Trump A Gift for Obama
Donald Trump has now announced that he will launch a third-party charge for the Presidency next May, after the next season of his television show, if the economy hasn’t improved and he isn’t impressed with the Republican candidate. This announcement was made a few days ago after he trashed Obama for having “no clue,” pronounced that he saw no greatness in any of the existing Republican candidates, and once again completely chastised Paul Ryan for having the guts to tell the American people the truth.
Whenever I listen to Trump’s rants, I am reminded of two of my favorite sayings: “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem” and “Beware of those who won’t be bothered with details.”
No matter how you cut it, Trump is not part of the solution. He is jerking around the press and the public to create headlines for himself. Nothing more. He adores the attention. His latest third party threat is designed to create another “contingent gotcha” – an ongoing risk that he will assure Obama’s reelection by splitting the anti-Obama vote. And, of course, it will continue to generate headlines, interviews and hype for himself until he makes his final decision roughly a year from now.
This would be no big deal if people saw Trump for what he really is. But given the bigness of the guy’s ego, his know-it-all attitude, and his harsh rhetoric, many scared Americans are impressed with his broad, bold pronouncements that promise the moon and offer nothing constructive. He will forever express disgust with Obama, while he continually undermines and marginalizes those real candidates who are putting it all on the line to end Obama’s reign. The bottom line impact of his input is that many fence-sitters will either check out completely or default to Obama as the media twists Trump’s rants to hurt the ultimate Republican candidate. Trump is part of the problem. Whether he gets in (a very long shot) or stays out, he’s a gift for Obama.
And, of course, the guy doesn’t like to mess with details. His claim is that, with his “art of the deal” mastery, he can negotiate America back to prosperity by playing hardball with the rest of the world. He doesn’t tackle or focus on the specifics of our most threatening challenges – Medicare, for example. Instead, he openly advocates “playing politics” to insure that ignorant boomers and seniors are not scared with the truth. And he always faintly implies that his negotiating ploys may boost the economy so much that our monstrous, unsustainable crisis will disappear. When I listen to the guy, I question whether he has any real grasp of the magnitude of the numbers. He loves to talk tough and lambast those who try to force an open discussion of details, while offering nothing constructive.
We have experienced for over two years a leader who operates only off of big slogans, believes he can solve problems with the strength of his personality, doesn’t bother with details, and forever “plays politics” by ducking the tough stuff and pandering to the uninformed. We don’t need another one of these.
We are at a critical juncture. Years of short-sighted, gutless leadership on both sides of the aisle have created unprecedented problems that can no longer be ignored. The future of our country and our posterity are at stake. We need serious solutions and serious leaders who have the capacity to move us forward. Trump offers neither. The media will keep a light focused on him because he is good headline material and everything he does and threatens to do helps their golden boy Obama. The challenge for individuals is to just ignore the guy.
Dwight Drake is an experienced planning lawyer, law professor, and business owner. He teaches business, tax and planning course at the University of Washington School of Law. He is the author of the PlainTalk Planning online educational service ( http://www.plaintalkplanning.com). For more information about Professor Drake and access to his other works, go to http://www.drakeplaintalkplanning.com.
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