# 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:** 5
**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, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/81 "2016-11-15T22:04:26Z")
I different set of voters would have turned up - a lot would have stayed off the electoral radar, a lot who didn’t vote would have. Impossible to say. ---
**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, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/82 "2016-11-15T22:25:00Z")
If Trump could knock down all the other Repubs — which should have been an Awful Warning to the Clinton Gang, but instead inspired them ludicrously to boost Trump as Public Enemy No. 1 to provide an easy target — there’s is no reason to suppose this ghastly shower could do better than he in the election. And America dodged a bullet fully as bad as Hillary in the beastly potentialities of presidents Walker, Ryan, Rubio, Huckabee, Romney et al. Trump is certainly unspeakable; but he’s not a RW loony, fond of the whip. ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/83 "2016-11-15T22:42:53Z")
The thought of President Cruz actually scared me, the others not so much. I’m well aware that the Republicans have to fashion a working governing body out of evangelicals, libertarians, big business, and the tea party. My expectations aren’t high. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/84 "2016-11-15T23:27:13Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Trump is certainly unspeakable; but he’s not a RW loony, fond of the whip. He just appoints them to his Cabinet. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2016, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/85 "2016-11-15T23:32:06Z")
> [@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. My Bold. Yes, all incoming presidents get massive publicity. But usually those headlines are full of hope, congratulations, desire to work together. The headlines about Trump from Europe (not Russia, though) are full of worry, alarm, and fear. You really can’t see the difference? > [@wolfpup](#): > > 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. My bold. Yeah, that was a problem. I’ve learned not to put all my eggs in one quiet and tidy basket. I sincerely appreciated your offer of hospitality before it became conditional. 😉 ---
**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:** [November 15, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/86 "2016-11-15T23:37:41Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > … > 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. I think this is right on the money (so to speak). Being President is not like running a hotel or a casino, such that when things go bad, you can just fire everyone, declare bankruptcy, stiff the people you owe money to, and break ground on a new property. And play a round of golf that afternoon. Even Obama said that after he found out what the job was REALLY all about, “If there weren’t bars on the windows, I’d jump out and run like hell.” For all her 12 trillion faults and failings (_“Email!! Lied!! Benghazi!!”_), Hillary Clinton knew exactly what being President demands of a person. ---
**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, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/87 "2016-11-15T23:43:09Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > He just appoints them to his Cabinet. True, but\* he\* has the whiphand now. Imagine him strolling around the table like Stalin with the politburo, or a 19th century mill-owner with his board of directors, jeering at them as nancy-boys and soft gits, whilst they, trembling and unmoving without permission, stare at him with impotent hate in their eyes. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/88 "2016-11-15T23:48:56Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > True, but\* he\* has the whiphand now. > > Imagine him strolling around the table like Stalin with the politburo, or a 19th century mill-owner with his board of directors, jeering at them as nancy-boys and soft gits, whilst they, trembling and unmoving without permission, stare at him with impotent hate in their eyes. He’ll never do this. He’d have to have balls to show some leadership. And we know he doesn’t have any. He’s a tower of Jell-o. We will not see any leadership from him. He’s a hollow man, a puppet like [Charlie McCarthy](http://www.charliemccarthy.org/charlie-and-edgar.html) and the Republicans will have their arms so far up his ass, they will be the ones making his mouth move. ---
**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 16, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/89 "2016-11-16T00:28:35Z")
Random thoughts: At 55, Barack Obama is \*leaving \*the presidency at an age when many presidents first \*enter \*the presidency. Barack and Michelle Obama are 3 years apart in age. Donald and Melania Trump are 24 years apart. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/90 "2016-11-16T04:09:07Z")
Ivanka & Melania are only 11 years apart. ---
**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 16, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/91 "2016-11-16T16:58:13Z")
Unlike Obama, I don’t think many universities would want Trump delivering a commencement address. I don’t think many charities or organizations would want his presence either. So Trump may have a less cluttered POTUS schedule than Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/92 "2016-11-16T17:19:59Z")
