10 Thoughts on an election
1. Well... at least the Cubs won.
2. During the campaign, I've said that the Democrats need to be wary about what was happening to the Republican party. I believed (and still do) that the Trump phenomenon was mostly about people's extreme dissatisfaction with "politics as usual". I thought that something similar could happen to the Democrats, if the party wasn't careful. I was wrong in my thinking that something could happen, because something similar was already happening, i.e. Bernie Sanders. As it turns out, it wasn't just conservatives who were tired of all the bullshit coming out of Washington, DC.
I lay this defeat right in the lap of the national Democratic Party who anointed Hillary Clinton the front runner right from the start, and did their level best to make sure she ended up the nominee. If they had been paying attention they would have heard that dissatisfaction coming from the left as well (towards "politics as usual"). With the negatives associated with Trump, this should have been a cake walk for the Democrats. The national party should have paid more attention to where the enthusiasm was. It would have been much easier to run a national campaign based on that kind of enthusiasm (as opposed to one that was continually putting out the brush fires - both legitimate and illegitimate - that dogged Hillary). I believe Bernie would have easily beat Trump.
3. Of course the orange-headed, entitled narcissist will completely misread his victory as being about him rather than the extreme disgust ordinary people felt towards a national government that seemed broken.
4. Trump was not elected because of who or what he is; he was elected in spite of those things. I believe the middle 10% of the people who make the difference in any presidential election, would readily admit that he is a loathsome toad. It's just their disgust with Washington, and the perception that electing Hillary would result in more of the same, was a more significant factor in their estimation.
5. I asked my daughter this question this morning, as I believe it is a question that only females can answer. Is Hillary unlikable to many people because she acts in an unlikable way, or is there a (sexist) double-standard at work? Without hesitation, Grace replied "sexism".
As a male, I have to reluctantly agree with her. I've never been a huge Hillary fan, and I suspect that some of my dislike is influenced by her sex. In other words, I don't believe I would judge a male candidate as harshly if he did some of the things that I found dislikable about Hillary. (Although I try really hard to be aware of this!)
On the other hand, I do feel that some of the negativity Hillary attracted was simply character-based. She always seemed too intoxicated by power (Bill, too, for that matter), and there is no way to argue with the perception that she's an ingrained Washington insider.
(On a side note: I hope this election puts an end to any future Clinton/Bush presidential aspirations)
6. The most important person in Washington DC is Ruth Bader-Ginsberg's personal physician.
7. Watch Justice Roberts carefully. I'm (very) cautiously optimistic that he's not the ideologue conservative he's perceived as - especially if their are extreme efforts to roll back recent civil rights decisions. I hope I'm correct.
8. It'll be fun to watch Trump wiggle out of the many outrageous pronouncements he made during the campaign. (My bold prediction: No wall will ever be built.)
9. Can we now pay attention to the fact that Trump has two criminal trials awaiting him in the next two months?
10. Can we now pay attention to the significance of Russian espionage during the campaign.
