This Election Is About Body Language, Not Policy

I finally figured it out. I have been running around like a headless chicken trying to counter Trump on policy. But that has been a fool's errand. This election is not about policy. Trump has no policy proposals whatsoever. Tax cuts for the rich is not policy. It is the natural order of things. The rich are called rich for a reason. All money is their money. We are to merely borrow some once in a while.

Trump is a coward. He is so scared of ISIS he is hiding all his policy proposals under his mattress, to be revealed at some midnight hour at a much later date, while ISIS sleeps with the fishes. It is rumored there is an urban renewal proposal under his mattress.

So if this election is not about policy. It hit me after a few days of the first debate. Duh! It has been about body language all along.

For example, when Trump sniffs like he was sniffing coke (scariface) how do you feel? If you are Cuban you might even take pride in it.

When Trump (Da Man) interrupts Hillary (That Woman) every minute for half an hour, how do you feel? That question is not as easy as you think. If he had not done that half his support base would have evaporated.

When Trump stakes a claim to the country's leadership, to his credit, he never pretended it was anything about knowledge or competence. He has always claimed it as some kind of a birthright. Just watch his body language. Could Hillary match that body language? Will she at least attempt a show of a sense of entitlement?

Could you maintain a scowling pouting face for 90 minutes? I know I couldn't. But could Hillary? That is the question.

Could you wear a blue tie, a color you have never worn?

Could you look down when you are supposed to look up, and vice versa?

During the next debate I am going to pay more (nay, all) attention to body language.

Trump supporters think he won the first debate, so much so that they quickly organized to swamp all online polls at all major media sites. Why do you think they think Trump won? Body language. Trump’s body language speaks to his base completely.

The guy has taken a hit of 800 million dollars to his wealth this past year. The foot traffic to his businesses is down substantially. He is dedicated to his cause. The cause is body language. Pay attention to the body language.

Women, blacks, Mexicans, Muslims might do the same and end up with entirely different conclusions. But then that's the point. Chances are you are not part of his base.

This is a body language election, first and foremost. This is not a public policy election. I finally figured it out. So when Trump grunts, you have to understand, he is appealing to his base.

Blatant Sexism

“I think you don’t realize the emotional cost of every single day, twice a day, being in rooms where the norm has become people shouting out, ‘Hang the bitch,’ ‘Kill her,’ ‘Cunt,’” the second reporter said. “You shouldn’t be at the point where you hear ‘Cunt’ and you think, Oh, they’re angry at Hillary, or you hear ‘Bitch,’ and you’re like, Oh, they’re talking about our former secretary of State.”

Trump Is A Convinced, Dedicated White Supremacist

Donald Trump is a convinced, dedicated white supremacist. He has lost 800 million dollars in wealth because he is running for president. The foot traffic at his hotels is down. But he does not care.

A white supremacist is not a Christian. A white supremacist is not into God. This is not about language or culture or religion or per capita income. It is not rational. It is a dedication to evil.

All human beings have been created equal by the Creator. If you don't believe that you are not a Christian.

Russian Cyber Offensive And Trump's 400 Pound Man

The most pessimistic Kremlin watchers worry how far Putin will go with the combination of psychological manipulation and cyberwarfare. They view the pattern of Russia’s electoral meddling in the context of Putin’s recent embrace of what is known as the Gerasimov doctrine, a nontraditional approach to military conflict named after the chief of the Russian general staff, Valery Gerasimov, that relies heavily on cyberwar and influence operations. “A perfectly thriving state can, in a matter of months and even days, be transformed into an arena of fierce armed conflict,” Gerasimov posited in a now famous 2013 manifesto, through “political, economic, informational, humanitarian and other nonmilitary measures applied in coordination with the protest potential of the population.”

the Russians understand that the real power of this domain is in influence operations, psychological warfare, changing people’s perceptions of what’s truly going on.”

As results came in on election night in 2012, he falsely tweeted that the Republican had won the popular vote and urged an uprising. “The phoney Electoral College made a laughingstock out of our nation,” Trump tweeted. “The world is laughing at us. More votes equals a loss … revolution! This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!”

Trump’s former campaign manager worked for Putin’s proxy in Ukraine until the pro-Western uprising there, and Trump, his family and a foreign policy adviser have done tens of millions of dollars of business in Russia. The exact amount is unclear, and Trump has declined to disclose details of his Russian business partners.

Trump Lied About Income

The bombastic Republican presidential candidate said on Monday night that his FEC filing showed income of $694 million for the past year. It doesn’t, because in the document he freely mixed revenue with income, and it covers a period of 17 months.

This Fifth Avenue glass skyscraper signaled Trump’s arrival as a proper Manhattan mogul. But the contractor he hired in 1980 to demolish the existing Bonwit Teller department store allegedly used a small army of undocumented Polish laborers, who were paid off the books when paid at all, to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Trump spent years in court battling a ruling that he was involved in the scheme before reaching a confidential settlement in 1999. He still denies wrongdoing. 

Trump bought two buildings overlooking Central Park in 1981, hoping to demolish them to make way for a new skyscraper. But first he had to get rid of dozens of rent-controlled tenants in Trump Parc East (the other was a hotel). According to court filings, residents claimed Trump let the building fall into disrepair. He even publicly offered to house the city’s homeless in the vacant units. Tenants sued for harassment and claimed the place was uninhabitable. Trump disagreed, saying that he cut back on high-end services that the low rents couldn’t cover. 

Trump Wanting To Surprise ISIS

Donald Trump will not reveal his strategy to deal with ISIS because, as per him, that will take away the element of surprise.

What is troubling is he seems to want to surprise ISIS on all policy issues except one. His only coherent policy proposal is he wants yuge tax cuts for the rich.

On everything else, on infrastructure, on education, on his wall, on North Korea, on inner cities, on everything else he would like to surprise ISIS. There is nothing from him. No policy proposals, nothing.

Just trust me. I alone can fix it.

This dude has turned fascism into a caricature. I can imagine Hitler and Mussolini turning in their graves.

Scariface

On the debate stage I saw Hillary Clinton. I also saw a guy who was pouting. Who was that?

Gender

People’s beliefs about truthfulness and credibility, like those about leadership and competence, are structured around gender roles – who they think men and women should act - and what’s good for the goose isn’t good for the gander.

many voter’s belief that a “powerful woman” is not only an oxymoron but a serious danger to the nation.

In a society that is structured, both micro and macroscopically by gender binaries, segmentation and stereotypes, how can people reconcile the office of the presidency, not only with a woman, but with a woman who works and doesn’t smile on cue, has a high voice and is intensely private and resilient?

Trump’s main qualification appears to be that he’s a dangerously overconfident wealthy white man with opinions. By virtually any measure, he is horribly unprepared to be the leader of the country.
............ Her candidacy is not only a challenge to Trump’s, but to deeply held beliefs about men’s and women’s roles and relative status. Regardless of what people think, their implicit biases have sexist outcomes and one of them is that we are being forced to take Trump seriously as a presidential contender.

Trump Would Not Be First

How did Adolf Hitler — described by one eminent magazine editor in 1930 as a “half-insane rascal,” a “pathetic dunderhead,” a “nowhere fool,” a “big mouth” — rise to power in the land of Goethe and Beethoven? What persuaded millions of ordinary Germans to embrace him and his doctrine of hatred? How did this “most unlikely pretender to high state office” achieve absolute power in a once democratic country and set it on a course of monstrous horror?

Hitler was often described as an egomaniac who “only loved himself” — a narcissist with a taste for self-dramatization and what Mr. Ullrich calls a “characteristic fondness for superlatives.” His manic speeches and penchant for taking all-or-nothing risks raised questions about his capacity for self-control, even his sanity.

A former finance minister wrote that Hitler “was so thoroughly untruthful that he could no longer recognize the difference between lies and truth” and editors of one edition of “Mein Kampf” described it as a “swamp of lies, distortions, innuendoes, half-truths and real facts.”

...... feeding off the energy of his audiences .... he specialized in big, theatrical rallies staged with spectacular elements borrowed from the circus. Here, “Hitler adapted the content of his speeches to suit the tastes of his lower-middle-class, nationalist-conservative, ethnic-chauvinist and anti-Semitic listeners,” Mr. Ullrich writes. He peppered his speeches with coarse phrases and put-downs of hecklers. Even as he fomented chaos by playing to crowds’ fears and resentments, he offered himself as the visionary leader who could restore law and order......

