You might want to take a look at William McGurn’s column in the Wall Street Journal. In the column he muses over what some people think of as unthinkable: the prospect that Donald Trump might actually win the election. He opens with a characterization of Mr. Trump from of all people Al Sharpton that rehabilitates Mr. Sharpton somewhat in my eyes:
Leave it to Al Sharpton to come up with the most compelling analogy for Mr. Trump: another New York promoter.
“The best way I can describe Donald Trump to friends is to say if Don King had been born white he’d be Donald Trump,†Mr. Sharpton told Politico earlier this year.
If that’s not an example of praising with faint damns I don’t know what is.
Mr. McGurn addresses several of the arguments that people put forward for why Trump can’t possibly win one at a time. For example, here are some of his remarks on Mr. Trump’s high negatives in opinion polls. After noting that Sec. Clinton, too, has high negatives he says:
David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama’s successful 2008 campaign, has been warning Democrats not to take a Clinton victory for granted in the event Mr. Trump is the Republican nominee.
He has also consistently reminded Democrats that the coalition that sent Mr. Obama to the White House—including women, minorities and young voters—is not one Mrs. Clinton can take for granted. She needs to earn their support, he says. Right now the Bernie Sanders wins are highlighting some of her soft spots, including with young women.
Verbum sat sapienti est
I think the better question is what states could Trump carry that were carried by President Obama in the 2012 general election? We don’t elect presidential candidates at large. Is Sec. Clinton likely to carry any states that President Obama did not while holding on to the states he did win?
We are too far out to have any clear idea on a Hillary vs. Trump race. The choice is binary but at the moment there are 5 people still in the race. Plus:
1) Trump’s negatives aren’t just bad, they are amazing. He’s under water by 2 to 1. With women he’s at the bottom of the pool trapped in the drain. Ditto with minority voters.
2) He is too lazy and too dumb to prepare. (Betcha a dollar he’s got ADD.) His Q and A with the NYT shows that if he were commenting here, all of us – every single one of us – would be laughing at him and calling him an ignoramus. His stupidity married to his psychopathic instincts causes him to suffer multiple self-inflicted wounds. Those wounds are piling up.
3) Trump effectively insulates Hillary against the usual charges: that she hasn’t really done much; that she’s changed opinions on various issues; that she is dishonest. Trump is an empty suit whose changing views reduce HRC’s to relative insignificance. As for dishonesty? Hah!
4) Trump has a yuge, glaring weakness in addition to his stupidity and ignorance: he is childishly obsessed with insults directed at him. He goes on for thousands of words (still!) defending the size of his hands. And when he’s insulted he launches childish personal attacks – the man has no self-control.
5) Trump is a pig. We can debate whether he’s a fascist or just an opportunist. We can debate the true nature of his business. We can guess whether he is more George Wallace or Silvio Berlusconi or Hitler. But here’s the thing: the man is a pig, that is not debatable. He isn’t just a sexist, he has open contempt for women. He is a vile, sleazy, vulgar ignoramus and hate-monger. The American people may be ready for that, and if they are, I’m ready to leave the country because if the people really want this pig then I am in the wrong country.
““The best way I can describe Donald Trump to friends is to say if Don King had been born white he’d be Donald Trump,”
That’s hair-raising.
“He is too lazy and too dumb to prepare. ”
I’ve read that he has no ground organization. I guess he thinks the elves will do the work.
If name calling wins the contest, you’ve already won. Still think it’s going to be D.J. Trump, because the “soon to be extinct” white males are actually not yet dead, and have no use for any more Clintons. Also, the Obama supporters will stay home, because she is not as physically attractive as ” the One we have been waiting for” ,was.