Gambling on a President

By Phil Erwin

In previous election years, informal Conservative movements advocated strenuously against Democrat front-runners: The “Anybody But Hillary” movement was most prominent, known by the acronym ABH. ABO – “Anybody But Obama” – came along for Obama’s re-election campaign. These acronyms were like verbal emoticons for serious Conservatives.

But this time around, the original field of 17 potential GOP candidates included some pretty unpopular entries, so the “Anybody” thing didn’t really work so well.   Now we’ve got a rash of Twitter-induced designations: #NeverTrump, #NotTrump, #StopTrump.

What is noteworthy about this latest kill-the-candidacy effort is that it is directed against the Republican front-runner. Many Republicans are now as dead-set against letting Donald Trump have the nation’s reins as they were aghast at the prospect of a President Hillary or a President Barack.

Kinda makes you wonder: What is it about those three Presidential possibilities that so thoroughly sets the Conservative crowd off?

Lessee. Hillary thinks she owns the right to be President. Maybe because she already knows the floor plan of the White House. Or maybe as a reward for not divorcing Bill when he rubbed her nose in their marital droppings while the whole world watched – not exactly a resounding reason for electing her. And then there’s the Russian “reset.” And Benghazi. And all those other non-Presidential prevarications, like dodging invisible bullets on some mythical tarmac while feeling her way through the “fog of war.”   And having “absolutely no classified information” on her private e-mail server outside the government’s firewall, where just about anybody might have latched onto it.

When you come right down to it, it’s hard to believe that anybody thinks Hillary would be a good choice for President, given that her much-ballyhooed “decades of experience in public service” really boils down to an incessant string of parties, fundraisers and airplane rides at public expense carrying her around the globe to make speeches and dance an occasional folk dance.

What has she actually done that prepares her to be President?

Of course, Obama also had zero experience to qualify him for the Presidency. Sure, he’d organized a few housewives, promoted a couple of bake sales, and voted present in both state and federal legislatures. But really, now, admit it: The only reason Obama was elected was that the media absolutely loved the idea of promoting their own post-racial President, who would end all wars, end all poverty, end all social strife, of course end all racism, and somehow insure everybody’s health, all without raising the national debt a dime. Oh, and also make government completely “transparent.”

How have Obama’s sterling collection of campaign-trail whoppers worked out for us?

Now we have the latest self-promoting provocateur: The Donald.

Trump tells us he’s a great businessman. Never mind the bankruptcies. And he tells us he’s a staunch Conservative. Never mind the multitude of donations to Democrats, the interviews in which he’s espoused very non-Conservative views, and the fact that he’s been a Democrat far longer than he’s been a Republican.

It’s not that Trump doesn’t know his own mind. It’s just that we can’t know his mind, because it changes so often.

But at least Trump has done more than merely ride around on airplanes – he sometimes writes checks (as opposed to Hillary, who only collects them.)   Say what you will about Trump, you can at least point to a few buildings around the world, a golf course here, a casino there, and make the point that he did something besides talk when he got off the airplanes.

Still, Trump’s claim to being prepared to be President seems, at best, tenuous and boastful; at worst, idiotic and nationally-suicidal.

But besides running for President while entirely unqualified for the job, these three characters share another serious flaw: A very fleeting acquaintance with Truth.

None of them seem capable of finding the Truth and sticking with it. Yet they all seem able to stir up waves of public approval, based on purported empathy and vague promises: I feel your pain; I share it. I will fight for you to end it!

All three of these people have advanced their political fortunes on personality, not on personal beliefs. They claim hordes of hypnotized followers on the basis of popularity, not performance.

They are not national heroes. They are cult heroes.

And cult heroes are never what they seem.

I’m not in the #NeverTrump camp, but only because if I had to choose between Trump and Hillary, I’d probably hold my nose and cross my fingers and hope that his hairstyle never catches on.

But with a President Trump, we can’t really hope for much more than that. Because, with his whatever-sounds-good-is-good philosophy, his obvious and persistent lack of clarity on issues, problems and solutions, and his tendency to adopt, reverse and re-adopt policy positions, there is absolutely no way to know what he might do as President.

Want to roll the Presidential dice?

He’s yer croupier.

And with Trump pulling off victories in state primaries and caucuses, and the latest round of polls showing he’s likely to bring down Rubio in his own state of Florida, it’s looking more and more like we’ve become a nation of political gamblers.

Dice are out – Hands high!

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Phil Erwin is an author, IT administrator and registered Independent living in Newbury Park. He sometimes wishes he could support Democrat ideals, but he has a visceral hatred for Lies and Damn Lies, and is none too fond of Statistics. If his writing depresses you, he recommends you visit Chip Bok’s site for a more lighthearted perspective.

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