Hitler increasingly presented himself in messianic terms, promising “to lead Germany to a new era of national greatness,” though he was typically vague about his actual plans. He often harked back to a golden age for the country, Mr. Ullrich says, the better “to paint the present day in hues that were all the darker. Everywhere you looked now, there was only decline and decay.”

Hitler’s repertoire of topics, Mr. Ullrich notes, was limited, and reading his speeches in retrospect, “it seems amazing that he attracted larger and larger audiences” with “repeated mantralike phrases” consisting largely of “accusations, vows of revenge and promises for the future.”

there was an “erosion of the political center” and a growing resentment of the elites. The unwillingness of Germany’s political parties to compromise had contributed to a perception of government dysfunction

“Why not give the National Socialists a chance?” a prominent banker said of the Nazis. “They seem pretty gutsy to me.”

Early on, revulsion at Hitler’s style and appearance, Mr. Ullrich writes, led some critics to underestimate the man and his popularity, while others dismissed him as a celebrity, a repellent but fascinating “evening’s entertainment.” ......  “his conservative coalition partners believed either that he was not serious or that they could exert a moderating influence on him. In any case, they were severely mistaken.”

 a turning away from reason and the fundamental principles of a civil society — namely, “liberty, equality, education, optimism and belief in progress.”

Why Is Trump Even Running?

At some level Donald Trump must have known all along he simply is not presidential material. So why is he running? Maybe he is sadomasochistic, besides being a sociopath. He likes being the butt of jokes.

First Debate: My Reactions

I once watched Trump speak for 40 minutes in Arkansas (on YouTube), but that was a few weeks after he announced he was running. No one had voted yet. I was surprised he was even running.

After that I have not watched any of his speeches, none of his primary debates. I have never owned a TV. I read news online.

I was flabbergasted at what I saw. What do they teach at Wharton? This guy's views on trade are identical to his views on climate change. It is like he needs a refresher course on the first few chapters of an Economics textbook.

If America does what Trump wants done on trade, which is basically to walk away from everyone, America is Greece in 10 years. This guy wants to engineer a titanic collapse. Why is he so mad at America?

America is transforming. The world is transforming. Thank God for China or the Great Recession would have been a Great Depression. It feels like Trump is mad there are now skyscrapers in Malaysia. Heck, they are everywhere. He would like to go back to an era when only America had skyscrapers. American greatness has been eclipsed by the skyscrapers around the world.

You can't say Bill Clinton gave you a good economy with incomes rising in every income bracket and then get mad at him for NAFTA. That NAFTA is how he did it, folks. He gave you a record surplus. That money should have been ploughed into human capital, into education and health, and into paying down some of the debt. But no, poor people voted to give rich people huge tax cuts. Explain that to me.

And poor people are threatening to give super rich people huge tax cuts all over again. Something is not quite computing here.

That is the only coherent policy proposal Trump has. He wants to give tax cuts to people like himself. Don't fall for it. Don't worry about Trump's family. Think about your own families.

I don't see how America can walk away from trade. That is like saying Trump can turn off the Internet. Or that he can build a wall.

Not only can America not walk away from trade but more importantly it should not walk away from trade. America should engage with the world even more.

What America should do is invest in education and health. What America should do is invest in broadband and infrastructure and in clean energy.

There was a time when looked like everyone was fleeing the farms for the cities. That story ended up quite well.

America is on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution. But the rest of the world will also do well, and that is tremendous.

But this is a knowledge economy now. And a responsible president would invest heavily in broadband and education.

That is Hillary.

The Great Wall Of Trump is the stupidest idea anyone has ever pushed in any election anywhere in the world, ever. Mexicans are coming through tunnels. But Trump wants to build a wall into the sky. The Mexicans are an enterprising people. They are simply going to hop over the Great Wall Of Trump in drones. Drones are much cheaper than tunnels.

Trump Inc. would like to branch out from the hotel business into the wall construction business. That is all there is to it. This is Trump's Halliburton. He did not get to build the Empire State Building so he is going to build a wall.

But the sponsor of the project - Mexico - has already walked away. There is no money to build the Great Wall Of Trump.

The recovery after 2008 has been slower than it could have been. But it is because the party of Trump absolutely opposed the $3 trillion stimulus the economy needed in 2009. All that money would have gone straight to Main Street. This is like Bin Laden blaming Bush for 9/11. Bush, why did you blow up the buildings?

The audacity of the liar!

The party of Trump opposed the $3 trillion stimulus in 2009 that was the recommendation of every economist of every stripe. But that same party of Trump is today proposing a $5 trillion tax cut for the super rich. That is the only coherent policy proposal Trump has. He is in this to make money. He wants to give himself a tax cut with money he wants all Americans to borrow from China. With borrowed money! He has no problems with China. He only has problems with poverty, the poverty that only rich people know.

He kept bragging how he just built a hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue "below budget, ahead of schedule.... I am going to Pennsylvania Avenue one way or the other." Some people might have opted to simply go for a walk.

The guy sounded like he were auditioning for Commerce Secretary. Or, worse, Halliburton.

If this guy becomes president next thing you know he has set up a casino in the Capitol Hill basement so the well paid Senators and Congressmen have somewhere to go burn the fat.

This guy has designs to turn the White House into a Trump Hotel. He said as much.

Hillary Clinton came across as very, very well prepared. I was particularly impressed with the textured and nuanced things she had to say on criminal justice reform.

https://youtu.be/xE5sPPyH5G4

They entered the debate a virtual tie. After this debate I believe Hillary should open at least a five point lead. In a fair world she would open a double digit lead.

Donald Trump Fell For Hillary Clinton's Trap At Monday's Presidential Debate | Huffington Post

Trump came out with a clear game plan targeted at Ohio and Pennsylvania voters frustrated with the loss of manufacturing, hitting Clinton on trade over and over.

But he fairly quickly reverted to the alpha male role that had worked so well in Republican debates, becoming something of a Rick Lazio in split screen, hectoring, interrupting, sniffling loudly and rolling his eyes.

“First, maybe he’s not as rich as he says he is,” Clinton said. “Maybe he’s not as charitable as he claims to be. Third, we don’t know all of his business dealings, but we have been told through investigative reporting that he owes about $650 million to Wall Street and foreign banks. Or maybe he doesn’t want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he’s paid nothing in federal taxes.”

Trump took the bait, because he knows no other way, interrupting Clinton over and over. 

 “I did not support the war in Iraq,” he said. Tape of him saying he did support it in 2002, he said, shouldn’t be believed, because he hadn’t thought about the issue much.

And that, more than anything, was the impression the debate left: Trump hasn’t thought about this stuff much. He’s not ready to be president.

Trump's Debate Performance Was The Worst Ever | Huffington Post

Republican nominee Donald Trump turned in the worst ― and I mean worst ― debate performance in modern times.

he could not deal with Clinton’s well-prepared plan to attack him on every front.  

As Clinton gained confidence, she flatly called Trump a racist and a sexist ― the latter with a vehemence she had clearly stored up for months. Some might have thought she overplayed her hand, but by the end of the debate Trump was hardly a sympathetic character.

With NBC moderator Lester Holt becoming more aggressive at the end after losing control of things early, the debate was for the most part an exercise in exposing Trump’s lack of knowledge and casual approach to the biggest moment of the campaign.

she went after Trump with all the skill of the Yale-trained lawyer she is, and did so for the most part with a wry tone that was more that of a mom talking to a 7-year old

a successful effort to get under Trump’s skin, first by calling him “Donald” and then, in one particularly effective recitation, by listing reasons why Trump might not want to release his income tax returns.

Trump also found himself agreeing with Clinton several times, like a boxer holding himself up by clutching his foe.

the consensus in the press room was that Trump had been had.

The effect on Monday was cumulative. If words matter and the rational reigns in American politics, then this would be a heavy blow to Trump’s chances.

