# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/61 "2016-11-15T18:31:00Z")
> [@](#): > > …with a first lady who posed nude in a lesbian photo shoot… Well, now, **Euph** , to be ruthlessly fair, that is not a “porn shoot”. Lotta guys like that sort of thing. So I’m told. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/62 "2016-11-15T18:39:20Z")
> [@Vicsage](#): > > Lets add the Bahamas, Belize, and Jamaica. No one threatens to go there. They’re English speaking. Throw in the Philippines. Its not the language. What could it be? Actually, my wife and I have discussed moving to Mexico. I’ve got some friends who expatriated there, and they love it. We love the food, and it’s nice and cheap down there. But it \*is \*the language barrier, though. Belize and Jamaica (and, of course, Mexico) have their own languages. Also, every one of the places you’ve wondered about have one other thing in common- they’re all right at sea level. As much as I love the ocean, I don’t think it’s going to love us much longer, especially if Trump gets his way with the climate. Also, we’re getting older, so planning ahead for decent healthcare is another major concern. It looks like you’re trying to accuse people of racism, but there are a lot of other potential reasons, as well. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/63 "2016-11-15T18:41:02Z")
I didn’t vote for him, and I think he ran a despicable campaign…but I see a path where he could be a successful president, and even (gulp) make America great again. Stick with me here… We all know that Trump is no longer a builder, and his business really took off once he stopped building/creating things and started just selling out his name to slap on someone else’s investment. So, what if he does the same thing with political positions? We know he doesn’t have any (or rather, he’s held every position under the sun on every issue he’s been asked about). So what if he is smart enough to take the Obama positions that Obama could never get through the obstructionist congress, and slap his name on them. He’s the only one that can argue against GOP orthodoxy and get his base to listen. Anything attached to Obama (or Hillary) never had a chance with them anyway. So Trump takes the credit and we actually move forward as a country on a lot of issues progressives care deeply about. Don’t a lot of Obama’s policies poll better without the Obama name attached? (Obamacare being the most obvious example). Trump may be smart enough to know that. I think it’s a bit of a long shot, but I’m done underestimating Donald Trump, and I’m hoping for the best. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/64 "2016-11-15T18:45:15Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > As someone pointed out weeks ago – Imagine if Obama had shown up at the 2008 Democratic convention with his third wife who had posed for porn, along with children from three different wives. Just stop for a second and imagine that… Imagine if Obama used innuendo to brag about having a big penis. He wouldn’t have made it out of the room alive and not even black people would’ve cried foul. It would have been treated as a given that dick measuring contests represent a line a presidential candidate shouldn’t be crossing. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/65 "2016-11-15T18:54:59Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > … not even black people would’ve cried foul… You mess up that sentence? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/66 "2016-11-15T19:04:05Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Kinda reminds me of another time. Now when was it? Oh yeah.Obama in 2008. This is no new phenomenon. All incoming Presidents fresh to the office get massive publicity and news coverage, especially if they’re out of the ordinary run of Presidents, as Obama and Trump. > > As for Trump I have no real concerns, despite the media depiction of him as an idiot and know-nothing. You don’t make billions of dollars by being stupid. Trump doesn’t make billions without having inherited hundreds of millions. He’s probably of average intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/67 "2016-11-15T19:12:12Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Like I said, rarely does a fulfilled fantasy turn out to be anything except horrible. Trump will be like 9 out of 10 guys who have always dreamed of seeing his wife gang banged. When the dream actually comes true, he will be off somewhere in the corner crying and losing his mind. Who the hell actually dreams about his wife — or any other woman – being gang-banged?\* Strange and wonderful are the new sexualities being made the new normal, but anyone like that would be one sick puppy. As for Donald, he’ll be fine. \*Also I don’t know how you would go around arranging that, even with one’s wife’s eager assent. Do they still have swingers’ clubs? Did they ever have swingers’ clubs? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/68 "2016-11-15T19:13:02Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Do you have a small apartment where an old widow lady could live with three cats and two dogs. We’re very quiet and tidy. Mostly all we do is read, sleep, and get on the SDMB. OK, look, I already offered you accommodation in Canada, and just because I said to leave the cats behind you have to go soliciting the entire world for a home? Sheesh! I already said the dogs were welcome! But now we appear to have new problems. I am quiet, too, but on certain infrequent occasions I find it necessary to blast movies through the home theater at 110 dB such that the subwoofer causes the walls to do a sort of shimmy and plaster to fall from the ceiling. I can see this being a problem. I do not deal well with noise complaints from freeloading American refugees. And I am not tidy. I consider tidiness a waste of time. You should have taken my offer while the taking was good, before I found out that you were quiet and tidy. Good luck in your future endeavors. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/69 "2016-11-15T19:15:01Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > You mess up that sentence? Nope. My point is even black people would’ve attacked Obama for bragging about his penis. Cuz if you’re a black man and you ain’t got the sense to avoid anything that smells of hypersexual Mandingo when you’re running for office, the potential to unforgivably embarrass us is unacceptably high. No White House for you. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/70 "2016-11-15T19:16:27Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > \*Also I don’t know how you would go around arrangingthat, even with one’s wife’s eager assent. Do they still have swingers’ clubs? Did they ever have swingers’ clubs? Don’t do it, man. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/71 "2016-11-15T19:22:26Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > As someone pointed out weeks ago – Imagine if Obama had shown up at the 2008 Democratic convention with his third wife who had posed for porn, along with children from three different wives. Just stop for a second and imagine that… > > It makes me not understand Republican voters at all. Not one little bit. That just plain assault’s my senses :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/72 "2016-11-15T19:56:17Z")
Here’s my thought: I’ve lived through some pretty divisive elections: Clinton, Bush, Obama. And by divisive I mean there were people who hated the winning candidate. But I work in a professional environment and one of the (usually unspoken) rules is that you don’t discuss politics at work. For the first time in my professional life I’ve heard people openly and loudly criticizing the new president. Oh, and another thought: America has survived worse presidents. Bush was pretty awful (though in retrospect I’d take Bush in another term over Trump. Bush at least wanted to do the right thing). Reagan also had dementia/Alzheimer’s (though not at the beginning of his term). But we’ll survive. And all the stupid shit Trump does will eventually be reversed. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/73 "2016-11-15T19:57:14Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Nope. My point is even black people would’ve attacked Obama for bragging about his penis. > > Cuz if you’re a black man and you ain’t got the sense to avoid anything that smells of hypersexual Mandingo when you’re running for office, the potential to unforgivably embarrass us is unacceptably high. No White House for you. Understood. Probably would feel the same way. I guess, got no way of knowing. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/74 "2016-11-15T20:06:30Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Odd then that he looks so pleased with himself. Of course it doesn’t suck to be him, that’s not just clutching at a straw that’s clutching at thin air where you desperately hope there might be a straw. If you think it sucks to become a President with the power to choose federal and SCOTUS judges, with the ability to translate your thoughts for the future of America into reality, with both Houses of Congress controlled by your party and with the world media transfixed by your every action then you have a bizarre definition of sucks or you don’t know Donald Trump at all. He just woke up to find it’s Christmas every day. Did you see Trump’s Veterans Day celebration? Me either, because he didn’t make a public appearance. He has been petulant in his tweets and has already walked back many campaign pledges. The bombast is gone. I’m not sure where you are getting that he looks pleased with himself. A few months ago, I read an interview with Bill Murray, who said that he ran into Trump, who told him, “when this is all over, we’ll go play golf.” When this is all over - he was campaigning for President! See, Trump never seriously thought about what happens the day after the election. Sure, he wanted to win, and he tried hard, and he pulled off the amazing political upset that nobody thought he could do. But it seems like he waited until all of that was over before beginning to think about governance. And I think he is realizing the enormity of the task, the awesomeness of the responsibility, and the fact that he’s going to be blamed anytime something goes wrong. Imagine thinking that being President was just making speeches, appearing