I was very interested in a non-political business man/woman type candidate.  Unfortunately Trump is what we got....I was hoping more for someone that was use to working in a system and being accountable to a board and stockholders....not someone that ruled their business like a king and is now ruling their country like a king.

Trump might be the biggest hypocrite of all considering all the comments about Obama that he has doubled down on.  Then again, maybe that 40% that like him are the biggest hypocrites in the world.

those idiots previously stated that June 12th, after cancellation, would be unattainable. 

fucking twits. 

cincybearcat said:

I was very interested in a non-political business man/woman type candidate.  Unfortunately Trump is what we got....I was hoping more for someone that was use to working in a system and being accountable to a board and stockholders....not someone that ruled their business like a king and is now ruling their country like a king.

Trump might be the biggest hypocrite of all considering all the comments about Obama that he has doubled down on.  Then again, maybe that 40% that like him are the biggest hypocrites in the world.

Obviously someone who has spent his entire life surrounded by yes-men was going to struggle with the actual grind of slow-moving process and people who disagree with him.  I was worried about that, along with his general lack of qualification, from day 1 (though I think I still underestimated just how ill-suited he was to things that don't come easy).  One of the things we tend to idealize in America is the idea that success / money are totally self-made and indicative of hard / smart work.  It validates the wealthy and gives the rest of us (or our kids) something to shoot for.  Well Trump was "born on third" and most of us think he "got a triple."  He's not self-made at all. I would not even call him a successful businessperson.  So if you want a businessperson to get the job...yeah, wrong guy.  

That said, I'm definitely not sold on a businessperson being president.  I know, I know, "career politicians" are the worst.  But we are, at least to an extent, learning a bit about someone with no governmental experience doing the most demanding governmental job in the country, if not the world.  So could a reasonable, sane, self-made one do it?  Maybe.  But as someone that's worked primarily in government, the cliche/platitude of "government should run more like a business" always makes me chuckle.  Of the public offices I've worked in, I promise you that conservatives (and, hopefully, liberals) would be most unhappy with those that act most like businesses.  What do businesses want to do? Grow.  And I worked for one that did just that.  And it was, among the places I've worked, probably the poorest at stewardship of public money.  That said, this does not mean a businessperson cannot do it.  But I get a little weary / cautious about the idea.  I also get a little weary about the whole "private employee good; public employee bad" belief that so many people have.  And the current guy does blatantly illegal things because in his first public job, he does not understand his role (but, you know, it's Trump, so we should not project that on the next person).

So are Americans concerned about this trade war Trump just started? I'm not really getting that impression. Just wondering.

PJ_Soul said:

So are Americans concerned about this trade war Trump just started? I'm not really getting that impression. Just wondering.

Yes, but it's Friday so they've escaped headlines by dropping it before the weekend. At this point its just a pissing match to see who will fold first, with most of the piss coming from the US. Bullying on an international level, or as John Boehner referred to it, "leading" and "doing the right thing".

OnWis97 said:

cincybearcat said:

I was very interested in a non-political business man/woman type candidate.  Unfortunately Trump is what we got....I was hoping more for someone that was use to working in a system and being accountable to a board and stockholders....not someone that ruled their business like a king and is now ruling their country like a king.

Trump might be the biggest hypocrite of all considering all the comments about Obama that he has doubled down on.  Then again, maybe that 40% that like him are the biggest hypocrites in the world.

Obviously someone who has spent his entire life surrounded by yes-men was going to struggle with the actual grind of slow-moving process and people who disagree with him.  I was worried about that, along with his general lack of qualification, from day 1 (though I think I still underestimated just how ill-suited he was to things that don't come easy).  One of the things we tend to idealize in America is the idea that success / money are totally self-made and indicative of hard / smart work.  It validates the wealthy and gives the rest of us (or our kids) something to shoot for.  Well Trump was "born on third" and most of us think he "got a triple."  He's not self-made at all. I would not even call him a successful businessperson.  So if you want a businessperson to get the job...yeah, wrong guy.  

That said, I'm definitely not sold on a businessperson being president.  I know, I know, "career politicians" are the worst.  But we are, at least to an extent, learning a bit about someone with no governmental experience doing the most demanding governmental job in the country, if not the world.  So could a reasonable, sane, self-made one do it?  Maybe.  But as someone that's worked primarily in government, the cliche/platitude of "government should run more like a business" always makes me chuckle.  Of the public offices I've worked in, I promise you that conservatives (and, hopefully, liberals) would be most unhappy with those that act most like businesses.  What do businesses want to do? Grow.  And I worked for one that did just that.  And it was, among the places I've worked, probably the poorest at stewardship of public money.  That said, this does not mean a businessperson cannot do it.  But I get a little weary / cautious about the idea.  I also get a little weary about the whole "private employee good; public employee bad" belief that so many people have.  And the current guy does blatantly illegal things because in his first public job, he does not understand his role (but, you know, it's Trump, so we should not project that on the next person).

I’m glad you posted this. My day has been too busy to post, but I also wanted to comment on the “we need a successful business person in government” mentality. The goals of business and government are not at all congruent, and skills learned in business aren’t easily employed in government. The goals of government, ideally, include providing services and managing the various programs to the community in an equitable, fair way that potentially includes all citizens (eg all citizens have access to public infrastructure like clean water, all citizens can access a mechanism to vote, etc). The goal of business is to make money for the owners or shareholders. People in business usually vastly underestimate how difficult the transition to government is. 

More swamp draining...

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Bentleyspop said:

More swamp draining...

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1002631806288580608?s=19

Wow. Just f**king wow.

You never bought a $130 pen before you cheap ass?

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Bentleyspop said:

More swamp draining...

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1002631806288580608?s=19

Wow. Just f**king wow.

You never bought a $130 pen before you cheap ass?

If I had a ton of cash pouring out of my pockets... I guess I'd buy some expensive pens.

Decadence destroyed Rome.

On another note, Maher had a great campaign slogan for democrats: Make America Sane Again.

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Bentleyspop said:

More swamp draining...

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1002631806288580608?s=19

Wow. Just f**king wow.

I’m guessing I’m in the minority on this, but I can’t really say this is a problem on its own. Companies spend far more than $130 a person to attempt to increase morale. Bonuses, gifts, fancy dinners, you name it. The reality is, companies or public groups need to invest in their people for their people to genuinely invest in them. This is why charitable organizations are often led by high salaried ex-private CEOs: they spend money and make back multiples of it through greater efficiency.