When I was a boy I had a dog. "Rusty." Rusty was bipolar. Most of the time Rusty was passive to the point of being inert. But when we took him up to the woods for exercise he turned manic. As soon as we took his chain off he would go off chasing after game. When we were ready to leave we'd call him and call him and sometimes we'd have to leave without him. Sometimes hours later Rusty would come back tongue dragging. One time he didn't come home even hours later. The next we saw of him Rusty was chasing a deer down the street in front of the house. Real bipolar dog, Rusty. Then one time one of my older brother showed up with his dog, a little yipping, yapping, hyperactive schnauzer named Schultzie. We kept the chain taut on Rusty. To our surprise there was no need. As Schultzie ran around him like a maniac and made lightening-like sorties at him Rusty just sat there on his haunches and espied Schultzie with furrowed brow, amazed. Rusty had never seen anything like Schultzie. Didn't know what to do with him.
I've been thinking about Rusty and the Republicans. I have been thinking of Rusty and the Republicans because the other Republican presidential candidates don't know what to make of Donald Trump. They have never seen anything like him before. Trump is running like a maniac all over the place cannonading everything and everyone, including the other candidates, who come within range and the other Republicans don't know what to do.
I counted this morning, there have been at least four occasions when the media have said, "That's it! Trump just doomed his candidacy." One, his announcement speech. Mexican illegal immigrants are criminals and rapists. Two, when John McCain criticized his remarks on immigration Trump responded that McCain wasn't a war hero and knew nothing about immigration. Three, he made crude, misogynistic remarks about a Fox News reporter. "Can't win a fight with Fox News if you're a Republican," the pundits said. And fourth, just in the last couple of days, he had a tete-a-tete with a respected, famous Spanish-language newscaster. The Los Angeles Times yesterday: "In taking on Jorge Ramos, Donald Trump may have tussled with the wrong media star." The only one of the four that I saw was this last and I did not think Trump was as inappropriate as was Jorge Ramos. "That was a man in charge," one Republican voter agreed. It has not happened. Trump's candidacy has not been doomed by any of the four incidents, in fact, he has solidified his lead over the other candidates.
How to explain this? I don't know. As I type this I don't know but there are some things that have been percolating in my head that I will precipitate now in print. So many pundits doomed Trump's candidacy and I did not. I did not have the thought to doom his candidacy. Why? Calling Mexican illegal immigrants criminals and rapists was as mean, offensive and incorrect a thing as I can ever remember being said by a presidential candidate. It was racist. Trump's remarks were appalling and I appalled them. Why didn't they doom his candidacy? Why didn't I doom his candidacy?
Now, I'm going to get all elevated here, I'm going to take another ride on my elevated Soul Train. Trump never got defensive over his Mexican remarks, he never apologized or backed down, he doubled down, stayed on the offensive. I am sure that America's soul was changed by the September 11, 2001 attacks, we went from offensive to defensive, among other things. You know how I say "you have to have enemies?" I think a lot of Americans feel they need enemies, too. "Whaddya mean this is a war on "terrorism," no, on "extremism? Where's the terrorism team, then? Where's the extremism team? Attack! This is war!" Trump is giving the American people enemies. He is naming them. The Mexicans! Attack! He is going on the offensive, back to America's primordial soul. Maybe I'm fishing so high up my line isn't even in the water but doesn't it seem to you too that the content of Trump's attacks--And really, Mexicans? He's selling Mexicans as the enemy? Absurd. Absurd!--matters less to Trump supporters than that he is attacking? "That is a man in charge!" He's "not politically correct," the favorite right-wing term of endearment for "He's an uninformed, mean-spirited bigot." He attacks Mexicans-Rick Perry, Jeb Bush and John McCain call him out, he attacks Perry, Bush and McCain. Result: Has anybody heard from Rick Perry lately? Perry's campaign is dead in the water, Bush is a solid number two but is treading water and eying Trump as warily as Rusty eyed Schultzie. Lindsey Graham defends McCain, calls Trump a jackass, which he is, Trump attacks Graham, Result: Has anybody heard from Lindsey Graham recently? Graham's candidacy is dead in the water. The second-tier candidates--Cruz has said he will not attack Trump, and has not; Huckabee and Walker are "going to school" on Trump, modulating their message as they see what he, the front-runner, can get away with. Me-too! Me-too! I'm anti-Mexican, too! I'm a kinder, gentler anti-Mexican. Even Bush, the self-proclaimed "Hispanic," is using the politically incorrect term "anchor babies" for children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants.
If I am politically correct then these candidates who are going to school on the Trump message are
missing the medium for the message. It's not "Mexicans," it's attack. But that would also mean that those who have attacked, and attacked a more plausible enemy than Mexicans, Trump himself, should be doing well. And they aren't. So as I said these are percolating thoughts I have had and now that I have precipitated that one I think I was precipitating too high up.
