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Hail To The Chief (Read Mod Warning In OP)

1…7576788081…193

Comments

  • #2312
    wonderfullife
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,924 ✭✭✭wonderfullife


    I'm just going to state real quick that I hope Donald John Trump is an amazing President. The bar for him to clear to be a success is extremely low in the minds of most reasonable people - not getting everyone killed is the bar to clear. For others, it's raising the standard of living.

    Either way he should be a success. He's inheriting a great situation compared to the one Obama inherited. The world was carnage in 2008 and Obama would have been forgiven for using that word in the aftermath of the banking crisis and global recession. Trump has no reason to use it. Obama inherited a train wreck and managed to get most people out of the train.

    Not everyone who supports Trump is a racist but staggering numbers of his supporters are.

    The fact that 99.99% of the crowd at his Inauguration were white people is probably not surprising but it's worth noting non-Hispanic whites only make up 62% of the country.

    That crowd did represent his support base - white people - it did not represent America.

    There is a huge proportion of that support base who would fall under the category of "I'm not racist but.....".

    Effectively, a large swath of his support are white people who have no intrinsic issue with Blacks, Hispanics, Asians (i.e. no desire to call them n*g****) but have an antiquated world-view of America as a nation "belonging" to Christian white people.

    Trump is a con-man. His greatest con was to convince these people that America needed to be made great again and he appealed to those for whom "I'm not racist but....." appeals. I find it very ironic that a lot of the things Trump says are the very things Obama had every right to say in 2008. He inherited a mess and could have been forgiven for saying he'd make it great again.

    Obama was excellent but he is not a Deity and even he couldn't halt the evolution of technology and the death of manufacturing.

    Trust me on this - D. Trump won't be able to either.

    It's easy to forget but in 2008 the top-selling mobile phones were the Nokia 2330 and the new-fangled iPhone thing. 8 years before that in 2000, the Nokia 3310 was the only show in town.

    In 16 years we went from a 3310 to Google Pixel. We went from text messages & Snake to 12MP cameras, wifi, GPS, bluetooth. In 8 years from now who knows what phones can do. Hopefully they can make a sandwich.

    Point being the incredible evolution of technology will consistently mean less workforce is needed in manufacturing and no amount of bribes, tax breaks and protectionism is going to halt that trend.

    Trump sold these people a con that he would return manufacturing jobs to poorer areas yet there's just no basis for believing any President can halt the slide long term.


    One image sums up the entire situation for me more than any more waffling I can do. Donald Trump is a sociopathic narcissist. Barack Obama is a hopeful idealist. Pick your poison.

    https://twitter.com/lwatchtv/status/822612761653940225


  • #2313
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 18,047 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Talking about the inauguration crowd is pointless. DC and the surrounding areas are extremely Democrat. And it's a social faux pas anyways to be Latino or whatever and be seen to be supporting Trump.

    If it had been held in a state he did well in, it'd be a different story.


  • #2314
    InTheTrees
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,900 ✭✭✭InTheTrees


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Talking about the inauguration crowd is pointless. DC and the surrounding areas are extremely Democrat. And it's a social faux pas anyways to be Latino or whatever and be seen to be supporting Trump.

    If it had been held in a state he did well in, it'd be a different story.

    George bush had a huge turnout.


    And if it's a "social faux pas" for Latino's to support trump then that means trumps is doing a,hopeless job of reaching out to then.


  • #2315
    dfx-
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 15,759 Mod ✭✭✭✭dfx-


    wonderfullife wrote: »
    ...The fact that 99.99% of the crowd at his Inauguration were white people is probably not surprising but it's worth noting non-Hispanic whites only make up 62% of the country.

    That crowd did represent his support base - white people - it did not represent America.

    There is a huge proportion of that support base who would fall under the category of "I'm not racist but.....".

    Effectively, a large swath of his support are white people who have no intrinsic issue with Blacks, Hispanics, Asians (i.e. no desire to call them n*g****) but have an antiquated world-view of America as a nation "belonging" to Christian white people.

    Trump is a con-man. His greatest con was to convince these people that America needed to be made great again and he appealed to those for whom "I'm not racist but....." appeals. I find it very ironic that a lot of the things Trump says are the very things Obama had every right to say in 2008. He inherited a mess and could have been forgiven for saying he'd make it great again.

    Obama was excellent but he is not a Deity and even he couldn't halt the evolution of technology and the death of manufacturing.

    Trust me on this - D. Trump won't be able to either.

    It's easy to forget but in 2008 the top-selling mobile phones were the Nokia 2330 and the new-fangled iPhone thing. 8 years before that in 2000, the Nokia 3310 was the only show in town.

