American Presidential candidates GoP/Dems

[easytiger123]

andymadmak said:

What a dismal prospect. Mr Trump or Mrs Clinton. Neither warm the cockles of my heart. Both slimy. Both with questionable attitudes to the truth. Both egotistical.

I suppose that Mrs Clinton refrains from some of the more outrageous rhetoric that appears to be Mr Trump's stock in trade, or at least she does so in public!

And still the political elites don't get why millions are voting for Mr Trump, or Mr Sanders . Had the GOP and the Dems even begun to understand what was happening in the minds of the American people then maybe the results would have been different. The fact is that not only is the political class despised and hated, it has also lost the trust of the electorate across the board. (Except for Unrepentant, who clearly believes in Mrs Clinton with a fervour that borders on the obsessive)

So we now have a contest in the making between the unspeakable and the unpalatable. The prize is control of the most powerful nation on earth. It remains to be seen whether voter anger will drive a Trump victory. I doubt it will, but then again, frankly , I wouldn't be putting a bet on a Clinton victory either.

What a mess.

Pretty much sums up my view entirely, with the exception that I firmly believe that the disenchantment with political elites you mention will drive a Trump victory. I think he is far from being a moron, and knows exactly what he's saying and will modify his words accordingly as the campaign progresses. He is tapping into that disenchantment in a way Hillary can never begin to do. Either way, it's a desperate choice for the American voters.

[CanAm]

Sam All said:

andymadmak said:

Clinton or Trump - What a mess.

That's about the size of it - "none of the above" seems favourite.

If ever there was a time for Car & Driver to bring back the "Dan Gurney For President"campaign!
Apologies if this has already been quoted on an earlier page.

[AreOut]

Countdown said:

Now, going back to Trump's statement - it is yet another stupid bit of huffpuffery from the Moron. He says he's "going to remember"..... ooooohhhh, scary! What's he going to do? Wait behind the bikesheds after school? Tell his dad? I'm tempted to say it's the most meaningless thing he's ever said but to be honest he's said that much rubbish that I might be wrong.

if you missed it he is 3/1 to become the CIC of a military that could obliterate whole UK in a couple of hours

[wc98]

AreOut said:

Countdown said:

Now, going back to Trump's statement - it is yet another stupid bit of huffpuffery from the Moron. He says he's "going to remember"..... ooooohhhh, scary! What's he going to do? Wait behind the bikesheds after school? Tell his dad? I'm tempted to say it's the most meaningless thing he's ever said but to be honest he's said that much rubbish that I might be wrong.

if you missed it he is 3/1 to become the CIC of a military that could obliterate whole UK in a couple of hours

if he actually becomes president of the united states, i think the explosion of unrepentants head may take half the planet out , never mind the uk

[Northbloke]

Countdown,

Trump's M.O. is pretty transparent, in fact he actually tells you what it is. He's nice to you but if you attack him he will 100% attack you back. Classic Tit for Tat game theory. If you've ever played Killer at darts with a group of people you'll know it is a very effective strategy; it makes others back off.

The media people and the other Republican candidates found this out pretty early on. It may be why Cruz lasted so long as he kept on the right side of Trump until the end when the others had already been "Trumped" out of the contest.

This incident is just another episode reinforcing that "Tough guy" stance (on a low level target in Khan) so when he gets into more meaningful negotiations in the future (Putin?) they will be more wary of crossing him.

You could argue it was very negligent of Cameron to pick an unnecessary fight with someone who as AreOut says may soon control the world's biggest military.

[Sam All]

wc98 said:

if he actually becomes president of the united states, i think the explosion of unrepentants head may take half the planet out , never mind the uk

[Countdown]

AreOut said:

Countdown said:

Now, going back to Trump's statement - it is yet another stupid bit of huffpuffery from the Moron. He says he's "going to remember"..... ooooohhhh, scary! What's he going to do? Wait behind the bikesheds after school? Tell his dad? I'm tempted to say it's the most meaningless thing he's ever said but to be honest he's said that much rubbish that I might be wrong.

if you missed it he is 3/1 to become the CIC of a military that could obliterate whole UK in a couple of hours

Ooooooooooh.....