for photo ops, approving judges on a list, and signing the occasional bill, only to discover that you are going to be working 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. That your entire life for the next 4 years is going to be scheduled and documented. You’ll almost never be alone. You’ll need to read tons of memos and policy papers. Now whenever you call someone they are going to be asking, “what’s in it for me?” And no matter what you say or do, some influential sectors of society are going to lie about it, and a third of the entire country will reflexively hate you for it. Remember, too, that Trump is not just not used to the job (which offers a steep learning curve for any occupant), or to politics, but to a huge organization in general. While he regularly boasts about building a great company with lots of employees, his company is a closed corporation, with no public accountability, and a small power structure, where Trump and his kids sit at the top. It’s a successful family business, not some sort of conglomerate. So just the sheer size and scope of the ship of state is foreign to him. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/75 "2016-11-15T20:22:31Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Did you see Trump’s Veterans Day celebration? Me either, because he didn’t make a public appearance. That just blows my mind. If Obama or Hillary had skipped the Veteran’s Day celebration, half the country would’ve revolted. Does anyone know if Obama skipped it in 2008? Oh, wait, here it is- he [did](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-11-11-2873054939_x.htm) attend it. It’s odd that the supposedly pro-military candidate this year couldn’t be bothered. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/76 "2016-11-15T20:23:57Z")
He means what he says. He just doesn’t _remember_ what he says, and thinks its rude of you to bring it up. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/77 "2016-11-15T21:22:11Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Here’s my thought: I’ve lived through some pretty divisive elections: Clinton, Bush, Obama. And by divisive I mean there were people who hated the winning candidate. But I work in a professional environment and one of the (usually unspoken) rules is that you don’t discuss politics at work. For the first time in my professional life I’ve heard people openly and loudly criticizing the new president. That is interesting, but I have to say that I wouldn’t extrapolate to the country as a whole. Certainly says something about your workplace, though! I work in a school. As far as I can tell, the staff and teachers that were already outspoken about their politics remain so post-election, and the ones that tried to remain neutral in front of students are still doing that. (I’m in the latter group - it’s hard.) > [@](#): > > Oh, and another thought: America has survived worse presidents. Bush was pretty awful (though in retrospect I’d take Bush in another term over Trump. Bush at least wanted to do the right thing). Reagan also had dementia/Alzheimer’s (though not at the beginning of his term). But we’ll survive. And all the stupid shit Trump does will eventually be reversed. I tend to agree, but that’s because a) living in despair is hard and b) I’m not at risk as much as some. It’s hard, but I’m trying to balance my need for quasi-optimism with my respect for Chicken Littles. After all- the sky is a lot closer to falling than I thought it was a week ago. Question is - how close. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/78 "2016-11-15T21:43:40Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Who the hell actually dreams about his wife — or any other woman – being gang-banged?\* Strange and wonderful are the new sexualities being made the new normal, but anyone like that would be one sick puppy. > As for Donald, he’ll be fine. > > \*Also I don’t know how you would go around arranging that, even with one’s wife’s eager assent. Do they still have swingers’ clubs? Did they ever have swingers’ clubs? I assume ‘gang banged’ here means concensual sex with a bunch of different men. If it implies rape, then yea that would be a pretty sick puppy’s fantasy. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/79 "2016-11-15T21:55:28Z")
A really nice thread 🙂 The one thing I keep going back to is non urban working class people re-registering once they heard Trump’s shtick - these were classic, core Democrats up to maybe 2000 who no longer felt the party spoke for them. Off the radar for 3-4 elections. They didn’t vote for a party this time, they voted because they felt there was a chance they would be represented: ‘drain the swamp’. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/80 "2016-11-15T22:00:30Z")
Until recently I was convinced that a more regular GOP candidate such as Cruz, Rubio or Kasich would have performed even better than Trump. But now I’m thinking that that sort of traditional Republican might not have carried Wisconsin, Pennsylvania or Michigan - that it needed a raging flamethrower anti-establishment bull like Trump to pull that off. Thoughts? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002.md?page=5)