    In 16 years we went from a 3310 to Google Pixel. We went from text messages & Snake to 12MP cameras, wifi, GPS, bluetooth. In 8 years from now who knows what phones can do. Hopefully they can make a sandwich.

    Point being the incredible evolution of technology will consistently mean less workforce is needed in manufacturing and no amount of bribes, tax breaks and protectionism is going to halt that trend.

    Trump sold these people a con that he would return manufacturing jobs to poorer areas yet there's just no basis for believing any President can halt the slide long term.

    One image sums up the entire situation for me more than any more waffling I can do. Donald Trump is a sociopathic narcissist. Barack Obama is a hopeful idealist. Pick your poison.

    You pin down the key problem in bold. But the people do not want to be told the reality and go for the fantasy. Clinton told them she'd close coal plants and into technology and energy jobs and it was political suicide. Trump, Obama or Sanders would've made no difference if you refuse to face up to the technology and death of manufacturing.

    Far too often I have seen 'commentators' talk about how they are forgotten and it's a backlash on the Democrats by voting Trump. It's the Democrats fault apparently.

    But the people, the voters, who bought it need to own this decision and its consequences and not blame Trump, the Democratic Party or Obama or Clinton. I massively doubt they will and fall for the next lie.


  • #2316
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 18,047 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    InTheTrees wrote: »
    George bush had a huge turnout.


    And if it's a "social faux pas" for Latino's to support trump then that means trumps is doing a,hopeless job of reaching out to then.
    Politics was far far less divided back then.. 16 years ago before Iraq etc. Now, there is hatred for the opposing side.

    And that's not really relevant here. I'm saying that the inauguration was never gonna be packed.


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  • #2317
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 22,384 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Facebook needs more pics of the Obamas leaving the White House. I need to see Michelle and the dogs on the lawn, the kids 8 years ago with their dolls, Michelle and Barack dancing and blah blah blah...

    I don't like Trump. But some of the stuff out there now is tiresome. I saw a great "like and share if you want Michelle as President in 2020", as if she has teamed up with Facebook to start the campaign...


  • #2318
    DEFTLEFTHAND
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,500 ✭✭✭✭DEFTLEFTHAND


    It probably will happen, I definitely see Michelle running for President in 2020.

    It depends on what happens over the course of Trump's term of course.

    I was real young in 08 when Obama was elected, I got caught up in the college wave and I loved him. When I'd come home at the weekends my Dad would ask me what does he really stand for? I could never answer that for him. It's "Change" I would tell him.

    Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that President Obama would divide the USA in such a way. His race baiting in particular really shocked me, particularly the fact that he kept that creep Al Sharpton close to him.

    I believed in this guy, I thought he was more in line with the views of great black thinkers such as Thomas Sowell.

    He will go down with the likes Harding and Pearce as one of the worst ever. He broke my heart.


  • #2319
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 18,047 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Departing Obama Tearfully Shoos Away Loyal Drone Following Him Out Of White House


  • #2320
    jooksavage
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,545 ✭✭✭jooksavage


    The next few months are going to be very interesting (possibly in the Chinese curse sense if the word). So many contradictions - a Republican president with a protectionist trade policy who's going to invest trillions in infrastructure and hammer the pharmaceutical industry... We'll get to see just how far Ryan and Preibus are willing to go to secure a cut in the top rate of marginal tax.

    I only see one conclusion here - 4 years of public rancour between Congress, the Senate and a president who thinks he owns them both.


  • #2321
    Igotadose
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,713 ✭✭✭✭Igotadose


    As usual, an inept start with that pesky online stuff by the President:

    http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/01/20/donald_trump_s_new_twitter_background_is_a_photo_from_the_inauguration_of.html

    Summary: First @POTUS background wasn't from his inauguration, it was from the @POTUS page belonging to President Obama. (where, apparently, it was from an event in Selma).

    Sad his team still is the gang that can't shoot straight. I expect 4 years of lots of bloviation and little action, most of it destructive to jobs and the economy.


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  • #2322
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 22,384 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Igotadose wrote: »
    Sad his team still is the gang that can't shoot straight. I expect 4 years of lots of bloviation and little action, most of it destructive to jobs and the economy.

    I don't like Trump. But he won. The background on his Twitter account doesn't really matter.


  • #2323
    Pinch Flat
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,780 ✭✭✭Pinch Flat


    One guy interviewed on the radio yesterday attended the inauguration and gave the impression he was there to see the swamp being drained. I think a good few went away disappointed that there wasn't a swamp draining after the inauguration.


