is it really possible that Donald trump could be president????? [Part 2]

[claig]

From now on the race becomes winner take all. If Trump wins Florida on March 15, it is probably all over.

'The Republican Party now has 14 days to stop Trump'

www.vox.com/2016/3/2/11144812/super-tuesday-results-donald-trump-wins

There's hardly ever great candidates. Even Obama didn't seem that great, despite seeming genuine.
Because most people have faults and limitations.
Except Trump who presents himself as god given. And that in itself should set alarms going in people's heads.

Trump is a buffoon. Unsuitable for president. But Cruz? - do we want an extremist in the White House. She may be Marmite but pls vote Hillary.

'Even Obama didn't seem that great, despite seeming genuine.
Because most people have faults and limitations. '

No, because Obama was a captive of Wall Street who bailed them out, just as Hillary would be a captive of them and as Bush would have been etc.

None of these candidates are super wealthy and therefore they aren't independent, they need campaign financing which means that Trump says they are "bought and paid for" and are "puppets".

Trump transcends the whole game because he is a billionaire and doesn't need any money, he is self-financing.

Only Trump insults the whole lot of them and says that he is working for teh American people and not any of them. That is why he is so popular and that is why he gets such huge voter turnout.

I think history will be kind to Obama. Look at the trajectory of the American economy since he took office, and compare it to what's happened in most other developed economies in the same period. He's also without doubt the most intelligent, educated and articulate US president of my adult lifetime.

Hillary isn't a great candidate but she is a good one - she has political experience, she's tough, she's intelligent. She's also prepared to admit to making mistakes and changing her mind. I have issues with her but I would vote for her. I like Sanders too, don't get me wrong (I'm an old leftie like him) - but I have doubts about his ability to deliver.

None of the republican candidates are objectively anywhere close to being as impressive as either Clinton or Sanders. Among them, only Cruz is blessed with a decent set of brains, and only Kasich with any dignity and pragmatism. If you combined all the best bits of all the republican candidates you might (only might) be able to field one electable candidate ...

'But Cruz? - do we want an extremist in the White House'

Yes, I think Hillary would beat Cruz quite easily. Cruz will not appeal to enough voters.

The Republican nomination this year is definitely dire, indeed.
Not that the ones who got elected before were anything decent. I think it was mostly a matter of lack of a strong Democratic candidate. And it could easily happen again.
I'd rather have had McCain again as alternative.

Gore was a good candidate who should have been president.

Don't forget that amercan elections are decided by a handful of states. Demographics have changed significantly in the last two decades, making it easier to elect a good democratic candidate, and harder to elect a good republican one (if there were one).

I agree with you Mistigri.
I do think people are somewhat unfair on Obama.
I never expected him to solve all the big issues in the US, as there's a lot to overcome, but he did manage to start Obama care, which was long overdue, and managed to avoid getting into a major war. He's also starting to shift the war on drugs to addressing the users rather than the traffickers.
I'd hate to see those steps destroyed by the Republicans even if things are tough at home. Newsflash, they aren't great in many countries and it was kick started with greedy US lenders.

Mistigri, here is an interesting article that says that US elections come down to 7 states. But the article ignores the fact that Trump thinks he will bring states into play such as Michigan and New York. This article has it all coming down to New Hampshire where it thinks Trump will win.

"Get ready for President Trump, says election whiz who’s scary accurate"

nypost.com/2016/02/25/get-ready-for-president-trump-says-election-whiz-whos-scary-accurate/

Sorry, this is the article that talks about the seven states and New Hampshire

www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2016/03/01/president-donald-trump-likely-the-next-occupant-of-the-white-house

President Obama has also advanced LGBT rights and he got the Violence Against Women Act reauthorized, which was a Clinton administration legislative initiative, by the way, authored by then Senator Joe Biden and his staff.

But the article ignores the fact that Trump thinks he will bring states into play such as Michigan and New York

I think that sums up your posts quite nicely.

What Trump thinks are not facts.

Mistigri-I hear you on Sanders' ability to deliver, but I have come to believe that even if he cannot deliver much of what he would like to, having him in office will advance the conversation immensely.

There was a pro-Sanders march and rally in my city a few weeks ago, and there was a very varied population of people in attendance. I have never seen a march and rally like that, one done just out of love for a candidate, but not because of a larger event taking place. It was just a march, to express support for Bernie Sanders.

I have this fantasy that Sanders get elected and if/when he has trouble getting some of his plans formalized, he calls upon the American people to come to Washington, camp out in front of the White House, and help him convince Congress/the Senate. Can you imagine that? Wouldn't that be beautiful?

getS elected, not get elected

Well, early voting has started in Florida. I'm off to vote in the Democratic primary. For Hillary.

On the capacity to deliver, I suppose that's what you need good West Wing people for.
But the will to do something worthwhile needs to be there to start with.

< joins pitiless in happy Bernie fantasy >

< joins lweji in West Wing fantasy > Yes, Jeff Bartlett would have been a most wonderful US President, brilliant and ethical with a staff likewise.

Always amazes me with so much talent in the US population that you seem to end up with even stupider & sleezier politicians than ours, especially on the right.

I agree Obama has achieved a decent amount and hopefully will be regarded more kindly by future generations than he is now.
His achievements were despite the disgusting racism that Repugnants continually displayed against him. Horrible racist placards (which I won't post) in their protest rallies. Utter shits.
Repugs in Congress even forced a federal shutdown twice - if Trump were elected, he'd find it hard to be more batshit than that !

Outside America, I think Obama is generally viewed positively isn't he? (at least in Europe)

Pitiless I think just having Sanders give Clinton a run for her money has already been extremely positive, in terms of pushing Clinton leftward, forcing her to defend her positions, and encouraging substantive debate. As I said, I'm a fan but as a realist (and as a professional crystal ball gazer aka forecaster ) I don't think he has much of a chance - he can't be ruled out completely but he has a mountain to climb.

Unemployment rates under Obama

The red line showing a sharp rise with the economic crisis and a steady decrease to levels pre-crisis.

The question is who to blame for the crisis that kicked started it. Could it be unregulated mortgage lending and toxic debt built up under Bush?
Unfortunately, it's Obama who gets tarnished with high unemployment under his mandate.

US unemployment is low and, objectively, Obama has an excellent record on job creation (you can be more critical about the quality of those jobs of course).

Wages are falling. Job creation is one thing. Look closely at the numbers and it isn't pretty with the wages for those jobs being low.

Obama has been pretty much of a disaster in every facet. It isn't his fault because he was handed an impossible job.

Yes, but it's still in recovery.
It could stabilise or go very bad again.

Oh I wish that was going to be the case. I see a big downturn coming this year. Sometime in Q2 or Q3 I think. Billions has been pumped into the economy to bring about stability.

It's not only the US many countries face similar problems.

The wage issue is not one that could reasonably be addressed by a democratic president with a hostile senate and congress. And some of it is largely outside of the federal remit anyway eg minimum wages.

The issue of low wages in most developed countries goes back to the issue of income equality and "trickle down" economics (the biggest con ever perpetrated on voters).