Trump Gets An Early Christmas Present...

[BoSoxGal]

Based on conversations I heard during the campaign, the word criminal came up the most. The fact she and Bill were quite adept at funneling money to their foundations was the topic most of the time except for veterans who were incensed over the emails.

Sure, because how many people - men and women alike - were going to openly admit that their misogyny was behind their dislike of an ambitious woman in power?

[Darren]

Based on conversations I heard during the campaign, the word criminal came up the most. The fact she and Bill were quite adept at funneling money to their foundations was the topic most of the time except for veterans who were incensed over the emails.

Sure, because how many people - men and women alike - were going to openly admit that their misogyny was behind their dislike of an ambitious woman in power?

Have you ever seen the turnout for Palin rallies? Likewise for the Clinton rallies during the 2016 campaign? At one point the Clintons could do no wrong in West Virginia, until the so-called war on coal. Last time she was there people were lined up on both sides of the street flipping her the bird. It wasn't because she was female.

Odd that she's still trying to figure out why she lost. While misogyny still exists, it wasn't the reason she lost. The women elected to Congress, as governors and to other offices disprove that. Ask yourself why the Obamas couldn't sell Clinton. She had celebrity endorsers out the wazoo. Free big name concerts in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other large cities. She had the media constantly attacking Trump. Everything possible was aligned for Clinton. The polls said she was going to win. In the end it was her character flaws and bad decisions that people were not going to overlook.

Racism that still exists didn't keep Obama out of office. Likewise misogyny that still exists didn't keep Clinton out of office. If she had been male, she would have still lost.

[Burning Petard]

Mrs. Clinton lost the election. For many reasons. IMNSHO, the first is because she is a lousy campaigner. Always was. When she was elected senator, it was via the party machine, not her own efforts directly with the voters. To say she would have lost if she had been male is meaningless. The dems had no new faces ready to contest her in the primaries. Bernie is even older and he shared an advantage that Trump used so successfully. Trump was not a conservative or a republican. Bernie was not (and is not) a liberal or a democrat.

Darren, all those people who gave Clinton the finger in West Virginia, they are all going daily to the coal mines and pulling in a wonderful paycheck with full benefits now, right?

snailgate.

[Darren]

Mrs. Clinton lost the election. For many reasons. IMNSHO, the first is because she is a lousy campaigner. Always was. When she was elected senator, it was via the party machine, not her own efforts directly with the voters. To say she would have lost if she had been male is meaningless. The dems had no new faces ready to contest her in the primaries. Bernie is even older and he shared an advantage that Trump used so successfully. Trump was not a conservative or a republican. Bernie was not (and is not) a liberal or a democrat.

Darren, all those people who gave Clinton the finger in West Virginia, they are all going daily to the coal mines and pulling in a wonderful paycheck with full benefits now, right?

snailgate.

It's a mixed bag, High sulfur coal isn't a big seller. Metallurgical coal is along with other low sulfur coals. The long Norfolk Southern coal drags are still running out of WV. I'm seeing ads for experienced miners. Some new mines are opening. Mountaintop removal was the biggest recent development that reduced the need for miners. If you're interested in coal mining and the exploitation I recommend the book, Night Comes To The Cumberlands.

Clinton was a lousy campaigner. She spent more time schmoozing for money. The money spent on advertising was stupendous.

[ex-khobar Andy]

In the end, despite the Russians and residual misogyny and Clinton's much-hyped emails and health issues, I think the biggest factor in Trump's 'win' was "A plague on both your houses." Had Bernie Sanders run against a traditional Republican such as Ryan or Jeb Bush, he might have won. As it was there were enough people in the electorate who voted and who were pissed off with where they were under the status quo of alternating R and D administrations to swing it to someone who successfully painted himself as an outsider. Despite his woeful ignorance (I could fill a page here; but let's just take his latest example of apparent unawareness that Honda and Toyota build the bulk of their American-sold vehicles in the US) salesman Trump recognized this. He has of course long known that you can sell enough of commodity X by telling people that it's the best, regardless of whether or not it actually is.

[Burning Petard]

This morning the BBC ran a review of his visit to Japan , including POTUS' request that they build cars in America. The Beeb pointed out that Japan's automakers last year exported to American 86,00 cars. In the same year they built 2 million in the USofA. Have we ever had a POTUS so ignorant and so self-assured about his ignorance?

snailgate

[ex-khobar Andy]

Wow. I did not know those numbers. If I had to make a guess I might have thought it was maybe a 3:1 ratio not 20:1.

I remember being on a business trip to Kentucky in the late eighties: we decided to try a Japanese restaurant in Lexington. We pulled into the parking lot in our rental Taurus or whatever, and every other vehicle was a Camry station wagon. Must have been around 20 of them identical except for color. Turns it out was a very popular spot for Toyota expats who had just opened what is now the largest single site Toyota plant in the world.

ETA: and that kind of illustrates my point about his success as a salesman. There will not doubt now be many Trumpists who believe that Japan makes most of its cars over there, because he said so. But now as President he has to sell ideas to the likes of Abe and Xi and not to those upon whose ignorance he has always successfully counted.

[Guinevere]

Booga booga, there's a Clinton under your bed.


Good lord, you people are all so afraid of her.

[Darren]

Booga booga, there's a Clinton under your bed.


Good lord, you people are all so afraid of her.

Thank you!

[Darren]

I didn't realize Brazile's book hadn't been released. The excerpts are the usual marketing attempt to build interest. In that vein the latest bit verifies Clinton's health problems which had been largely downplayed in the media. I recant my earlier thought she'd run in 2020. Once her health issues go mainstream, that's over.