  • #2324
    Permabear
    Closed Accounts Posts: 39,019 ✭✭✭✭Permabear


    This post has been deleted.


  • #2325
    ChikiChiki
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,949 ✭✭✭ChikiChiki


    BabyCheeses wrote: »
    What has happened in your life that makes the suffering of others enjoyable? You can seek help for such things.

    It's a hyperbolic reaction. Not an ounce of sincerity. Many of us are unhappy it got to this stage but the world will still keep turning and life will go on. I'm hoping with all this change we eventually get a better class of politicians and the upheaval in the US and EU is merely a transition point.


  • #2326
    infogiver
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,505 ✭✭✭infogiver


    BabyCheeses wrote: »
    What has happened in your life that makes the suffering of others enjoyable? You can seek help for such things.

    You do realise that this woman is behaving in sn utterly ridiculous manner!


  • #2327
    The flying mouse
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,915 ✭✭✭The flying mouse


    I hope the Dubs win a third all Ireland in a row this year. I be happy with that.


  • #2328
    Igotadose
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,713 ✭✭✭✭Igotadose


    The flying mouse wrote: »
    I hope the Dubs win a third all Ireland in a row this year. I be happy with that.

    Not me! Up the Kingdom!


  • #2329
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 18,047 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    I think it's extremely important that I link this news story from the British Independent and highlight just how much of a straight up BS story it is.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-fires-us-ambassadors-no-replacements-a7538256.html

    Donald Trump has fired all foreign US ambassadors with nobody to replace them
    He demanded they leave their offices by midday on Inauguration Day

    "What a fủcking retard," I hear you all think.. But this is the exact sort of BS I've been reading for months and everyone just laps it up. Infuriating.

    To start, let's deal with what's in the article.
    Shortly after Donald Trump was sworn into office as the 45th President of the United States, all foreign ambassadors were fired and with no concrete replacement ambassadors lined up.

    Mr Trump had demanded that every ambassador in countries all over the world, who had been appointed by former President Barack Obama, were told to leave their offices by midday on 20 January and with no grace period.

    Straight up lies in the first paragraph.. They say they were all fired. In the next paragraph, they subtly correct themselves but in no way try make us understand that only about 30% have been dismissed.
    His transition team had said on 23 December there would be “no exceptions” for ambassadors requesting to extend their postings past Inauguration day, in contrast with other Presidents, even for ambassadors with young children.
    A month IS a grace period.
    It is common policy, however, that politically appointed ambassadors resign at the start of a new administration. It is less common to have no replacements in line.

    This paragraph nulls the entire article but for those who read this far, they have "less common" thing to try and make the article worth something.
    The process of replacing politically-appointed ambassadors is a lengthy one carried out by Congress.

    What's this now? At the bottom of the article, we learn it doesn't even have anything to do with Trump.. Yeah, like regular Trump-haters will read that and realise they've been duped, again.


    Now, let's see what that hero Obama did when he took office..

    http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/12/obama-gives-political-ambassad.html
    The incoming Obama administration has notified all politically-appointed ambassadors that they must vacate their posts as of Jan. 20, the day President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office, a State Department official said.

    OHMYGODIMSOSURPRISED he did the exact same thing.
    OHMYGODMYWORLDISFALLINGAPART he left loads of spots vacant for months.
    OHMYGODSURELYTRUMPISSOMEHOWWORSETHOUGH.
    OHMYGODWHATTHEFUDGEISTHENEWSMAKINGAMOCKERYOFMYINTELLIGENCE???? Yes.

    Fưcking Independent hacks and rats trying to stir up more unnecessary hatred in society. That's worse than the Daily Mail but it will be taken as gospel by complete morons everywhere.


  • #2330
    Ulysses Gaze
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,570 ✭✭✭Ulysses Gaze


    DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »
    It probably will happen, I definitely see Michelle running for President in 2020.

    It depends on what happens over the course of Trump's term of course.

    I was real young in 08 when Obama was elected, I got caught up in the college wave and I loved him. When I'd come home at the weekends my Dad would ask me what does he really stand for? I could never answer that for him. It's "Change" I would tell him.

    Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that President Obama would divide the USA in such a way. His race baiting in particular really shocked me, particularly the fact that he kept that creep Al Sharpton close to him.

    I believed in this guy, I thought he was more in line with the views of great black thinkers such as Thomas Sowell.

    He will go down with the likes Harding and Pearce as one of the worst ever. He broke my heart.

    Which makes this beatification of Obama obnoxious.

    Obama will go down as a nondescript President. Obamacare is his legacy which could well be undone shortly by Trump.

    Apart from that, and the fact he is America's first black President, what has actually really done?