Donald Trump Sniffled His Way Through The Debate, And People Noticed | Huffington Post

Donald Trump Accuses Lester Holt Of Bias In First Debate | Huffington Post

Nothing Sums Up Trump's Disastrous First Debate Quite Like This | Huffington Post

Trump Held It Together For About 10 Minutes, And Then He Started To Unspool | Huffington Post

One candidate, Democrat Hillary Clinton, has experience and a firm grasp of policy. She believes in studying and thinks very carefully before she speaks. She tries not to offend people.

The other candidate, Republican Donald Trump, is a political novice who doesn’t know much about policy. He doesn’t believe in homework and he says whatever pops into his mind. He offends people constantly.

Trump couldn’t keep up with Clinton’s knowledge of policy, and became increasingly obstreperous when she attacked him. He interrupted her repeatedly and then, frustrated with questions from host Lester Holt, he interrupted him, too. Eventually, Trump lost focus and started to ramble. The lack of impulse control, the derogatory attitude toward women, the utter disregard for truth ― all of it came into full view.

And at that point, maybe, Trump’s style stopped seeming refreshing ― and started seeming disturbing.

The great thing about presidential debates is that they leave no place to hide. And that’s a problem for Trump, who, as James Fallows noted in The Atlantic this month, managed to survive Republican primary debates by fading into the background and letting other candidates lead on more substantive discussions.

On Monday night, Trump had to hold his own on policy and his answers were at times flat-out incoherent.

None of these questions or attacks were the least bit surprising. The fact that Trump didn’t have sharper, more coherent answers suggests he was as casual about his preparation as his campaign had suggested all along ― that he simply couldn’t be bothered to think through how he intended to perform.

Hillary Clinton Just Made History | Huffington Post

Trump: Bad At Business

Giuliani: I'd skip next debates if I were Trump - POLITICO

Lester Holt, the NBC News anchor who moderated the debate, should be “ashamed of himself,” Giuliani said after the debate. He said Holt was wrong to attempt to fact-check Trump on the constitutionality of stop-and-frisk and his claimed opposition to the Iraq War.

Trump: My mic was 'defective' - POLITICO

"They gave me a defective mic!" he told reporters. "[I] wonder, was that on purpose?"

Clinton gets under Trump’s skin - POLITICO

for most of the evening, it was Clinton who was driving the agenda. She rattled off crisp prepared lines and repeatedly lured Trump into less politically favorable terrain, including a long discussion of why he was refusing to release his taxes.

And in an unprecedented moment for presidential politics, the Democratic nominee midway through the debate accused the Republican nominee of racism.

“He has a long record of engaging in racist behavior,” Clinton said, during an exchange on Trump’s years-long questioning of the American citizenship of President Barack Obama.

Trump soon fired back with one of the evening’s most memorable lines. “When you try to act holier than thou it really doesn’t work.”

“I have a feeling that by the end of this evening I am going to be blamed for everything,” Clinton said with a smile.

“Why not?” Trump retorted.

“Just join the debate by saying more crazy things,” Clinton shot back.

Clinton seemed to gain steam as the debate went on, hitting Trump in the closing minutes for his past attacks objectifying women’s appearances. The former secretary of state often appeared relaxed as Trump scowled and tried to jump in during her answers.

Last night’s debate, or the mansplaining Olympics

Colbert Reacts

The first presidential debate

WHEN George Wallace ran a populist campaign for president in 1968, Lurleen Wallace, his wife, was asked what people liked so much about him. “When he’s on ‘Meet the Press’ they can listen to him and think, ‘That’s what I would say if I were up there.’” Bear this in mind as you read confident predictions that HillaryFrom about the 15-minute mark (of a total of 90) the debate became very strange. The moderator, Lester Holt, had an impossible job trying to prevent the two candidates from yelling at each other. Mrs Clinton launched a series of personal attacks on Mr Trump, which he couldn’t resist picking up on. Mr Trump bragged, bulldozed and free-associated, as he had through the primaries. Mrs Clinton was well-prepared and verbose. Clinton triumphed in the first presidential debate at Hofstra University. This campaign is the political equivalent of asymmetric warfare. The candidates do not meet on the same plane. Plenty of people who watched the debate will conclude that Donald Trump won.

From about the 15-minute mark (of a total of 90) the debate became very strange. The moderator, Lester Holt, had an impossible job trying to prevent the two candidates from yelling at each other. Mrs Clinton launched a series of personal attacks on Mr Trump, which he couldn’t resist picking up on. Mr Trump bragged, bulldozed and free-associated, as he had through the primaries. Mrs Clinton was well-prepared and verbose.

Those who switched on this debate thinking that Mr Trump is not qualified to be president will not have changed their minds. Those who began by thinking that Mrs Clinton is a dangerous socialist who should be locked up will have seen nothing to change their minds. But what did the 10-20% of voters who tell pollsters that they are undecided, or planning to vote for a third party, see? They saw one candidate who was well-prepared and a bit rambling, and another who was downright weird at times. 1-0 to Mrs Clinton.

Majority of snap polls show Trump won debate by a landslide despite CNN's overwhelming victory for Hillary in biggest official survey

The Drudge Report's poll showed Trump fared better with 81.5 per cent of the vote to Clinton's 18.5 while others, including Time, CBS New York and the Washington Times, also saw Trump win the vote.

The Daily Show

An Ugly Campaign, Condensed Into One Debate

But when just one candidate is serious and the other is a vacuous bully, the term loses all meaning.

Donald Trump’s Online Trolls Turn on Their ‘God Emperor’ - The Daily Beast

North Carolina, a state that bettors believed was headed into GOP hands before the debate, flipped for the Democrats over the course of the debate.

Back on 4chan, conspiracy theories still prevailed. One user thought he noticed a dark spot on Clinton’s clothes.

“Why would you ever vote for a person who DROOLS on her own clothes?” the user wrote, circling the spot with Photoshop.

Other users responded quickly. “That’s a microphone shadow, ya dingus.”

Online votes declare Trump debate winner, despite media consensus for Clinton | Fox News

The online surveys are not scientific and, in many cases, supporters of either candidate can cast multiple ballots. Still, the disconnect in judging Trump’s performance was reminiscent of the Republican Party primary, when pundits often said his competitors bested him while online polls put him on top.

Debate breaks record as most-watched in U.S. history

More than 80 million people tuned in to see Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off, setting a new record in the sixty year history of televised presidential debates.

Trump points fingers after shaky debate - POLITICO

Donald Trump’s long night on Long Island morphed into a day of finger-pointing Tuesday, as he revived his brashest personal style to explain an erratic debate performance against Hillary Clinton.

The Republican presidential nominee, beleaguered after an erratic performance in Monday’s debate — with viewership as high as 100 million — retreated to his Fox News and Twitter cocoon.

The first debate featured an unprepared man repeatedly shouting over a highly prepared woman - Vox

The first presidential debate featured a man who didn’t know what he was talking about repeatedly shouting over a woman who was extraordinarily prepared.

The debate was a collision between Donald Trump’s politics of dominance and Hillary Clinton’s politics of preparation.

Clinton’s politics of preparation won.

Trump did his best to be fair. He interrupted Clinton 25 times in the debate’s first 26 minutes. He talked over both her and moderator Lester Holt with ease. But the show of dominance quickly ran into a problem: Trump would shout over his interlocutors only to prove he had nothing to say.

There’s just an astonishing gap in the coherence of these two answers. Neither, in my view, stands as a particularly great answer in the history of presidential debates. But Clinton’s is a basically logical, informed response to an obvious question; Trump’s answer is simply word salad.

Trump grew less and less coherent as the night wore on, and his early spree of interruptions flagged as he was quickly forced onto topics where he hadn’t done the work to feel comfortable. Clinton, by contrast, grew stronger as the debate wore on, because she had prepared for everything the moderators threw at her.

Ranting Bully Donald Trump Came Unglued in First Debate

Before the first presidential debate, a conventional wisdom had formed that Donald Trump merely needed to appear “presidential,” which the campaign media had defined as “non-sociopathic.” He failed to clear that bar.

Trump managed to tell a number of lies without consequence. He insisted he had never called global warming a Chinese hoax, when that very claim is still up on his Twitter feed. He insisted crime has risen in New York, when it has fallen. He insisted that, contrary to his public support for the Iraq War, he had opposed it in private, inaccessible conversations with his lickspittle Sean Hannity — who, if called upon to do so, would probably vouchsafe that Trump indeed won the 1985 American League Most Valuable Player Award.

