Who should be the next president?

[Rev. Powell]

I don't see how trump can lose at this point. The country isn't going to rally around Hillary Clinton

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/01/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-poll/

A lot can change but I think exactly the opposite. Anyone the Dems nominate should beat Trump comfortably. Trump has very high positives with a very small number of Americans and very high negatives with many more. 33% positive, 60% negative.

http://www.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/188936/trump-negative-image.aspx

Hillary is relatively strongly disliked by of 40% (which overlaps with Trump's 33% favorable), but is nowhere near as hated as Trump. The only platform she has to run on is "I'm not Trump."

[lester1/2jr]

people may dislike him but vote for him a la Howard Stern's ratings (according to Private Parts )

[Skull]

Trump ain't doing as well as 'reported.'

Oh? so far he has 319 Delegates... What does the numbers need to be to say he's doing well? I think he's doing better then expected. And it's apparent from Romney's rant that Trump is exceeding expectations.

The only person that can take out Trump is Ted Cruz and Ted Cruz is not going to do it as long as Rubio is in. And listening to Romney's rant he wants the delegates vote split so he can be nominated himself in the convention.

people may dislike him but vote for him a la Howard Stern's ratings (according to Private Parts )

Possible but I have doubts that Trumps dislike numbers are that big. I do agree that not all republicans like Trump. I disagree that those republicans will sit if Trump is nominated (it sort of make me feel like I'm a STUPID a***ole for voting for Bush, McCain and Romney. I never like those fools but I voted for them because I knew the Dem's were worst! ) But I do think (and I think the establishment is finally realizing) that Hillary cannot pull her voters. Heck, I don't see how she is beating Bernie Sanders... the Dems are flocking to Bernie Sanders but Hillary is winning (like I said the system is fixed for her to win the nomination).

[lester1/2jr]

I don't think the person who could lead this country exists. its like trying to get a president of all of Africa. We are too diverse in so many ways to be led by one magical person. DC is obsolete

[ER]

I don't think the person who could lead this country exists. its like trying to get a president of all of Africa. We are too diverse in so many ways to be led by one magical person. DC is obsolete

I think lester is right. Diversity is hazardous to the unifying principles at the heart of any nation's foundation. The very idea that people can believe differently yet believe the same things is a contradiction. Diversity is at the root of every conflict that has ever existed in history, yet we're told it somehow makes our country stronger and more secure. The thing holding the United States together has always been its prosperity moreso than its principles, beautiful though those often are. As if matters weren't precarious enough already in challenging economic times, now we are infusing into our society masses of people with zero basis for valuing or understanding the traditions out of which the nation grew, broadening the diversity of outlook away from unification and toward fragmentation and its resulting chaos. And we wonder why a system that functioned well for two hundred years is so rapidly breaking down. Is it truly such a mystery?

[Skull]

I don't think the person who could lead this country exists. its like trying to get a president of all of Africa. We are too diverse in so many ways to be led by one magical person. DC is obsolete

DC is not really obsolete. It's just that too many people THINK that voting for something else then their party would make a MESSAGE. It doesn't and what it does is hurt the people that are trying to vote against the democratic machine.


Yeah, I think Reagan was an awesome president but the Establishment did a good job in bastardizing conservationism. Those Cruz conservatives need to get off their Cruz high horse and see what's going on. The Establishment don't want Cruz or Trump to win. Rubio goal is not to win, his goal is to prevent Cruz or Trump from getting 1200+ Delegates. The message that Romney gave was to keep the chaos open. If Trump is leading by 200 more Delegates then Cruz should do the correct thing and drop out... unless he wants an open convention, which means Him and Trump are not going to be nominated. And who ever the establishment nominates will not beat Hillary (because too many people are going to be too p**sed off to vote and start pushing a 3rd party!)

[Skull]

I don't think the person who could lead this country exists. its like trying to get a president of all of Africa. We are too diverse in so many ways to be led by one magical person. DC is obsolete

I think lester is right. Diversity is hazardous to the unifying principles at the heart of any nation's foundation. The very idea that people can believe differently yet believe the same things is a contradiction. Diversity is at the root of every conflict that has ever existed in history, yet we're told it somehow makes our country stronger and more secure. The thing holding the United States together has always been its prosperity moreso than its principles, beautiful though those often are. As if matters weren't precarious enough already in challenging economic times, now we are infusing into our society masses of people with zero basis for valuing or understanding the traditions out of which the nation grew, broadening the diversity of outlook away from unification and toward fragmentation and its resulting chaos. And we wonder why a system that functioned well for two hundred years is so rapidly breaking down. Is it truly such a mystery?