  • #2331
    sjb25
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,416 ✭✭✭sjb25


    Presidential first dance to I did it my way lol with an obligatory USA USA USA at the end


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  • #2332
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 18,047 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Ulysses Gaze wrote: »
    Which makes this beatification of Obama obnoxious.

    Obama will go down as a nondescript President. Obamacare is his legacy which could well be undone shortly by Trump.

    Apart from that, and the fact he is America's first black President, what has actually really done?

    Deported at least 2.4 million people, far more than any other President.
    But it's Obama so who cares.. Apparently Trump the racist wants to deport illegals so let's talk about him instead.


  • #2333
    InTheTrees
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,900 ✭✭✭InTheTrees


    Deleted User wrote: »
    What's this now? At the bottom of the article, we learn it doesn't even have anything to do with Trump.. Yeah, like regular Trump-haters will read that and realise they've been duped, again.

    Every administration replaces the ambassadors.

    It usually takes a few months to do it though because appointments have to be confirmed by congress, which takes time. So instead of having some embassies' without an ambassador for a period of months the process is staggered.

    Trump took it upon himself to "dismiss" them all at once. So in addition to all the other urgent appointments that need to be confirmed by congress.


  • #2334
    InTheTrees
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,900 ✭✭✭InTheTrees


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Apparently Trump the racist wants to deport illegals so let's talk about him instead.

    Yes. Trump is president now.

    One of the most popular presidents in history followed by the most unpopular.


  • #2335
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 18,047 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    InTheTrees wrote: »
    Every administration replaces the ambassadors.

    It usually takes a few months to do it though because appointments have to be confirmed by congress, which takes time. So instead of having some embassies' without an ambassador for a period of months the process is staggered.

    Trump took it upon himself to "dismiss" them all at once. So in addition to all the other urgent appointments that need to be confirmed by congress.

    No. You're lying.

    Germany
    John M. Koenig, Chargé d'Affaires
    December 6, 2008 > September 2, 2009

    Switzerland
    Peter R. Coneway until December 8th 2008.
    Donald S. Beyer, Jr. from Auguest 5th 2009.

    The UK
    Robert H. Tuttle until February 6th 2009.
    Louis Susman from October 13th 2009.

    France - Old / New
    Old until January 29 2009.
    New from August 3 2009.

    China
    Clark T. Randt, Jr. until January 20th 2009.
    Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. from August 11th 2009.

    etc. etc. etc.

    Since I've spelt it out for you, I'd appreciate you admitting you're a liar. Or ignore it, same thing.


  • #2336
    dasdog
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,913 ✭✭✭dasdog


    Is there a tracker for day one enactment promises? Pressing issues such as get rid of gun-free zones in schools.


  • #2337
    InTheTrees
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,900 ✭✭✭InTheTrees


    Deleted User wrote: »
    . You're lying
    Since I've spelt it out for you, I'd appreciate you admitting you're a liar. Or ignore it, same thing.

    Lying? Why? you think I'm intentionally making this up? I may be incorrect but calling me a liar is unnecessary.

    Because each administration appoints ambassadors at the beginning of the new administration doesn't mean they can't also be replaced at any time. They don't have to continue for eight years.

    So listing ambassadors who have been replaced midterm is irrelevant.


  • #2338
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 18,047 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    InTheTrees wrote: »
    Lying? Why? you think I'm intentionally making this up? I may be incorrect but calling me a liar is unnecessary.

    Because each administration appoints ambassadors at the beginning of the new administration doesn't mean they can't also be replaced at any time. They don't have to continue for eight years.

    So listing ambassadors who have been replaced midterm is irrelevant.

    Those aren't midterm.. They're at the start of Obama's presidency.

    Anyways, I don't want to argue about it. Just showing the incredible media bias.


  • #2339
    The Backwards Man
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,299 ✭✭✭✭The Backwards Man


    It's nice to see a change in rhetoric from the Trumpeters anyway, 'But but but Hilary' has now become 'But but but Obama'.

    Who knows, at this rate, we might get some actual views on Trump's policies from them before the next election :)


  • #2340
    Panrich
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,009 ✭✭✭Panrich


    The flying mouse wrote: »
    I hope the Dubs win a third all Ireland in a row this year. I be happy with that.

    Well if Trump can become president then surely I can hope that Mayo might win it this year.


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  • #2341
    namloc1980
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,499 ✭✭✭✭namloc1980


    Executive Orders signed that begin the dismantling of Affordable Care and also to rollback on insurance relief for lower income home buyers. Yup, Trump is really helping ordinary Americans like he promised...


This discussion has been closed.
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