Friday, December 11, 2015

Quotation of the Day

Peggy Noonan, this morning in the Wall Street Journal:

A continuing mystery of Mr. Trump is his failure to impose on himself political discipline. He has been front-runner for six months but he doesn’t act as if he has absorbed the fact that he could become the nominee. At this point he owes it to his country—he owes it to his own ambition!—to become disciplined in terms of statements and policy. It is possible for candidates to be vivid but careful, dramatic but responsible. When you’re winning you can’t just keep pulling it out of your orifices. Mr. Trump’s lack of discipline should worry his supporters. I know it doesn’t, but it should. Because indiscipline shows disrespect. And people pick up on it, they see it.

It is odd too that, as the longtime front-runner, he doesn’t attempt to reassure those who will have some impact on his future, such as state and national party leaders. In his daily actions he could continue to excite his base while subtly signaling to party elders that while he might be an unusual nominee he would, in some recognizable way, be a responsible one. Instead he ties them in knots each day and embarrasses them. That limits his popularity, lowers his ceiling of support, and reinforces the idea he’s an impetuous flake.


He tweets out taunts alerting party stalwarts to his continued popularity in the polls, and noting that while he does not intend to go third-party he certainly could. This is a form of blackmail: Nice little party you’ve got here. Shame if someone blew it up.

4 comments:

Dennis said...

I have never liked playing politics, but that should not convince anyone that I don't know how. The same could be said for Trump in that I don't particularly like Trump, but I recognize a master at what he does, Here is has laid a trap for almost all of our political know betters and it is only now that some of them are starting to figure it out. http://blog.dilbert.com/post/134922324241/the-trump-immigration-surprise-the-trap-is
When one sees very liberal host on CNN and MSNBC get it by asking the question, especially relevant after the latest terrorist attack in California, "What are you going to do to to stop the terrorist's easy access to this country?" I have to think that Trump has thought about what the next terrorist attack on this country will do to the political landscape. We are not talking about whether it will happen, but when.
The smart thing for most people would have been "I don't agree with Trump." Here is my plan for making America safer and to protect this country. It was good to see Cruz and a few others smart enough not to jump feet first into a trap that only benefits Trump. All this animosity has only stregthened Trump and GOD forbid the next terrorist event will make him even more so. One has to see more than what is in front of him in order to deal with Trump and almost every thing in the political arena.
If one has to define the enemy in order to be able to win agains't the terrorists then it might make sense to define Trump, and here "The Art of the Deal" is instructive, in order to win in this arena. No amount of what a loony tune Trump is is going to deal with him for he may be just as much the narcissist as Obama, but Trump is far smarter.
Got to go because my first session is already past due.

Ares Olympus said...

It does seem like Trump has no intention on being elected, on being responsible for any consequences of his words.

If he suddenly got disciplined, there'd be nothing left.

priss rules said...

Trump is a circus master and circus clown rolled into one.

But Noonan is overlooking the fact that he is leading precisely because of his 'indiscipline'. He's doing the "I'm fed up" act from movie Network.

When so many politicians act like well-heeled dogs and timid pussycats, a segment of Americans are fed up and going with what looks like an alpha wolf or roaring lion.

I think it's all just an act, but terms like 'respect' and 'discipline' mean nothing anymore.

How can one be respectable in a national culture that made 'gay marriage' law of the land and financially destroys those who don't bake 'gay wedding cakes'? How can we talk of respect when Obama praises Bruce 'Caitlyn' Jenner for his courage or invites a scum moron like Psy(Korean rap pimp) to a white house Christmas gathering(2 yrs back)?
What kind of a nation of respect has HATEFUL EIGHT or some other Tarantino trash as big release on X-mas day? In the US, rap music is now the national music.

Respect means nothing anymore. This is a porny ugly nation from top to bottom. Elites have been promoting the likes of Lena Dunham. These are Ivy League graduates disseminating junk culture. College professors assure us that rap music is 'poetry'.
Romney once appeared on stage doing 'gangnam style'. Every politician appears on late night talk shows that celebrate sleaze, obscenity, and filth.
We have new cold war with Russia... cuz Russia doesn't allow 'gay pride parades'.
US supporting Solzhenitsyn was one thing. A new cold war based on the fact that Russia won't bend over to globalist homosexuals? Now, I've seen everything.
TIME, so-called 'respectable' magazine, chose Merkel the traitor to her nation as 'person of the year'.

College professors quit their jobs out of fear of the angry mob.
Anyone who talks of 'respect' in this nutjob nation is being dishonest.

As for 'discipline', who needs in the age of PC and 'micro-aggressions' when everyone is triggered by everything and everyone? In colleges, government, and institutions, 'discipline' means you better to conform to PC or be destroyed. Things are far worse now than during the 'McCarthy Era'. Remember that Mozilla CEO guy who lost his job because he once supported true marriage. He was 'disciplined' alright.

Trump is a sleazy clown, but I like his middle finger to the corrupt phonies who talk of 'respect' and 'discipline'.

priss rules said...

It's hard to be respectable in a culture like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1yAOK0nSb0

Now, why aren't the media calling out on this stupid stunt by Michelle O?

Trashiness is everywhere.