I still cannot conceive Trump getting the G.O.P. nomination and I keep thinking that there is going to come with Trump a Joseph Welch-Joseph McCarthy moment where someone says to Trump, "You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?," and that will end it but maybe not.
Another thought I've had percolating is that Trump seems to me to get political ideas much as I imagine him getting business ideas, "Hey, lets build a casino!" "Hey, let's build a residential tower!" and his "people" as he calls them, the contractors and engineers go, "But, Donald, the land," "But, Donald, the zoning," "But, Donald, the price," "But, Donald,..." and he goes, "NO BUTS! WE'RE GOING TO DO IT!" and it seems to me the American people would like a "No Buts!" type and go, "That is a man in charge." It seems to me Trump is a "concepts" guy, an "ideas" guy, he has the "vision thing" and leaves the grubby details to his people. So a couple of Trump's ideas: a few weeks ago, apropos of what I don't remember now, Trump said he would send American troops back into Iraq and the first thing he'd have them do is seize and secure the oil fields. A general, full uniform too, went on TV the next day and said but Donald, "there are some things the military just cannot do." And I go, "Why the hell can't the military seize and secure oil fields?," "Isn't the military, like, in the 'seize and secure' bidness?"
What Trump has also done, when a person is in attack mode, the focus of debate shifts from the attacker to his objective, no matter the plausibility. It's like when I'm defending someone charged with murder and the judge informs the jury that my client is charged with murder, all the jurors look at him like, "You did what?" Even I feel like scooting my chair a few inches away from him or pointing at myself and mouthing "Not me." to the jury. I don't even remember why Trump wanted the American military to seize and secure the Iraqi oil fields and that's the point, I was focusing on the objective and not buying, still don't buy that "But Donald" obstructionist general's response. The other big idea of Trump's, and this he got into with Jorge Ramos, is to build a wall along the border to keep all the Mexican criminals and rapists out. Ramos, and Jeb Bush too, said "Too expensive...Billions of dollars...Impractical...Real solutions," and Trump goes, "I build things, okay? It's easier to build a 94 story building than a wall," and I go to myself, "A 1900 mile wall, though? It does seem like it would be easier to build a wall than a tower but a 1900 mile wall?" Immediately, because that was how Ramos was attacking Trump's idea of a wall, my focus shifted from the idea of a wall--How embarrassing would it be for America to build a wall around itself? "Give me your tired, your poor," fuhgedaboudit.--to the implementation details. Psychologically, Trump gets you to shift focus from himself to his objective and from idea to grubby details. He gets us to accept, even if tentatively, the idea that Mexican illegals are the enemy, that a wall is the solution and that the Iraqi oil fields should be seized. Powerful thing, psychology. Real advantage, being the attacker. You can still get guys acquitted though, even of murder.
I've been thinking about Rusty and the Republicans. I have been thinking of Rusty and the Republicans because the other Republican presidential candidates don't know what to make of Donald Trump. They have never seen anything like him before. Trump is running like a maniac all over the place cannonading everything and everyone, including the other candidates, who come within range and the other Republicans don't know what to do.
I counted this morning, there have been at least four occasions when the media have said, "That's it! Trump just doomed his candidacy." One, his announcement speech. Mexican illegal immigrants are criminals and rapists. Two, when John McCain criticized his remarks on immigration Trump responded that McCain wasn't a war hero and knew nothing about immigration. Three, he made crude, misogynistic remarks about a Fox News reporter. "Can't win a fight with Fox News if you're a Republican," the pundits said. And fourth, just in the last couple of days, he had a tete-a-tete with a respected, famous Spanish-language newscaster. The Los Angeles Times yesterday: "In taking on Jorge Ramos, Donald Trump may have tussled with the wrong media star." The only one of the four that I saw was this last and I did not think Trump was as inappropriate as was Jorge Ramos. "That was a man in charge," one Republican voter agreed. It has not happened. Trump's candidacy has not been doomed by any of the four incidents, in fact, he has solidified his lead over the other candidates.
How to explain this? I don't know. As I type this I don't know but there are some things that have been percolating in my head that I will precipitate now in print. So many pundits doomed Trump's candidacy and I did not. I did not have the thought to doom his candidacy. Why? Calling Mexican illegal immigrants criminals and rapists was as mean, offensive and incorrect a thing as I can ever remember being said by a presidential candidate. It was racist. Trump's remarks were appalling and I appalled them. Why didn't they doom his candidacy? Why didn't I doom his candidacy?