I’ve thought about this a lot, and I see the 2016 election as a mirror image of the 1992 election. In 1991, Bill Clinton was the only candidate who recommended compassion and tolerance for the L.A. rioters. America was appalled by the Rodney King beating, and voters were so sympathetic that they elected Clinton to office. In 2016, the BLM movement accused America’s police officers of racism based on the deaths of inner-city youths. The BLM didn’t cause any major trouble themselves, but a few crazy admirers ambushed and executed police officers. The BLM disavowed responsibility but maintained their anti-police rhetoric. One police chief called them terrorists, but on the whole, America’s police behaved flawlessly. As a result, a large segment of America sympathized with the police and considered the BLM to be a criminal organization. In a complete turnaround from 1992, Americans didn’t want to hear about compassion and tolerance. They wanted someone to be tough on crime, so they went with Trump. ---
**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 16, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/93 "2016-11-16T17:22:21Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He means what he says. He just doesn’t _remember_ what he says, and thinks its rude of you to bring it up. I’ve been studying this problem due to my prophecy thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=807456](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=807456) It is a very interesting subject of which many laymen have diagnosed myself and Donald Trump along with this crazy election with: [Psychiatry.org - Warning Signs of Mental Illness](https://psychiatry.org/patients-families/warning-signs-of-mental-illness) Warning Signs of Mental Illness > [@](#): > > Major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder rarely appear “out of the blue.” Most often family, friends, teachers or individuals themselves begin to recognize small changes or a feeling that “something is not quite right” about their thinking, feelings or behavior before one of these illnesses appears in its full-blown form. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/94 "2016-11-16T17:24:41Z")
Heard some little time back he was coming to Minneapolis, he was here, now he’s gone. Uf dah fuq? Turns out, he had scheduled an appearance in Wisconsin in a time that it would conflict with the gorram Packers football game, so maybe not a great idea, hey! Let’s just go to Minnesota! He used a lot of his time here to wipe his ass on the Somali refugees we got here, what a big problem they were, what with all the terrists… Tell you what, Donny! Bet none of those Somalis would be fool enough to schedule something like you did, dumfuk! Saw the video, he said his shit and the crowd made a noise, dunno if they were growling, but they weren’t cheering. Even Trumpiviks are nicer here in Baja Canada! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/95 "2016-11-16T17:26:51Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Unlike Obama, I don’t think many universities would want Trump delivering a commencement address. I don’t think many charities or organizations would want his presence either. So Trump may have a less cluttered POTUS schedule than Obama. [He’ll show up anyway.](http://www.complex.com/life/2016/10/trump-crashed-charity-event-macarena-didnt-donate) > [@](#): > > the Association to Benefit Children, a charity, held a 1996 ribbon-cutting at a nursery school serving children with AIDS in Manhattan. Bigwigs who had donated a lot of money, like then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former mayor David Dinkins, and Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford were in attendance. But there was another dude who showed up—despite not being a major donor. Guess who. > > “Nobody knew he was coming,” another donor in attendance told the Washington Post. “There’s this kind of ruckus at the door, and I don’t know what was going on, and in comes Donald Trump. [He] just gets up on the podium and sits down.” > > According to the charity’s executive director, Donald Trump had never given a single dollar to the charity or the nursery school. But you know who did? The dude whose seat was stolen by Trump. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/96 "2016-11-16T17:27:48Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > …They wanted someone to be tough on crime, so they went with Trump. There’s crime and then, there’s crime. Looting the gullible and desperate with a fake University, that’s just good ol’ American entrepreneurship! ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/97 "2016-11-16T17:53:10Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > There’s crime and then, there’s crime. Looting the gullible and desperate with a fake University, that’s just good ol’ American entrepreneurship! I see your comparison, but when the police officers in Ferguson were ambushed, I seriously wondered whether a race war was approaching. Donald Trump’s sins (and there are many) are comparatively insignificant. And just to be clear, I voted for Hillary Clinton and screamed when she lost. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/98 "2016-11-16T19:46:53Z")
What the Clinton campaign did not account for was mudslinging doesn’t work if your opponent is already covered in shit. Everyone knew what sort of person Trump was so he started at the bottom of his poll numbers and could only go up. No new revelations would affect that. On the other hand, anything negative that came out about her (health, emails, Clinton Foundation, etc.) could only hurt her and drive down her numbers. ---
**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 17, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/99 "2016-11-17T01:10:29Z")
Also, can I mention here that I don’t give a shit if he wants to work out of Trump Tower? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/100 "2016-11-17T01:24:34Z")
Sucks for the bystanders who now find themselves living in the number one terrorist target on the planet though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002.md?page=6)