The final exchange of the debate was the most devastating. Clinton lacerated Trump for his dehumanization of women — the kind of sexualization that offends social conservatives and social liberals alike. 

How did Clinton come across? She maintained her composure and her dignity, something no Republican who confronted (or was bullied by) Trump in the primary debates managed to do. She had facts at her disposal, she apologized for her poor choice of email systems, and she conveyed that she is sane and competent. The contrast between an obviously and eminently qualified public servant and a ranting bully was as stark as any presidential debate in American history.

‘No Sniffles,’ Trump Says, Denying the Obvious

Never Trump

Why Donald Trump Should Not Be President

Debate Tips From Time

Your tone should be confident and prosecutorial, and your case is to prove that Trump is unfit for public office. But please don’t say it. Prove it. Your mission is to demonstrate that every time he talks on the global stage, his words could defile the office, embarrass the country and, yes, even provoke a war. Our polling couldn’t be clearer: If the election is a referendum on Trump, you win.

Remember this as he tries again and again to get under your skin: Trump is the most disliked candidate in modern history. Put him on trial. Rattle him. When he is challenged, he hits back. He loses control. He says dumb stuff. So push his buttons and compel him to reveal to the world that he is not qualified for the job.

"In the hostel they laugh like tractors"

Rural Indian Girls Chase Big-City Dreams - NYTimes.com

America: Laughing Stock Of The World

Donald Trump has turned America into the laughing stock of the world, and he is not even president yet. I wonder how much more he could do as president.

Within 18 months of the start of a Trump presidency America will see a recession comparable to the one in 2008. The Fed has less room to play right now, that's why.

President Donald Trump I will start work on the wall. President Donald Trump IV will finish the work, I am confident. It might take a few generations but the Trumps will get it done. Rome was not built in a day.

By the time Trump is done with his presidency in 2020 the world will see somewhere between 20 and 30 new nuclear powers.

A record number of Russian oligarchs will buy real estate from Trump Inc. Trump University will see a second life without any change in business practices.

America will have become the fourth largest economy in the world, still ahead of a comfortable number of economies, ahead of over 190.

And America will have become great again by reclaiming its status as the dominant continental power in North America that it once was.

Russia will also have become great again by gobbling up more of Ukraine and all of the Baltic states while President Trump was out on his coffee break.

NATO and NAFTA are in tatters and China now leads the East Pacific Free Trade Zone, the most vibrant segment of the world economy.

The former Yugoslavia now is what Syria used to be. War is back.

ISIS never recruited faster after Trump created an internment camp for Muslims.

America has walked away from the Paris Agreement. NYC now sees a Sandy every year.

That is the Trump Path, folks. Pick wisely.

America's very identity is at stake.

Poll: Clinton, Trump in virtual dead heat on eve of first debate

What Cruz Did Is Capitulation, Not Forgiveness

Donald Trump insulting Ted Cruz' family was not a one off unintentional mistake. That was one small insignificant symptom of the disease called Trump 2016. Trump, if anything, has doubled down on his ideology of hate. Trump does not have issues with one family, that of Ted Cruz. Trump hates the guts of every family that looks like the family of Ted Cruz. He has never repented, he has never backtracked. If anything he is even more fervently trying to change the hate into public policy or, barring that, public chaos.

Ted Cruz did not even forgive. What Ted Cruz did was he read the poll numbers. He saw the polls tightening and figured, what the heck. Let Trump be Trump. Who cares about family!

Forgiveness is not about putting up with evil. Donald Trump is evil. God seeks for human beings to fight evil with everything they have got. Ted Cruz just surrendered.

You don't forgive Hitler after he just took Poland. Trump is a fascist clown. He has to be countered at every turn. You confront evil.

Man does not live on bread alone, but on Satan's hate speech. That is the Trump Train.

Kashmiris Should Be Treated Like Citizens

I have been surprised by the developments in Kashmir. How did it start? How did it escalate? How did it get so out of hand? This has been unfortunate.

Where does Kashmir belong, in India or Pakistan, is a stupid question in this day and age. Kashmir belongs in a democracy, that is where Kashmir belongs. If Pakistan is a democracy, Kashmir belongs in Pakistan. If India is a democracy, Kashmir belongs in India. And if both India and Pakistan are democracies it is not a problem that half of Kashmir is in India and half is in Pakistan. As long as democracy can be taken to every Kashmiri, it is okay for Kashmir to be in two countries.

The Madhesh of Nepal was 100% a part of India during the Mughal era. But today Madhesh, that looks exactly like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, is in Nepal, and there is an open border. That should be the model not only for all of South Asia but for the whole world ultimately. The Nepal India border is the most cutting edge political border in the world.

The Indian government's number one responsibility is to treat all Kashmiris like citizens in a democracy. Kashmir is not Gaza, Kashmir is not the West Bank.

The solution is for both India and Pakistan to come around to accepting the Line Of Control as the final border. The fiction that some day all of Kashmir will be in India or in Pakistan is hurting both countries. So much political capital is being wasted in a stupid fight.

India should bring normalcy for its Kashmiri citizens. Pakistan should make the attempt to become a full democracy where the army and the intelligence agency are 100% under the democratically elected parliament.

Then the two countries should move towards accepting the Line Of Control as the final border. That also is the best thing for India and China in places like Arunachal Pradesh.

Trade is the name of the game.

The Whole World Is Laughing At America

The entire planet is laughing at America because of Donald Trump.

New York Times Endorsement

Hillary Clinton for President

The next president will take office with bigoted, tribalist movements and their leaders on the march. In the Middle East and across Asia, in Russia and Eastern Europe, even in Britain and the United States, war, terrorism and the pressures of globalization are eroding democratic values, fraying alliances and challenging the ideals of tolerance and charity.

Trump Is Going To Grunt Through The Debates

That is what the leading primatologist has said.

A Challenge To Donald

Donald, I would like to challenge you to a game of chess.

Donald Trump Is Absolutely Dumb

Let's name a neighborhood in Brooklyn after him. Wait, it already exists. Dumbo.

Donald. I would like to sell you this bridge on the East River, and if you buy, I will name an adjacent neighborhood after you, just for the takes. What say you?

The guy is so thick in the head, it is unbelievable. His wealth only amplifies it.

Hillary And Security

Hillary Clinton Has the Best Solution to Homegrown Terrorism

And some may object that taking a social work and therapeutic approach to potential terrorists is too soft an approach. But such efforts have shown sustained value in similar efforts to deal with the far more pervasive phenomenon of gangs and gang violence.

65% Death Tax Is Key

Hillary's proposal of the 65% death tax is key. You are supposed to give away half your wealth when you die. You do not for the country or humanity but for your children. It is good for your children. Otherwise you end up with lazy, fast food maniac, ignorant children. If Donald Trump's father had given away half his wealth when he died, this would have never happened. The country would not have had to suffer this walking talking ignorance of a presidential candidate. America would not have become a joke in the world.

Yes, that applies to if you have created a company. If Sam Walton wanted to pass his company to his children, he could still have passed on 35% of it. Owning 35% of Walmart is still a lot. The company would not only have thrived, it would have thrived better.

But for this you need a landslide victory. You need to take the White House, the Senate and the House.

Besides, We The People could use the money.

Only One Sane Choice

The Enquirer has supported Republicans for president for almost a century – a tradition this editorial board doesn’t take lightly. But this is not a traditional race, and these are not traditional times. Our country needs calm, thoughtful leadership to deal with the challenges we face at home and abroad. We need a leader who will bring out the best in all Americans, not the worst.

That’s why there is only one choice when we elect a president in November: Hillary Clinton.

Do we really want someone in charge of our military and nuclear codes who has an impulse control problem? The fact that so many top military and national security officials are not supporting Trump speaks volumes.

This editorial board has been consistent in its criticism of his policies and temperament beginning with the Republican primary. We've condemned his childish insults; offensive remarks to women, Hispanics and African-Americans; and the way he has played on many Americans' fears and prejudices to further himself politically. Trump brands himself as an outsider untainted by special interests, but we see a man utterly corrupted by self-interest. His narcissistic bid for the presidency is more about making himself great than America. Trump tears our country and many of its people down with his words so that he can build himself up. What else are we left to believe about a man who tells the American public that he alone can fix what ails us?

