It never ceases to amaze me how Obama can own a world view so impervious to fact and reality. How he can spout the same neo-Marxist garbage while raking in tens of millions for himself. But most of all it never ceases to amaze me how he is considered a great intellectual when in fact he is a mediocre mind with a trillion dollar ego.
Whatever one may say about the extraordinary dishonesty of that man, he wields greater influence in Washington and throughout the opinion elite than ever before, and in many ways is fulfilling some improbable dreams. I recall with some fondness the moment when he hosted a raft of conservative intellectuals at a private home near DC shortly after winning the White House: George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Bill Kristol, and others. At the time, they were singularly unimpressed with him, recognized the fundamentally destructive nature of his ideas, and marshalled an opposition to him that was forceful and bold. Today, most are just supine flatterers of him and almost none are able to marshal any arguments, because they lack the courage, and because the social stigma of being attached to a conservatism that is symbolically wedded now to the persona of Trump, is too much for them to bear. I apologize for including the late Dr. Krauthammer in that grouping. He had a substance that people such as Kristol certainly lack, and that is probably part of the essence, of the problem. But contrary to some, I think Obama at the moment, is undeterred and is very much on the offensive. And few members of the former conservative elite have the courage to apprehend the complexity of the situation, and to both condemn perhaps the persona of Trump and his excesses, as well as marshal a defense of conservative beliefs, as they once did. To me, it's a tragedy.
Spot on analysis, as usual. As for Obama's superficiality, what can you expect from a guy who reportedly always had the top four seeds in the Final Four when he filled out his March Madness brackets, something I believe has happened only once? (Speaking of that tourney, it's struck me that all of the winning round of teams --- The Round of 32, The Sweet Sixteen, The Elite Eight, The Final Four --- have a title for the round except for the two in the championship game. I would call them the Peerless Pair and rename the tourney "The Path to the Peerless Pair.") Jim Dueholm
I see no reason to believe that Donald Trump is "an extraordinarily rich man." He just plays one on TV. Every real estate project of his in the last forty years has lost money, as has every other venture except for playing a rich man on "The Apprentice." His net worth may well be lower than Paul's. Many people have speculated that Trump wants so hard to get elected again so that he will be immune to prosecution, but I think another reason is to intimidate Deutsche Bank from foreclosing on his properties when his loans come due starting this year. If he doesn't run, he'll lose both Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago and have to move in with Jared and Ivanka.
Trump has played the media for forty years; I'll believe he's rich when he opens his books. Why do you think he won't release his tax returns? The reason he pays little in tax is not that he breaks the rules, though he does that. He pays little in tax because he has little income.
It never ceases to amaze me how Obama can own a world view so impervious to fact and reality. How he can spout the same neo-Marxist garbage while raking in tens of millions for himself. But most of all it never ceases to amaze me how he is considered a great intellectual when in fact he is a mediocre mind with a trillion dollar ego.
I concur, especially with the last sentence.
Whatever one may say about the extraordinary dishonesty of that man, he wields greater influence in Washington and throughout the opinion elite than ever before, and in many ways is fulfilling some improbable dreams. I recall with some fondness the moment when he hosted a raft of conservative intellectuals at a private home near DC shortly after winning the White House: George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Bill Kristol, and others. At the time, they were singularly unimpressed with him, recognized the fundamentally destructive nature of his ideas, and marshalled an opposition to him that was forceful and bold. Today, most are just supine flatterers of him and almost none are able to marshal any arguments, because they lack the courage, and because the social stigma of being attached to a conservatism that is symbolically wedded now to the persona of Trump, is too much for them to bear. I apologize for including the late Dr. Krauthammer in that grouping. He had a substance that people such as Kristol certainly lack, and that is probably part of the essence, of the problem. But contrary to some, I think Obama at the moment, is undeterred and is very much on the offensive. And few members of the former conservative elite have the courage to apprehend the complexity of the situation, and to both condemn perhaps the persona of Trump and his excesses, as well as marshal a defense of conservative beliefs, as they once did. To me, it's a tragedy.
Spot on analysis, as usual. As for Obama's superficiality, what can you expect from a guy who reportedly always had the top four seeds in the Final Four when he filled out his March Madness brackets, something I believe has happened only once? (Speaking of that tourney, it's struck me that all of the winning round of teams --- The Round of 32, The Sweet Sixteen, The Elite Eight, The Final Four --- have a title for the round except for the two in the championship game. I would call them the Peerless Pair and rename the tourney "The Path to the Peerless Pair.") Jim Dueholm
I see no reason to believe that Donald Trump is "an extraordinarily rich man." He just plays one on TV. Every real estate project of his in the last forty years has lost money, as has every other venture except for playing a rich man on "The Apprentice." His net worth may well be lower than Paul's. Many people have speculated that Trump wants so hard to get elected again so that he will be immune to prosecution, but I think another reason is to intimidate Deutsche Bank from foreclosing on his properties when his loans come due starting this year. If he doesn't run, he'll lose both Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago and have to move in with Jared and Ivanka.
Forbes estimates Trump's net worth at $2.5 billion. I'm a lot of paid subscriptions to Ringside short of matching that number.
Never lose hope. ;-)
Trump has played the media for forty years; I'll believe he's rich when he opens his books. Why do you think he won't release his tax returns? The reason he pays little in tax is not that he breaks the rules, though he does that. He pays little in tax because he has little income.
I'll go with Forbes' estimate of Trump's net worth rather the say-so of someone whose hatred of Trump appears to have no limit.