ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/248 "2016-12-06T09:08:30Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Well, lately the 7 Skinny Cows are bothering me again. I don’t know anything about the skinny cows, but this certainly seems to be a ‘thought on the election that doesn’t belong anywhere else’. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/249 "2016-12-06T14:52:45Z")
Yeah, I felt like I got the thread placement right, too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/250 "2016-12-07T01:15:16Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I have had recurring thoughts about the 7 Skinny Cows from the Pharaoh’s dream Oh, the biblical skinny cows. I thought for a moment you meant the ice cream bars. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/251 "2016-12-08T23:17:36Z")
I wonder what Canadians think of liberal-progressive Americans who want to move up north after elections of this sort. Welcome? Not welcome? For that matter, where do conservatives threaten to move to when an election doesn’t go their way? Going to Canada wouldn’t make any sense; Canada is more liberal than the USA. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/252 "2016-12-09T19:36:19Z")
This dangling of the Sec of State position under so many noses makes Trump look like the debutante who has boys hanging around her (and pretending not to) while she decides whom to [del]ball[/del] dance with at the ball. Someone said on NPR this morning that acting like he was going to offer the job to Romney was Trump’s way of both humiliating/punishing him when someone else ultimately gets the job, AND fixing it so any criticism of foreign policy that Romney indulges in later will seem like “sour grapes.”\* - Term used properly. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/253 "2016-12-09T19:48:56Z")
> [@](#): > > “The president-elect campaigned on reaching out to working people, and this is one of a string of nominations that run counter to that,” said Eric Hauser, the AFL-CIO’s strategic adviser and communications director. DUH! :smack: You mean, you actually believed him? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/254 "2016-12-09T20:04:22Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > This dangling of the Sec of State position under so many noses makes Trump look like the debutante who has boys hanging around her (and pretending not to) while she decides whom to [del]ball[/del] dance with at the ball. > > Someone said on NPR this morning that acting like he was going to offer the job to Romney was Trump’s way of both humiliating/punishing him when someone else ultimately gets the job, AND fixing it so any criticism of foreign policy that Romney indulges in later will seem like “sour grapes.”\* > > - Term used properly. Trump is not going to like it if he chooses Romney for Sec of State … Romney would make him look like Abbot and Costello. Romney would then run against Trump for POTUS in 2020 and if the Democrats don’t come up with a winner soon … Romney could take it all away from Donald in just few swift moves. Why he is still on the short list after what he said about Trump is a mystery to me. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/255 "2016-12-09T21:49:45Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > Trump is not going to like it if he chooses Romney for Sec of State … Romney would make him look like Abbot and Costello. Romney would then run against Trump for POTUS in 2020 and if the Democrats don’t come up with a winner soon … Romney could take it all away from Donald in just few swift moves. > > Why he is still on the short list after what he said about Trump is a mystery to me. Because Trump wants to snatch it away from him at the last minute to pay him back for all those mean things Romney said about him. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/256 "2016-12-10T00:46:40Z")
There’s no way SoS is going to anyone other than Bolton, who is the worst case scenario if you don’t like unnecessary nuclear war. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/257 "2016-12-11T13:51:23Z")
> [@Pashnish\_Ewing](#): > > Other than, you know, the office of The President of the United Fucking States. Please. Trump is an assault on the dignity of the Presidency. He deserves nothing but derision, and will get exactly that. > [@](#): > > You don’t have to like him. I sure as hell don’t. And I hate the way he ran for president every bit as you. But believe it or not, he will do some good stuff and some bad stuff. How about we encourage the good and jeer the bad (you know, when it actually happens, instead of refreshing every 5 seconds to get a hate-on about what the latest ‘advisor’ said might happen - like Trump has ever once listened to an advisor). Yep, he’ll provide welcome fodder to political comedians for years to come, even when out of office. That’s the good he’ll provide. Change the system? It is to laugh. > [@](#): > > Maybe we can zoom out a tiny bit and realize that the battle for equality in this country has never been a straight incline. It is filled with fits and starts and some how we keep the zig-zagging the line upward through time. How about we stop gleefully imagining how Trump voters will feel when Trump doesn’t keep his promises, and actually celebrate if he doesn’t do some of the stupid shit he promised? > > I swear, when I see the Trump version of ‘Region 1 DVDs’ and ‘Cash for Clunkers Will End Democracy!’ stories on a sight like TPM, I might have to take a break from the Democrats for a while. I broke from the GOP when they lost their shit about Clinton’s first term (I didn’t vote for him, thought he was a joke) and haven’t voted for a Republican since. But what I’ve seen from my fellow leftists and progressives so far reminds me a lot of those days, and of Obama’s 8 years. Obama is an intelligent, well-educated, diligent, and respected man, who Republicans threw shit at at every opportunity for no reason other than that he was (a) black and (b) a Democrat (in other words, in both instances, the Enemy). Trump is a fucking idiot. Once again, he deserves every pile of feces flung his way. I hope his administration is a complete, unqualified failure. At least then some of the deluded might actually examine for whom they’re voting. > [@](#): > > I’m sure some of it is still the shock and disappointment, and, yes, the horror of how he ran his campaign. But I was wrong about President Clinton and it is _just_ possible I may have been _somewhat_ wrong about President Trump. Probably not, but I’m going to keep expectations low and hope for the best. The shock, disappointment, and horror are at how gullible a sufficient percentage of the electorate are to elect this trainwreck of a man in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/258 "2016-12-11T14:47:57Z")
Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump really are a lot alike … both made mistakes. Yet we hold Reagan as a hero to standing up against Russia. [http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/trump-reagan-common-things/2015/08/03/id/665217/](http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/trump-reagan-common-things/2015/08/03/id/665217/) > [@](#): > > Few people thought former Hollywood star Ronald Reagan could ever become president — until he was elected twice. > > Few people thought business mogul Donald Trump could be a serious presidential candidate — until he shot to the top of most polls amid a crowded GOP field. > **[The stupidity of Ronald Reagan.](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/06/the-stupidity-of-ronald-reagan.html)** > > Not long ago, I was invited to be the specter at the feast during "Ronald Reagan Appreciation Week" at Wabash College in Indiana. One of my opponents... > [@](#): > > This was a man never short of a cheap jibe or the sort of falsehood that would, however laughable, buy him some time. > [@](#): > > Ronald Reagan was neither a fox nor a hedgehog. He was as dumb as a stump. He could have had anyone in the world to dinner, any night of the week, but took most of his meals on a White House TV tray. He had no friends, only cronies. His children didn’t like him all that much. He met his second wife—the one that you remember—because she needed to get off a Hollywood blacklist and he was the man to see. Year in and year out in Washington, I could not believe that such a man had even been a poor governor of California in a bad year, let alone that such a smart country would put up with such an obvious phony and loon. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/259 "2016-12-11T15:24:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Ronald Reagan was neither a fox nor a hedgehog. He was as dumb as a stump. He could have had anyone in the world to dinner, any night of the week, but took most of his meals on a White House TV tray. He had no friends, only cronies. His children didn’t like him all that much. He met his second wife—the one that you remember—because she needed to get off a Hollywood blacklist and he was the man to see. Year in and year out in Washington, I could not believe that such a man had even been a poor governor of California in a bad year, let alone that such a smart country would put up with such an obvious phony and loon. Trump, and not so far from GW Bush, either. You could almost think the system was a tad broken, by money. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/260 "2016-12-11T23:37:17Z")
Huh? In a tweet, The Donald said: “…The election ended a long time ago\* in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history…” > [@](#): > > Donald Trump’s lies differ from those we have encountered from other national figures, even Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton during their respective impeachments. The difference is that Trump seemingly does not care that evidence is immediately at hand to disprove what he says. If he believes what he’s saying, at least in that moment, why shouldn’t we? > > For the record, the latest entry of this sort is the repeated insistence by Trump and his associates that he won a “landslide” or “major” victory. > … > [ul] > [li]In terms of his Electoral College margin, which will probably end up at 306 to 232, Trump will rank #46 among the 58 presidential elections that have been held, or just above the bottom 20%…[/li][li]In terms of his popular vote margin, Trump will probably end up with the third-worst popular vote result ever, or if you prefer 56th ranked of the 58 winning candidates in history. (Obviously the 58 elections have produced 45 presidents, some of them winning two terms and FDR winning four.) This ranking is based on Trump’s losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by a little more than 2 percent, or a little less than 3 million votes…[/li][/ul] > [Cite](https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/12/landslide-donald/510239/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29) “Don’t need no stinkin’ facts. I create truth as I speak!” Which, oddly, and possible not coincidentally is one of several \*possible \*translations of the generic magic word, “[abracadabra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abracadabra),” to wit: “I create as I speak.” \*Nitpick: Ummm…a _month_ ago is a long time? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002.md?page=14)