While Clinton has been relentlessly challenged about her honesty, Trump was the primary propagator of arguably the biggest lie of the past eight years: that Obama wasn't born in the United States. Trump has played fast and loose with the support of white supremacist groups. He has praised some of our country's most dangerous enemies – see Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Saddam Hussein – while insulting a sitting president, our military generals, a Gold Star family and prisoners of war like Sen. John McCain. Of late, Trump has toned down his divisive rhetoric, sticking to carefully constructed scripts and teleprompters. But going two weeks without saying something misogynistic, racist or xenophobic is hardly a qualification for the most important job in the world. Why should anyone believe that a Trump presidency would look markedly different from his offensive, erratic, stance-shifting presidential campaign?

Trump And Nukes

A majority of voters say Donald Trump would allow the U.S. to default on its debt and that he would misuse the power of the presidency to punish his political opponents.

And nearly half of voters — 46 percent — say the GOP nominee would use a nuclear weapon to attack ISIS or another foreign enemy.

Sixty-five percent said that there would be race riots in major cities during a Trump administration, and 44 percent believe Trump would authorize internment camps for illegal immigrants.

Trump 2016 Is A Scam

Trump University was shut down by the Justice Department because it was a scam.

The Justice Department should fulfill its constitutional obligation and shut down Trump 2016 which is a much bigger scam.

Trump 2016 has been selling a 25 billion dollar wall that will never materialize. The sponsor of the wall has backed out big time. And Trump 2016 is selling a 600 billion dollar round up and deport everyone plan that is pie in the sky. Trump University scams never were so grand.

And if the Justice Department will not act, I threaten to sell off the Brooklyn Bridge. How would you like a few Trump Towers with that?

How To Win The Debate

Hillary 2016 pulled a master stroke of a party convention. Getting this Trump guy off balance was rather easy to do. Putting a Gold Star Muslim family on national stage is all it took.

That is how the debates will be won. By throwing this guy off balance. This dude would be a perfect opponent to have in jujitsu, where the idea is to use your opponent's force and momentum against him. You are dealing with a primate here.

"Man up, Donald!"

"You would like to sell the American people a wall and I would like to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge."

"Rape is a sex crime, but you wouldn't know that, would you?"

"No soccer, no Brazil. No immigration, no America."

"Why have you not released your tax forms? How much in Russian money are you hiding?"

"Trump Foundation buys paintings of Donald Trump, and you want to talk about the Clinton Foundation that beats the American Red Cross in ratings?"

"When was the last time you sent an email? What do you know about emails?"

"Your round up and deport everyone plan costs hundreds of billions of dollars. Where is that money coming from?"

"Has your dismantle NATO agenda been sponsored by Putin?"

"Your tax cut plan has a price tag of five trillion dollars. Where is that money going to come from?"

"Do you know anyone who has had a greater number of bankruptcies than you?"

"You have not written any of your books, have you? I met the guy who actually wrote The Art Of The Deal."

"You have called women pigs. Shame on you."

"What do you know about the religion of Islam?"

"The Mayor of London is a Muslim. How do you feel about that?"

"The smartest person on earth, Stephen Hawking, is a disabled person. Have you ever mocked him? Do you have any idea how much smarter he is compared to you?"

"How many articles in the US Constitution?"

"What's the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?"

"How do you spell China?"

"Tell us about your friendship with Gaddafi."

"You bragged about knowing Putin before you said you did not know Putin. What's the truth?"

"You would like to start a trade war. Correct?"

"Economists give your plan 18 months before there is a major recession in the country. Why are you so hellbent on causing a recession? How will your businesses benefit in such a Trump induced recession? Do you plan to buy real estate on the cheap?"

"Why are you so adamant on wanting to use nuclear weapons?"

"Why do you want more nuclear powers in the world?"

"What are your cholesterol levels? Is it true you only eat fast food? What if you die of a heart attack in the White House?"

"How often do you change your wig? Who washes them?"

"Is it true you will continue to do your TV show when in office?"

"How much money has your campaign paid your various businesses?"

"You like Putin. You like Saddam. You like Kim Jong Il. You liked Gaddafi. Who else are your favorite? How do you like Khamenei? What about Bin Laden? Al Zwahari? What about Mussolini? Do you think he was charismatic?"

"You said you know more about ISIS than the generals. What do you know?"

"You have been promoting your hotels and golf courses while pretending to be campaigning? Have you been falsely accused? Have you been campaigning?"

"Has the media been unfair to you?"

"How many emails have you sent over a lifetime?"

"Are you on Facebook?"

Looks Like An Orangutan, Acts Like A Chimpanzee

If America elects Donald Trump president, America can go back to being the North American power it once was. India will step in. China will step in. In 10 years Africa will step in. Mexico will take Texas, then you will no longer have "immigration issues."

You can not claim you are the leading country and act like America is an island. People running for president regardless of party will have to respect the world. I don't know if this guy is an orangutan or a chimpanzee, he looks orange like an orangutan and beats his chest like a chimpanzee, so it's confusing, but this guy has been giving non white kids across the globe self esteem issues for a full year now. This pig person has been giving serious self esteem issues to young girls across America and across the world. The guy is a total pig. He is a total foul mouth and he is not going to get away with it.

This will not stand.

There can be legitimate philosophical and ideological differences. Differences in knowledge and intelligence are allowed. But this guy is not running on any of that. This guy is running on pure hatred of everyone who does not look a chimp like him. That is a lot of people.

His rabid sexism will not stand. His out of control racism will not stand. His xenophobia can go on his hair. There is no place for it in America, not in this world.  

Immigration

Here's Why Donald Trump Is More Right About Immigration Than You Think 

If you are right you have been right throughout American history.

Chris Matthews has been pretending to be a liberal, but he is just another white male.

Trump Win?

"The Keys to the White House" is a historically based prediction system. I derived the system by looking at every American presidential election from 1860 to 1980, and have since used the system to correctly predict the outcomes of all eight American presidential elections from 1984 to 2012."

Donald Trump has made this the most difficult election to assess since 1984. We have never before seen a candidate like Donald Trump, and Donald Trump may well break patterns of history that have held since 1860.

We've never before seen a candidate who's spent his life enriching himself at the expense of others. He's the first candidate in our history to be a serial fabricator, making up things as he goes along. Even when he tells the truth, such as, "Barack Obama really was born in the U.S.," he adds two lines, that Hillary Clinton started the birther movement, and that he finished it, even though when Barack Obama put out his birth certificate, he didn't believe it. We've never had a candidate before who not just once, but twice in a thinly disguised way, has incited violence against an opponent. We've never had a candidate before who's invited a hostile foreign power to meddle in American elections. We've never had a candidate before who's threatened to start a war by blowing ships out of the water in the Persian Gulf if they come too close to us. We've never had a candidate before who has embraced as a role model a murderous, hostile foreign dictator. Given all of these exceptions that Donald Trump represents, he may well shatter patterns of history that have held for more than 150 years, lose this election even if the historical circumstances favor it.

I think the fact that he's a bit of a maverick, and nobody knows where he stands on policy, because he's constantly shifting. I defy anyone to say what his immigration policy is, what his policy is on banning Muslims, or whoever, from entering the United States, that's certainly a factor. But it's more his history in Trump University, the Trump Institute, his bankruptcies, the charitable foundation, of enriching himself at the expense of others, and all of the lies and dangerous things he's said in this campaign, that could make him a precedent-shattering candidate.

Debates

“He is a charismatic guy, likes the attention, and will certainly not be intimidated by the bright lights and lots of people watching, he’ll probably thrive on it,” DuHaime, the Christie aide, said.

Back In The Lead

Hillary Clinton has wrested back a clear advantage in polls over Donald Trump just days before their first critical debate.

An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll conducted this week — viewed by some election experts as the gold standard – found the Democrat leading Trump by six points nationally.

Instead, Trump’s recent polling strength appears to have energized Clinton’s supporters, who now match Trump’s supporters in enthusiasm. And Clinton’s ace-in-the-hole is a battleground map that will require Trump to draw a near-perfect hand.