Now, I'm going to get all elevated here, I'm going to take another ride on my elevated Soul Train. Trump never got defensive over his Mexican remarks, he never apologized or backed down, he doubled down, stayed on the offensive. I am sure that America's soul was changed by the September 11, 2001 attacks, we went from offensive to defensive, among other things. You know how I say "you have to have enemies?" I think a lot of Americans feel they need enemies, too. "Whaddya mean this is a war on "terrorism," no, on "extremism? Where's the terrorism team, then? Where's the extremism team? Attack! This is war!" Trump is giving the American people enemies. He is naming them. The Mexicans! Attack! He is going on the offensive, back to America's primordial soul. Maybe I'm fishing so high up my line isn't even in the water but doesn't it seem to you too that the content of Trump's attacks--And really, Mexicans? He's selling Mexicans as the enemy? Absurd. Absurd!--matters less to Trump supporters than that he is attacking? "That is a man in charge!" He's "not politically correct," the favorite right-wing term of endearment for "He's an uninformed, mean-spirited bigot." He attacks Mexicans-Rick Perry, Jeb Bush and John McCain call him out, he attacks Perry, Bush and McCain. Result: Has anybody heard from Rick Perry lately? Perry's campaign is dead in the water, Bush is a solid number two but is treading water and eying Trump as warily as Rusty eyed Schultzie. Lindsey Graham defends McCain, calls Trump a jackass, which he is, Trump attacks Graham, Result: Has anybody heard from Lindsey Graham recently? Graham's candidacy is dead in the water. The second-tier candidates--Cruz has said he will not attack Trump, and has not; Huckabee and Walker are "going to school" on Trump, modulating their message as they see what he, the front-runner, can get away with. Me-too! Me-too! I'm anti-Mexican, too! I'm a kinder, gentler anti-Mexican. Even Bush, the self-proclaimed "Hispanic," is using the politically incorrect term "anchor babies" for children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants.
If I am politically correct then these candidates who are going to school on the Trump message are
missing the medium for the message. It's not "Mexicans," it's attack. But that would also mean that those who have attacked, and attacked a more plausible enemy than Mexicans, Trump himself, should be doing well. And they aren't. So as I said these are percolating thoughts I have had and now that I have precipitated that one I think I was precipitating too high up.
I still cannot conceive Trump getting the G.O.P. nomination and I keep thinking that there is going to come with Trump a Joseph Welch-Joseph McCarthy moment where someone says to Trump, "You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?," and that will end it but maybe not.
Another thought I've had percolating is that Trump seems to me to get political ideas much as I imagine him getting business ideas, "Hey, lets build a casino!" "Hey, let's build a residential tower!" and his "people" as he calls them, the contractors and engineers go, "But, Donald, the land," "But, Donald, the zoning," "But, Donald, the price," "But, Donald,..." and he goes, "NO BUTS! WE'RE GOING TO DO IT!" and it seems to me the American people would like a "No Buts!" type and go, "That is a man in charge." It seems to me Trump is a "concepts" guy, an "ideas" guy, he has the "vision thing" and leaves the grubby details to his people. So a couple of Trump's ideas: a few weeks ago, apropos of what I don't remember now, Trump said he would send American troops back into Iraq and the first thing he'd have them do is seize and secure the oil fields. A general, full uniform too, went on TV the next day and said but Donald, "there are some things the military just cannot do." And I go, "Why the hell can't the military seize and secure oil fields?," "Isn't the military, like, in the 'seize and secure' bidness?"
What Trump has also done, when a person is in attack mode, the focus of debate shifts from the attacker to his objective, no matter the plausibility. It's like when I'm defending someone charged with murder and the judge informs the jury that my client is charged with murder, all the jurors look at him like, "You did what?" Even I feel like scooting my chair a few inches away from him or pointing at myself and mouthing "Not me." to the jury. I don't even remember why Trump wanted the American military to seize and secure the Iraqi oil fields and that's the point, I was focusing on the objective and not buying, still don't buy that "But Donald" obstructionist general's response. The other big idea of Trump's, and this he got into with Jorge Ramos, is to build a wall along the border to keep all the Mexican criminals and rapists out. Ramos, and Jeb Bush too, said "Too expensive...Billions of dollars...Impractical...Real solutions," and Trump goes, "I build things, okay? It's easier to build a 94 story building than a wall," and I go to myself, "A 1900 mile wall, though? It does seem like it would be easier to build a wall than a tower but a 1900 mile wall?" Immediately, because that was how Ramos was attacking Trump's idea of a wall, my focus shifted from the idea of a wall--How embarrassing would it be for America to build a wall around itself? "Give me your tired, your poor," fuhgedaboudit.--to the implementation details. Psychologically, Trump gets you to shift focus from himself to his objective and from idea to grubby details. He gets us to accept, even if tentatively, the idea that Mexican illegals are the enemy, that a wall is the solution and that the Iraqi oil fields should be seized. Powerful thing, psychology. Real advantage, being the attacker. You can still get guys acquitted though, even of murder.
