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Everythings fine and dowdy here on the island...


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2016 Nov 9, 4:59pm   2,266 views  3 comments

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I sat watching in astonishment. The one who couldn’t bear to show up to concede was not, as expected, Donald Trump, but Hillary Clinton.

I thought the hard-core support for Trump had dwindled down to a hardy band of loyalists: Rudy, Newt, Chris, Sarah, Kellyanne, Omarosa, the kids, Melania — the woman who told him “If you run, you’ll win” — Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Matt Drudge, Ann Coulter, Jeff Sessions, Corey Lewandowski, Steve Bannon, Hope Hicks, David Bossie, Alex Jones, Bill Mitchell, Mike Pence and my brother, Kevin.

The Republican establishment couldn’t stand Trump. The Democratic establishment mocked him. The Republican nominee didn’t even really seem to have much of a campaign. He spent more on “Make America Great” hats than on polling. When I visited his campaign headquarters this summer, there were more pictures, paintings and cardboard cutouts of Trump around than Trump advisers. If you don’t count Newt Gingrich — and I don’t — only one major political historian, Allan Lichtman, had predicted that Trump would win.

But then the impossible happened. As Salena Zito had presciently written in The Atlantic: “The press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/opinion/absorbing-the-impossible.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

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1   mmmarvel   2016 Nov 9, 5:41pm  

Like it or not, he used his media exposure and experience to 'suck the air' out of the room all the time. Be it something outrageous coming out of his mouth which would get the press coverage, or an event that he would hold, his merely showing up was treated as an event unto itself. He would rail against someone and turn the discussion and attention to him - remember, even bad coverage is coverage still. He didn't really even HAVE to play up the deficits of his opponent, the wiki-leaks and the emails. Oh he would mention them from time to time, just to keep them on the table, but overall HE was the show and HE made the show.

Hillary was a horrible candidate. Since Trump didn't have governmental experience all she was able to do to try to put him in a bad light was bring things down to a personal level. But again, bad press is still press and Donald pretty much took it, gave it back and then would say or do (or both) something outrageous and again turn a spotlight on himself. Hillary got played and didn't even realize that she got played.

Love Trump or hate Trump, in the end you have to say - "Well played sir, well played".

2   Ceffer   2016 Nov 9, 5:56pm  

I'm hoping he'll be the Yogi Berra of politically incorrect malapropisms.

3   Ceffer   2016 Nov 9, 6:54pm  

It's time for me to start brushing up on the Cryllic Alphabet in earnest. Social Security IOU's will be floated with ruble bonds.

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