Nice :)

I don't see it as much as a mystery. I think a lot has to do with Socialism and the Hippy Movement from the 1960's.


Socialism is a new concept that sort of took off in the later 1800's and a lot of people wanted it to work. In theory it should work - at least it suggest everybody is equal. But in reality some people are always going to be more equal than others. Since the introduction of Socialism, American has been slowly pulling away from it's foundations. The people in government are more focused in reelections then doing the job and going home after it's done; so they use socialism as a tactic.


Hippy movement seemed to think that Socialism can work if the right people are doing it. So there Hippies think they are the right people and they took over the schools and government. And the decay that we've been noticing is based on those Hippies thinking they can make Socialism work.

(sorry this is my cliff-note version on what I think has gone wrong. To really explain this and to show evidence would be writing a 50 page short story.)

[Rev. Powell]

And we wonder why a system that functioned well for two hundred years is so rapidly breaking down. Is it truly such a mystery?

Is the "system breaking down"? People always say that, but I don't see it. We're as prosperous as ever.

[ulthar]

Oh? so far he has 319 Delegates... What does the numbers need to be to say he's doing well?

Did you read the rest of my post?  Have you looked at the details of how the delegates for the remaining primaries pan out?

Let's say Rubio, et al drop out and their delegates pledge for Cruz.  Trump loses, even with just the delegates committed now.  Similar comment if it goes the other way.

Oh.  Here we go.  Actual data rather than wishful thinking:

http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/R-PU.phtml

So Trump has 338 delegates.  He needs over 1200 to win the nomination (and that's IF the party does not block him by other means). Add Rubio's to Cruz's and you have Trump and Crux tied.  So, my statement stands.  Trump is NOT walking away with this thing they way it is being reported and the way people are being led to believe.

Even without adding Rubio's delegates to Trump's, another thing that has to be kept in mind is that many of the states that have not had primaries yet don't go "all or nothing" like SC.

Historically, success in the early primary season means nothing.  This is all just political theater, and Trump in the leading actor.  He's window dressing, and a whole lot of both conservatives and libertarians are waking up to the fact that Trump is a NYC Progressive with a good act.

Trump may well be the next R candidate for President of the United States.  But, I highly doubt it.  We'll see what happens, but we sure can't predict it based on the primaries that have already happened.

[lester1/2jr]

ER -  diversity exists outside of race too though. People in Massachusetts don't have all that much in common with people in Alabama/ the bible belt. I'm sure if someone from one of those places moved to the other they would be pretty baffled, generally speaking.


also our population is over 300 million now. one person leading 300 million people and all those people mailing thousands of dollars into the same place is crazy. The scale of it.

I don't think the random people we elect to go to washington have the ability to spend 5 trillion dollars a year in a logical manner. I don't know that any entity could.

I just don't relate to the 20th century mode of government at all.

 the population in 1790 was 3,929,214 https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?dsrcid=225439#rows:id=1

that s the nation Washington led. strikes me as a lot more manageable

[ER]

lester, diversity absolutely exists outside race. It bugs me when the word gets used in that limited context, as it tends to be in this era.

Your example of people different regions is exactly right, and kind of what I was meaning when I mentioned prosperity being a great unifier. Economics has tied the various regions of America together as strongly as politics, probably even more.

A friend of mine, a New Jersey native who works daily in New York City, remarked just the other day that he doesn't feel like New York is part of the United States, it's an "international city." I think he had a good point since New York definitely has that feel to it.

Japan works extremely well, I admire the Japanese no end, and I think that's a good example of a nation "largely" devoid of heterogeneous populations creating minority communities on any great scale. This has allowed the Japanese to enjoy common similarities of outlook that Americans simply cannot lay claim to. (And, yes, I know there is strife in Japan, but it's not rooted in the same issues or on the same scale as it is in societies where many different culture groups are co-existing.)

Whenever you have diversity, you have a certain amount of disunity, however that diversity is defined, and however that disunity is expressed. Sometimes diversity comes down to the stupidest points of difference, like what church you go to on a Sunday (Northern Ireland), sometimes it's skin color, sometimes it's...well take your pick. If everyone, would live by the golden rule most of the world's problems would cease. A shame that hasn't happened.