Police And The Poor

These police murders are symptomatic of the racism structurally embedded in America, the responsibility of which bears no exemption for anyone who lives in this country, especially white Americans, Republican and Democrat, north and south. The innocent lives taken at the hands of the police are not merely a problem of the black community, or recurring anomalies in different police departments, but an issue that faces the entire country and its inability to understand the magnitude of historical and contemporary prejudices that affect our society.

Trump Rhetoric Incites Election Violence

 “This could start to shift into a law-and-order thing that favors Trump and Republicans.”

Trump’s World

This dude is incoherent. And, hence, dangerous. There is an utter lack of curiosity.

On foreign policy, Trump is the worst of all worlds

Trump is a real-estate developer who takes any domestic terrorist attack — whatever the actual circumstances — as confirmation of his views on a lax immigration system, as evidence of a law-enforcement system hobbled by political correctness and as cause for more aggressive profiling of Muslims, Arabs or whomever he is currently defining as the threat. Some of his followers seem particularly pleased when he edges toward declaring Islam itself to be the enemy. “Frankly,” Trump has said, “we’re having problems with the Muslims.”

Trump has hardly distinguished himself in reacting to that conflict, fed by the radiating disorders of the Middle East. As the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) rose, the GOP nominee said, “That’s not our fight.” And: “Let Syria and ISIS fight. Why do we care?” And: “Let Russia fight ISIS, if they want to fight ’em.” But also: Bomb the oil and “take the oil” — which would seem to require a choice between the two. Incantations are preferable to such gibberish.

Those who believe that preening bluster makes up for willful ignorance and dangerously poor policy judgment have found their man. But this is not the worst of it. Anyone who has spent time working in the White House would attest that the single most important presidential attribute is leadership in times of crisis. We have no idea what challenges the next president may face — an outbreak of deadly pandemic flu, the collapse of order in nuclear Pakistan, a cyberattack on the U.S. electrical grid. All we know — or try our best to know — is the character, stability and credibility of the president himself (or herself).

Conservatives trying to justify a vote for Trump argue that the presidency itself would somehow mature him. Yet the Republican nominee has provided little reason to believe he is truly capable of learning or benefiting from good counsel. “My primary consultant is myself and I have a good instinct for this stuff,” Trump has said.

“It is really important to project a sense of calm,” the official said. “A leader understands that people feed off his emotions in a moment of crisis. If he uses wild or frantic rhetoric, it will risk creating a psychological tsunami.”

The president may face simultaneous crises, the official went on, forcing him “to rely on others in the team to give good advice.” And: “If the ego is central to a leader and a crisis occurs, it could lead to rash decision-making.” And: “One cannot solve a crisis by blaming other people. This tone makes it harder to rally the whole nation.” A leader has to “articulate a credible strategy” and honor the “American values that unite us.”

Donald, There Is This Bridge On The East River

Donald. It has been relayed to me that you  would like to sell me a wall on the Mexican border. Be that as it may, there is this bridge on the East River I would like to sell you. I am a much more modest man in comparison to you.

Alt Right In Charge Of Trump 2016

They see themselves as a threat to the establishment, far bolder and edgier than Fox News. 

Trump Is KKK

With his many appeals to nativism, bigotry, and bitter discontent, Donald Trump has enthralled far-right extremists with his campaign for president. According to an investigation by Mother Jones and the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, since Trump officially announced his bid in June 2015 he has drawn effusive praise and formal backing from some of the country's most virulent neo-Nazis, white supremacists, militia supporters, and other extremist leaders. They include the head of the American Nazi Party, three former Ku Klux Klansmen, four people involved in a recent armed standoff against federal authorities at an Oregon wildlife refuge, and at least 15 individuals affiliated with organizations described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups.

Colorado

President Trump?

What was once unthinkable has now become only mildly improbable

Recent polls show her maintaining an edge in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Hampshire. But those states alone would leave her short of victory. With those in the bag, her easiest path to the presidency runs through Colorado, whose electorate is better-educated and more Hispanic than the national average. In July and August, her polling leads there ranged from five percentage points to 13. But the only survey taken of the state so far this month gave Mr Trump a four-point lead. If Mrs Clinton cannot hold on in the Centennial State, expect Mr Trump to be sworn in on January 20th.

Democrats, as well as never-Trump Republicans and independents can only hope either that recent surveys misrepresent public opinion, that Mrs Clinton’s superior campaign infrastructure will enable her to outperform them or that the polls will eventually swing back in her direction. There is solid evidence to back all three claims.

The final argument in favour of Mrs Clinton’s chances is that polling averages tend to revert towards their means, and that Mr Trump is now bumping up against his previous ceiling of around 40% of the vote. She will presumably benefit from returning to the campaign trail, and could get a boost from increased efforts on her behalf by Democratic heavyweights. Even if Mr Trump does well in the debates, they will likely push talk of deplorables and pneumonia off the front pages. Moreover, both the economy and the president’s approval ratings have been on the rise of late, strengthening the appeal of Mrs Clinton’s run for a third Obama term.

the idea that a Clinton landslide would lead to the banishment from American politics of Mr Trump’s appeals to racial and cultural resentment is receding fast.

Donald Trump Is A White White Collar Criminal

His business career, all of it, has been that of a white white collar criminal.

Trump University was a fraud.

This guy has been in the casino business. Someone told him that is where you go to bilk money.

He has a long track record of outright refusing to pay small vendors.

He has defrauded New York city voters of close to a billion dollars. He has taken money from New York city like New York City were his father.

And now he is out to steal 25 billion dollars from all those who are clamoring for him. That is a conservative price estimate on the wall that will never exist.

Selling the wall is worse than trying to sell the Brooklyn Bridge. You have been had.

Catch Donald If You Can.

And, if you did not know, all those buildings with his name on them. He does not own them. His real estate career is like fake boxing you see on TV. He is not in the construction business. He only licenses out his last name.

This guy is fake. This is a fraudster.

Debate Prep

Hillary should debate Trump’s manhood and cowardice

A developer of mostly mediocre properties who made a small fortune (very small) with his daddy's money. He has stiffed subcontractors and tenants, hired undocumented workers, went bankrupt on three casinos (hard to do).

He was a reality TV performer, but when it hemorrhaged ratings, he jumped ship to run for president. He is the owner of a for-profit university that allegedly bilked students of millions, that was forced to close by the Justice Department and that is now facing trial for racketeering.

Trump plays by no rules and she shouldn’t either. Example: Clinton should ask Trump why he is hiding his tax returns, then answer the question herself. “Don says he can’t release his tax returns because he is being audited. Well, Don, the IRS has said you can release your taxes, audit or no audit. You will be the first candidate for president in the modern era to hide his taxes. Even Richard Nixon released his taxes while under an audit. So Don, what are you hiding?”

Trump has hundreds of bogus policies, but when confronted with the failure of his policies, Trump runs like a scalded dog. Here Clinton has a powerful tool. She should say, “Few people believe you can do what you say. Well Don, it’s time to be a man and tell the American voters exactly what you intend to do specifically.” Trump of course will duck, lie and dodge. To this, Clinton should say, “The public doesn’t believe you, and I don’t believe you. The time has finally come — MAN UP DON.”

It will drive him nuts.

Years ago, with some political skill and lots of luck, I convinced Fritz Mondale to use “Where’s the Beef” in a debate. Now I’m asked if there is a line Clinton can use against Trump. I don’t have a line, but I do have a tactic: Challenge Trump’s manhood and call him a coward.

Reality Is A Serious Casualty In This Campaign

Trump Ohio Campaign Chair: "There was no racism before Obama"

Trump: Buffoon

Her strength in this area perfectly matches Trump’s weakness. Trump has appeared to learn for the first time such basic information as that the Trans-Pacific Partnership doesn’t include China and that Russia has already invaded Ukraine on the debate stage or during a media interview. He sometimes reads his speeches as if they include revelations to him — “so true,” he’ll interject after coming across a striking fact or observation in the text.

The one-on-one format for an hour-and-a-half could make his thin knowledge painfully obvious. And any misstep or outburst that reinforces the idea that he lacks the qualities to be commander in chief would be devastating.