Couple of points - even HE is not cretinous enough to believe that he could nuke somebody just because they called him a moron. ( he'd run out of nukes pretty damn quick if he did). If he actually DID try then AFAIK we would be tempted to lob some back in his direction.

In that respect I'm far more worried about Kim Jong Un that Spunktrumpet.

[GavinPearson]

stuckmojo said:

- Under her stewardship as secretary of state the US sunk to their lowest point since the war in Vietnam. The Middle East flared up everywhere and they even managed to get their own ambassador murdered.

This little nugget of diplomacy makes me really worry about trigger-happy Donald Trump, yeah:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn6yktWU5qA

some CV.

But fear not, she'll win as her sponsors (banks, pharma, powers that be, government leeches) have too much invested in the status quo and she is perfect to continue the great work done in the last 10/15 years.

Ah, and as for the great Obama economy: http://www.businessinsider.com/pew-research-center...

Thanks. I hadn't seen those clips. The first doesn't show Mrs Clinton in a good light, particularly now that Libya has a huge level of instability as a result of her actions (I am assuming that her speaking about it in the clip means she is claiming responsibility).

[GavinPearson]

unrepentant said:

As well as being Sec of State (second most important job in government)

When you take your US Citizenship test you will realize the order is:
President
Vice President
Speaker

It's an important job but not as important as the ones above.

[Bill]

Northbloke said:

Countdown,

Trump's M.O. is pretty transparent, in fact he actuLly tells you what it is. He's nice to you but if you attack him he will 100% attack you back. Classic Tit for Tat game theory. If you've ever played Killer at darts with a group of people you'll know it is a very effective strategy; it makes others back off.

The media people and the other Republican candidates found this out pretty early on. It may be why Cruz lasted so long as he kept on the right side of Trump until the end when the others had already been "Trumped" out of the contest.

This incident is just another episode reinforcing that "Tough guy" stance (on a low level target in Khan) so when he gets into more meaningful negotiations in the future (Putin?) they will be more wary of crossing him.

You could argue it was very negligent of Cameron to pick an unnecessary fight with someone who as AreOut says may soon control the world's biggest military.

I'm sure it looks good to some, but imo it makes him look like a putulant child. He's a lightweight.

[JagLover]

Countdown said:

Ooooooooooh.....

Couple of points - even HE is not cretinous enough to believe that he could nuke somebody just because they called him a moron. ( he'd run out of nukes pretty damn quick if he did). If he actually DID try then AFAIK we would be tempted to lob some back in his direction.

In that respect I'm far more worried about Kim Jong Un that Spunktrumpet.

It is not about crazy theories of an American attack.

We have a guy who since about February or March has had a decent chance of becoming the next president of the most powerful nation on earth. Rather than diplomatically keeping their opinions to themselves many British politicians think it is a great opportunity to indulge in some virtue signalling.

[Sam All]

Countdown said:

AreOut said:

Countdown said:

Now, going back to Trump's statement - it is yet another stupid bit of huffpuffery from the Moron. He says he's "going to remember"..... ooooohhhh, scary! What's he going to do? Wait behind the bikesheds after school? Tell his dad? I'm tempted to say it's the most meaningless thing he's ever said but to be honest he's said that much rubbish that I might be wrong.

if you missed it he is 3/1 to become the CIC of a military that could obliterate whole UK in a couple of hours

Ooooooooooh.....

Couple of points - even HE is not cretinous enough to believe that he could nuke somebody just because they called him a moron. ( he'd run out of nukes pretty damn quick if he did). If he actually DID try then AFAIK we would be tempted to lob some back in his direction.

In that respect I'm far more worried about Kim Jong Un that Spunktrumpet.