The core of what defines a nation (beyond its physical borders) is a set of agreed-upon common values, laws, customs. When those are absent you begin to drift away from nationhood in its purest sense and head more toward something like a federation, often one defined economically, and I think the United States is heading in that direction, assuming it maintains its cohesion for the foreseeable future, as I hope it does. Whoever wins in November is, as you were absolutely right to say, not going to represent everyone, and that internal disunity is one of the two biggest threats to the United States enduring.

As for who will be the next President, the original topic of discussion here, I have to say, however someone wants to examine the underlying causes of what is going on in the (vicious) 2016 race, it is making for an interesting campaign, isn't it?

I know a lot of people reading this won't agree, and that's cool. As Ali G used to say: Respeck. (Which is another thing that'd cure a lot of social ills, basic cordial respect.)

[El Misfit]

And if Bernie Sanders loses the primary (which he should because the democratic voting machine is fixed) all his supporters are going to move to Trump.

I just do not see that happening. The Sanders supporters I see are all far-lefters who despise Trump, not protest voters.

Ditto, sort of.  Some people that I talk too at college say that Trump is too much of an egotist to be taken seriously and that his demeanor would be terrible.

I "support" Sanders since he doesn't come off as a snobbish lunatic as Trumpet, Clinton, Cruz, sorta Rubio does. I say that I "support" him in quotes since I believe that if he was elected POTUS that he would die in office trying to run the US.

[bob]

And if Bernie Sanders loses the primary (which he should because the democratic voting machine is fixed) all his supporters are going to move to Trump.

I'm backing Bernie and should be not get the democratic nomination there's no chance in hell I'm voting for Trump.

[RCMerchant]

I don't think the person who could lead this country exists. its like trying to get a president of all of Africa. We are too diverse in so many ways to be led by one magical person. DC is obsolete

I believe this is true.
I also believe it has ALWAYS been true-except maybe long ago-when diverse people were not allowed to vote-blacks-women. This is not a land of WASP's.We have grown as a country and as a people-the "standerds" Republicans support are outdated,bigoted and rooted in flag waving nostalgia nonsense.-Its time to enter the real world of TODAY. Hitler-(yes-a Nazi reference-which is dam relevant-because Nazism was based on German nostalgia and Nationalism) took advantage of the idea that the people want to go back in time to an era were everything was peachy keen-a white bread 1950's Leave It To Beaver  world that never existed-wake up,people. Welcome to 2016.
Trump is a liar-a con artist who is telling you what you want to hear-he is finger f**king your mind with bulls**t . His aim is POWER. He doesnt want to help YOU-he wants to help himself.
Oh-for the record-I dont support Democrats either-Hillary is riding the coattails of Slick Willy. I dont trust that crazy woman either.
If I had to vote--I'd vote for Bernie Sanders. Yes-hes a Socialist. So f**king what. At this point I would vote for Bugs Bunny before I voted for Trump or Clinton.

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Oh-and this has nothing to do with anything either.

[javakoala]

Let me make it clear that I do not care for the two main camps as well as their ideologies: Republican/conservative and Democrat/liberal. Yes, I'm being very black and white about this, but the biggest problem they both have is corporate rule.

Just as I believe in separation of Church (religion) and State, I think there should be separation of Corporation and State. Both parties bathe in contributions from corporate entities and end up serving corporate interests more than the will of the people.

That being said, the "will" of the people (not everyone, but enough to cause sane people to go insane) seems to be "Huh?". Ridiculously low voter turn out, and a good percentage of those who manage to vote do so based on looks, sound bites, and how well put together the candidates' ads are. If that's the case, then shouldn't George Clooney or Brad Pitt be running for political office. "A candidate is only as good as his/her last movie!"

Continuing with this generalized rant, why not place a ban on mud-slinging attack ads by politicians? I quit watching them because almost every one of them spends the entire time telling you what a scumbag the opponent is. That's nice. Would you like to give me a realistic idea of what you stand for, good sirs? Nope, because they would have to own up to being bought and sold by their contributors as well as shady crap they pray no one discovers until AFTER the election.

They might as well turn elections into reality shows and let the viewers vote by text message. It worked for American Idol, and look at how many slobbering idiots voted each week.

Screw politics. I'm gonna go watch some movies and hope that I'm wiped out in the first few minutes of the Apocalypse that will probably take place in my lifetime.

Oh, and, whoever is the last one standing, remember to turn out the lights when you leave.