Trump Foundation: True To Its Name

Tale of Two Charities: Trump’s Helps Trump While the Clintons’ Is the Real Deal.

Third World Has Come To America

Trump Campaign Pays Trump Businesses Big

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has paid his family's businesses more than $8.2 million, according to a POLITICO analysis of campaign finance filings, which reveals an integrated business and political operation without precedent in national politics.

In all, the Trump campaign’s payments to Trump-owned businesses account for about 7 percent of its $119 million spending total, the analysis found.

Trump, on the other hand, appears to have structured his businesses in a way that lets the campaign use them without legal restriction. And he certainly doesn’t appear to feel any embarrassment about flouting political norms that typically compel candidates to distance themselves from their businesses during campaigns.

Quite to the contrary, Trump has used the campaign itself as a marketing platform to promote everything from the difficult-to-find Trump Steaks to his golf courses and a new Washington hotel.

Trump, who in 2000 predicted “I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it"

The degree to which Trump or his corporations may be benefiting from his campaign is unclear, partly because the financial and legal structures of his businesses — and their relationships with his campaign — remain opaque. Trump has stubbornly refused to release his taxes, which could shed light on the issue.

One of Trump’s primary election victory speeches in March, held at Mar-a-Lago, was widely lampooned as an infomercial for Trump-branded steaks, water, magazines and wine.

And last week, he lured the political press corp to his new Washington hotel by promising a revelation about his longstanding allegations that President Obama was born overseas, which he finally disavowed. Before getting to that, though, he took the opportunity to promote the hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in the Old Post Office.

This is what happens in Third World dictatorships. You acquire power and then you enrichen yourself with that power.

Trump is shameless, would you say?

She Is In A Bigger Harvard Test Room

I was taking a law school admissions test in a big classroom at Harvard. My friend and I were some of the only women in the room. I was feeling nervous. I was a senior in college. I wasn’t sure how well I’d do. And while we’re waiting for the exam to start, a group of men began to yell things like: ‘You don’t need to be here.’ And ‘There’s plenty else you can do.’ It turned into a real ‘pile on.’ One of them even said: ‘If you take my spot, I’ll get drafted, and I’ll go to Vietnam, and I’ll die.’ And they weren’t kidding around. It was intense. It got very personal. But I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t afford to get distracted because I didn’t want to mess up the test. So I just kept looking down, hoping that the proctor would walk in the room. I know that I can be perceived as aloof or cold or unemotional. But I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions. And that’s a hard path to walk. Because you need to protect yourself, you need to keep steady, but at the same time you don’t want to seem ‘walled off.’ And sometimes I think I come across more in the ‘walled off’ arena. And if I create that perception, then I take responsibility. I don’t view myself as cold or unemotional. And neither do my friends. And neither does my family. But if that sometimes is the perception I create, then I can’t blame people for thinking that.

Essentially what Clinton is saying is that the stiltedness of her public persona is a kind of self-preservation tactic born out of years of brutal misogyny. 

She is still being yelled at. The yelling is being done by the media. Email. Benghazi. Whitewater. And the yelling is being done by the loudmouth dumbo running for president. Get rid of your bodyguards? Is this guy kidding me?

She is being yelled at and her supporters, men and women, need to step in and respond. We are the proctors. This is a democracy. She is not doing this for her. This is not just about America. This is about the women across the globe.

Barack Obama was about 500 years of world history. Hillary Clinton is about 5,000 years of world history.

It's Not Her, It's Us

Gallons of digital ink have been spilled trying to figure out why Clinton struggles so much with likability. But perhaps the problem isn’t with her at all. Maybe it’s with us.

Black Women Need Clinton

Barack Obama was race, Hillary is gender. Black women need both.

Secretary Clinton, you're no Barack Obama 

No matter how much Donald Trump throws these inequities in our faces, most African-Americans will never vote for him. Polls currently show Trump with only 1 percent of the black vote.

But that doesn't mean that black voters, particularly women, will turn out for Clinton with the same voraciousness as they did for Obama. And just because Obama plans to turn Clinton's election into a referendum on his political legacy, it doesn't mean African-Americans will take the bait.

Clinton has to win over black voters on her own merit. And to do that, she must convince black women, in particular, that they won't get buried underneath the shattered glass when she breaks through the ceiling.

Syria: Time For Adult Behavior

US, Russia take Syria battle to new heights 

Larvov and Kerry's speeches laid bare their widely divergent views of a war that has killed up to a half-million people, contributed to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II and allowed the Islamic State to emerge as a global terror threat.

Economically speaking Russia is a Second World country, India is Third World. But Syria is a tragic choice for theatrics between the two former Cold War military rivals. The right thing has to be done. The tragedy has to come to an end.

Trump’s Only Appeal Is Racism And Sexism

The guy's numbers don't add up. His round up and deport everybody plan runs into the hundreds of billions, just on logistics. The political meltdown around the idea also has to be factored in. He has been selling the wall like it were the Brooklyn Bridge.

The dude lacks basic knowledge. He doesn't know the difference between the nuclear code and the air conditioner.

He will be the oldest person ever to become president. And he eats burgers and burgers only. This fast food maniac is a heart attack waiting to happen. His cholesterol levels are as high as one of the Trump Towers.

He has disdain for democracy itself, not just Mexicans.

The guy is offering nothing but hatred. This guy is but David Duke who got half a billion from his father and a billion in tax breaks. And that adds up to less than his net worth. No, he has not been creating wealth in the private sector.

But he is a more rabid sexist more than anything else. He is peddling the thought that only men can look presidential. He is talking about "wide shoulders."

Mussolini has come to America.

America Is Ageing And Immigration Is The Solution

Looks like immigration is not only America's past but also its future. America has an ageing population. The only way to keep the economy vibrant is by not only legalizing those already here but welcoming more people.

Hillary And Young Women

Hillary becoming president is different from Indira Gandhi or Benazir Bhutto becoming Prime Minister, or even Margaret Thatcher. The gender churn that I see following Hillary like a tornado's tail, I did not see with the others. There seems to be a basic structure to sexism that seems to be the exact same across cultures and income brackets and so this churn has global implications and I am uber interested. And to me the most surprising part is why aren't at least 80% women rallying behind Hillary? Gender is more defining for women than race is for black men. Hillary Clinton is not any more dishonest and untrustworthy or unreal than Barack Obama. She is definitely more qualified now than Obama was in 2008 and Bill Clinton in 1992, and I am safely quoting Obama on that.

Barack Obama was the most promising president when he started in 2009. Let's face it. There was no other black president track record. It was 100% promise, 0% track record. And even now, eight years later, a black man needs to be super duper qualified to become president. This country remains racist. Trump is proof.

Hillary is the most qualified presidential candidate since the country was founded. The Clintons have attracted so much venom on national stage because these are people from modest backgrounds. There are not too many dynasties in Arkansas. Call it classism. Bill Clinton's origins are quite Democratic.

Martin Luther King had to struggle also against black folks when he fought segregation. Sexism has widespread female support.

If Hillary is at least equally qualified to Barack Obama is it not unfair he became president first? Strictly chronological logic wise, yes. It was unfair. Obama is still a young man. But in terms of race and gender it makes more sense Obama went in first. Being president does not shield you from racism. Hillary needed to see. And she saw. In many ways gender is a tougher nut to crack. The gender churn of the election campaign will likely be eclipsed by the gender churn she will see in office. The churn might be global. But it has to be that way. Gender will be a persistent topic. I don't know of a better way to make progress on gender except by talking about gender. Sometimes it might make tactical sense to talk about other policy issues to make progress, but mostly there will be no avoiding it. And the progress will depend less on how enlightened her views are and more on how much 160 million women are willing to engage and make the call.

This is not about symbolism. This is about making concrete, measurable progress on gender.

Domestic violence is the number one security threat on the planet right now and has been for a long time. There are education, health and micro credit issues. There is plain basic democracy.

This is one planet, one world. No walls are possible or even desirable. On that note, as they say in New York, there is a bridge on the East River I would like to sell Donald Trump.

Women have to want a first female president. How can you not? I so badly wanted a first black president I had precisely zero personal expectations of Barack Obama. He could have snoozed for eight years and I would not have broken a twig. Because a first black president was such a major breaking of barrier. A first female president is a much bigger breaking of barriers. Sexism is sickness. It is a heart disease. It drags everybody down, not just women. Hillary Clinton getting into the Oval Office liberates both men and women. Young men, take note.