So infantile. Foolish to ignore Trump, the bookies are not and they love their money. Trump victory us no longer 500-1

[Jockman]

Sam All said:

So infantile. Foolish to ignore Trump, the bookies are not and they love their money. Trump victory us no longer 500-1

Trumpton was never 500-1 in a 2 horse race. Almost 2/1 now but Clinton still 4/11.

[scherzkeks]

The thing I find rather interesting about Trump is that he isn't a conservative. He is for minimum wages going up, he is against imperialistic wars for resources, he wants to bring back manufacturing jobs from overseas, is anti-TTP, is for overhauling the healthcare system to introduce competition, wants out of NATO, and is for improving relations with BRICs nations. He's also got a history of supporting traditional Democratic values and politicians (as indcated in an earlier post).

If he weren't such a huckster, he might actually be a half decent candidate.

[unrepentant]

GavinPearson said:

unrepentant said:

As well as being Sec of State (second most important job in government)

When you take your US Citizenship test you will realize the order is:
President
Vice President
Speaker

It's an important job but not as important as the ones above.

I disagree. VP is not a more important job than Sec of State. Most VP's are have little more than ceremonial duties (think Dan Quayle, now imagine him doing something taxing or important). Speaker is not even a government job as he is often (as in this case) an agent of the opposition. He has no brief from the president. The sec of state runs a huge department, deals with mighty issues and advises the president on them (taking out Bin Laden for instance).

In other news it is being seriously suggested that right at the top of Trump's list to be his VP candidate is.......... Sarah Palin. I guess everyone else has said no except Christie but Palin? The moron in chief? Please let it be so.

[wc98]

scherzkeks said:

The thing I find rather interesting about Trump is that he isn't a conservative. He is for minimum wages going up, he is against imperialistic wars for resources, he wants to bring back manufacturing jobs from overseas, is anti-TTP, is for overhauling the healthcare system to introduce competition, wants out of NATO, and is for improving relations with BRICs nations. He's also got a history of supporting traditional Democratic values and politicians (as indcated in an earlier post).

If he weren't such a huckster, he might actually be a half decent candidate.

this is the crazy thing. i take it many americans would vote for those policies (a bit like his policies on tax in the funny video posted earlier) but would find it really hard to vote for trump.

[scherzkeks]

wc98 said:

this is the crazy thing. i take it many americans would vote for those policies (a bit like his policies on tax in the funny video posted earlier) but would find it really hard to vote for trump.

Well, as an American, I think his biggest hurdle to overcome is his image, which he has solidified over years. He was always a punchline of sorts (though he was never viewed as dangerous).

His history (politically speaking) and his proposed policies are why many current Repubs want to stop him or will vote for Hillary.

This makes perfect sense given the alignment of the parties via neo-liberalism and conservatism, and the resulting policies that have accellerated our decline. A vote for Hillary is a vote to drive the country off a cliff. With Trump there is a great deal that is unknown, but I personally still don't feel any one candidate could make a difference at this point.

[AreOut]

JagLover said:

It is not about crazy theories of an American attack.

We have a guy who since about February or March has had a decent chance of becoming the next president of the most powerful nation on earth. Rather than diplomatically keeping their opinions to themselves many British politicians think it is a great opportunity to indulge in some virtue signalling.

Yupp, you explained that for me.

[wc98]

scherzkeks said:

but I personally still don't feel any one candidate could make a difference at this point.

i think most of the uk feel the same regarding our own politicians.

[unrepentant]

wc98 said:

scherzkeks said:

but I personally still don't feel any one candidate could make a difference at this point.

i think most of the uk feel the same regarding our own politicians.

Ironically though a British Prime Minister with a decent majority can do a lot more than most Presidents. Here we have the "checks and balances" of congress which can curb excesses and the president often has to deal with a congress that is hostile to him (see Obama). A British PM with a good majority and a big personality can browbeat their own side into submission use the whipping system and the parliament Act to get all sorts of crazy through (see Thatcher, Blair).