Trump cheats at golf - the ONE and ONLY politics thread

What’s Wrong With Hillary?
The GOP is fretting about Trump, but the Democrats’ likely standard-bearer could do just as much damage to her own party.

 

Reminds me of another candidate that once read "all" the newspapers.

 

The more people get exposed to Hillary, the less they like her.

Only the fact that these big states are voting so quickly, one after the other, is likely to save her.

Her poll numbers are dropping in Illinois and Ohio, after cratering in Michigan. If there was another week left before these states voted, I think Bernie would beat her.

As she runs in the general election, she will continue to drop in her favorable/unfavorables.

 

You keep coming back to this to justify his ignorance.

"He's winning!"

And he's also missing a real opportunity here. He has ridden name recognition, a big personality, and a couple of populist economic positions to enough support to put himself on the precipice of the party nomination.

But, my God, if he displayed even a basic understanding of current events and U.S. policy predicaments? He'd be burying her - and his Republican opponents. Instead, his party is trying to take the nomination from him, and he's more likely than not to lose in November.

You should stop saying that his willful ignorance isn't costing him, because it is. It is costing him a chance to move beyond that ceiling people have discussed for months.

 

FBI

 

That Hillary remains the prohibitive favorite to become president tells all you need to know about the unlikeability, creepiness, and utter loathsomeness of all the GOP candidates.

 

This isn't true. Her favorable go up when she's in office.

 

Yeah. That's it. And health.

 

Yeah, but she was full of shit.

Trump is a cable news junkie. Admittedly, and by observation. Everyone who's spent time with him will tell you this. (And, yes, he's often watching to see how they're covering him.)

This non flattering article from 2014 is worth re-reading:

As we ascend, the large flat-screen TV in my section of the plane, which is connected to the one in Trump’s bedroom, flips back and forth between Fox News and MSNBC, apparently in search of coverage of his New Hampshire visit. But the networks’ cameras are all trained on Chris Christie’s inauguration. After about an hour, the channel stops changing. Trump has given up and gone to sleep.

36 Hours On The Fake Campaign Trail With Donald Trump

Even before he ran, he saw himself as a political pundit and media critic. He definitely watches "the shows".

 

Yes. When she's not being overtly political.

 

I think he probably does.

And I think we all know that those channels are an inch deep and a mile wide with their coverage.

What's going on in Libya right now? What is going on in American education?

I think we should have broad agreement here that if you want to truly understand the answers to these questions, and be able to discuss them, cable news isn't going to do it. I don't think the New York Times or Wall Street Journal are going to do it, either. Or Time. You have to actively seek out the information.

(It's like sports. No self-respecting baseball fan gets his information in 2016 from the local rag.)

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not defending it on whole. It's working for him, so there's not much incentive to change, but it's only a step above Ben Carson's complete unfamiliarity with the issues.

If Trump had spent even an hour a day in briefings with experts on various issues, he'd have spent his time well. He's been running for months now. He could have used his time better. Top people would have met with him, and the meetings alone would have reassured many party establishment folks that he was a more serious candidate/person.

He should have been doing this, and should start doing it tomorrow.

And, if you added even a little bit of a ground game, and some internal polling, it would have been really interesting to watch.

But, Trump is an instinctual guy. He thinks that's all bullshit. He's a marketing genius who hasn't done focus groups and polling to build his brand. He built it through PR, bluster, and force of personality.

He thinks that companies that spend big bucks on marketing research are dumb.

He thinks the same of campaigns that spend on polling and voter targeting.

He's what, 9-years-old? This is what's worked for him.