Donald Trump is a sick human being. This guy is not just offended by Mexicans and women, he is offended by the very idea of democracy. This is the fascist the founding fathers predicted might come along. And now he is here.

If Donald Trump becomes president, 2016 will be  for America what 1945 was for Britain. America as you know it is over. Britain remained a democracy. America is not going to be that lucky. Modern fascism does conduct elections.

In my personal memory the choice has never been more stark in an American election. And my readings of history say the same thing. Not in the time of Napoleon, not in the time of Hitler, America never flirted with fascism until now.

All human beings have been created equal by the Creator. That eternal spiritual truth was put to test by putting a black man in the White House. And it is time to put a woman in there. Because all human beings have been created special.

Young women and women in general don't struggle with Hillary. What they struggle with is their internalized sexism. The culture is so steeped in sexism, the media in this country is so saturated with sexism, it is but understandable that women have internalized much of the sexism. But they do have to struggle against it. You can kick the can down the road, but for how long?

Emails and Benghazi and pretty much every slob of mud thrown at her for decades now has been facts-free sexism, completely unhinged from facts and logic. The FBI found no wrong doing on emails. Respect the verdict, or fire the FBI. There is not a third option. A population that could not load Windows onto a computer is all riled up about the deep intricacies of one email server that has caused precisely zero harm. On Benghazi, go after the Department Of Defense. If that is not good enough for you, go after the president. The common sense thing would be, though, to hold Al Qaeda responsible.

There was nothing to Whitewater, absolutely nothing, nada, zilch.

Hillary Clinton is a dream candidate. She by now probably knows every side to every issue. She really really knows her stuff. She knows the policy stuff, she knows the politics. She probably knows half the world leaders by name. Most world leaders on stage have already worked with her. That is surreal.

It is tougher to be president of America than it is to be a surgeon. Donald Trump is GED. Don't take this guy to your surgery table. Unless you happen to be suicidal. In that case most definitely keep this dude at bay.

Hillary would be a great person to have as president even if she were male. She just knows her stuff. You could think of her as a political astronaut. She is a rocket scientist when it comes to public policy.

She is much appreciated globally. Like there was this time when Obama was more popular in Canada than in America. Send him over here, they kept saying. God heard them and gave them Justin.

One hopes Hillary's rise in America will see women rise up to high political offices all over the world. Japan might be next after Germany, Britain and, hopefully, America.     

Senator Elizabeth Warrior

Senator Elizabeth Warren's Native American last name must have been Warrior. It got anglicized to Warren. She should perhaps reclaim her original last name, like Calcutta went back to being Kolkata, and Bombay reverted to Mumbai and Bangalore is now Bengaluru again.

The name change can wait. But the fight is now. She is 100% committed to seeing the first woman president. She should tweet a few times a week from now until that magic day in November. That will be enough to neutralize the venom and irrationality and megalomania that is Donald Trump. No one does it as good as Warren. She gets the theatrics just right.

I thought this guy was just stupid. He is a fascist. The only thing more dangerous than a fascist is a stupid fascist.  

America And Democracy

America is not just another country like Ireland. It is an idea. The idea is democracy. The idea is that all human beings have been created equal by the Creator.

America was founded with the goal of a total spread of democracy. What is the progress report? It snatched western Europe from the fascists and Eastern Europe from the communists, but is that it? White America saved white Europe. Is that it? Does democracy have a white skin? Does equality have a skin color?

Human beings have been created in the image of God, all human beings, everywhere.

This has to become a country where blacks and Latinos and Asians and women of all stripes feel equally at home, otherwise this country is going to fail at its founding mission of a total spread of democracy.

Nobody more un-American has ever run for the presidency of the United States than the clown Donald Trump. Clowns can be dangerous. Trump is proof.

Muslims have to feel at home in America before democracy will spread in the Muslim countries. America is that kind of a country.

Christians For Hillary

Christians feeling disenfranchised by a Republican Party hijacked by Donald Trump and who feel like they have hit a political stalemate by revisiting abortion and same-sex marriage every election now have an opportunity to leave the GOP and champion for issues such as, poverty, human rights, gun control, and climate change which are surprisingly led by Democrats.

Hate toward another human being created in the image of God is a violation of the greatest commandment, “to love the Lord with all your heart mind and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Christians have always believed in protecting God’s creation and today more Christians are taking a stand on climate change.  Christians arestrong advocates of helping refugees and have broken away from their political base on the Syrian refugee crisis to voice their concerns, sending a clear message that neither party should politicize people in need.  

What Is Sexist About Trump's White "Nationalism"

Women should be more offended than Mexicans. For Trump's "white nationalism" to make any sense, Hillary would have to be black, or Hispanic, or some other version of non white.

What Trump refers to as white nationalism and others refer to as racism is but rabid sexism. A woman is not capable of projecting cultural pride. You need a bad mannered boorish man.

Hillary's New Deal

Hillary's New Deal: How a Clinton Presidency Could Transform America

This is the choice Americans face – between alternatives as starkly opposed to each other as in any election in our history, excepting the one in 1860, which led to the Civil War.

There on the convention stage was Sanders himself, railing against "the 40-year decline of our middle class" and "the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that we currently experience." There was Sen. Elizabeth Warren, explaining how the system is rigged for CEOs and predators like Trump. And there, too, was Hillary Clinton, proclaiming that "Democrats are the party of working people," but the party needed to show it better; then saying, "Our economy isn't working the way it should because our democracy isn't working the way it should"; and touting a government program funded by targeted tax hikes on the rich, the "biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II," to rebuild America's infrastructure.

Clinton's program for battling economic inequality is another series of reinventions in the broad New Deal tradition. Her proposals include middle-class tax credits to be covered by raising taxes on the very wealthiest Americans and by closing tax loopholes; raising the federal minimum wage by 66 percent to $12 an hour, while supporting a $15 minimum in individual cities and states; protecting labor unions' collective-bargaining rights; and reducing child-care costs. To address the problems of climate change unimaginable to earlier generations, she has called for the installation of half a billion solar panels by the end of her first term, with the goal of providing clean renewable energy to every household in the country by 2027.

Unfair Coverage

Unfair To A Woman

Running for president is both exhausting and stressful; in 2004, John Kerry also came down with pneumonia during his presidential campaign. 

Clinton's e-mails now rival the Watergate scandal as one of the most reported stories in political history.

The offensive against Hillary Clinton fits into the context of a much larger cultural and political assault: the Republican-led "War on Women," a term that's been maligned and in some ways overused, but nonetheless speaks to the lengthy and concerted effort on the part of the GOP to control women's bodies and wages in order to reduce women's power. It's mostly forgotten that Republicans, not Democrats, were the original champions of women's rights: leading the charge for women's suffrage and also backing the Equal Rights Amendment from its inception in 1923 to its proposed ratification in 1972. This changed toward the end of the Nixon administration, which seized the opportunity to exploit cultural fears of women's liberation – much in the way it embraced racism in the South – for political gain.

If the State Department e-mails reveal anything, it's evidence of the kind of garden-variety access and favoritism that, unappealing and corrosive as it may be, is not only what Washington runs on, but what most industries run on, including journalism. Perhaps a more damning example of favoritism would be what Vice President Dick Cheney showed for Halliburton, the company he once ran, which went on to become one of the main profiteers of the Iraq War that Cheney so aggressively pushed for. Halliburton, dogged by allegations of corrupt billing practices, made $39 billion off Iraq. Cheney, accused of many things, including pay for play, rarely saw his capacity to lead called into question.

Feminist psychologist Carol Gilligan is fascinated by the dislike that young women, in particular, seem to have for Hillary Clinton. "They project on her the same kind of contempt they used on each other in seventh grade," she says. "And when you ask why, you hear, well, it's e-mails. It's that she stayed with Bill Clinton. But the reasons they give never explain the intensity of the dislike – and what's more, there's permission for that; they don't have to explain it."

"This entire race is about gender," says Gilligan, who continues to marvel at how many obstacles exist for women in America. "Those are the issues that are playing out now, through Hillary Clinton."