You mention one thing the electoral college that's the part that scares me! Trump didn't win in 2016 it was given to him by the electoral college. We the people, need to correct this now before the 2020 election is sold off in the same manor!

Politics my friend is not a game of substance, as it is of perception. Democrats are better policy wonks but still cannot win. Think about it.

Perhaps you need to widen your circle of Democrats or follow blogs and read articles from experienced and well versed people in education and media that have actually reviewed and analyzed his policies with a fine tooth comb. Take the tax reform, for instance. Many jumped up and down and claimed he did such a good job and yet, April 15th came and it was a different story...

I agree that perception often wins the game and he is good at throwing out tidbits but no real meat.... not every Democrat is just pointing out his obvious character flaws and following the trend to disparage him at every turn. There are plenty that truly do assess the merits and forecast the outcomes of policies as they are now and in the future. Likely, they are not on social media simply expressing disgust and hatred.

@thinktwice the great advantage of democracy is that each individual has an equal vote - it is also the greatest problem with modern democracy. In good old Greece the voters were all educated and it was deemed a civic duty to know of and be involved in the politics of the state, so every voter knew their version of truth. Sadly the education system of today is designed to mass produce a stream of workers for industry and commerce who in general follow the crowd - and sheep are not deep thinkers who dwell on political questions beyond - is my life ok? So while the perception of the majority is that life is fine - Trump will win.
Trump is shrewdly marketing himself to the modern mob, becoming 'their guy' and he is very good at marketing. - look around the world at how non-traditional politicians are taking over from the old traditional grey suited politicos. If political enemies shoot at him he turns it to advantage making the mob feel 'their guy' is being attacked.
The situation saddens me greatly; Trump is not a good president, but I do not believe a left wing idealist will gain enough mob support to remove him

@ShadowAmicus I agree with you to a certain extent but am basing my comments on a situation that is far less hopeless than those in the past...imagine if people just "gave up" during the reigns of some of the so called non-traditional leaders...while power might be granted to evil doers and tyrannical despots temporarily, in the end, common good and decency always seems to prevail.

To say that such a guy could continue is saying that the population that votes him in is a majority, and I don't think that is true. Seeing that there are decent Republicans that are now putting their hat in the ring for 2020, I think and want to believe that despite all of the past hateful rhetoric, common sense and decency will surface and we will get someone who will unite us once again...to be honest, I don't give a shit what party that person belongs to...I never did.

@thinktwice I saw another post - Benjamin on free speech - where the argument was made that even if the intent of words is to inspire hatred or violence, and most people would find what was said despicable, an individual must have the right to say it. I agree. The other sides of that are
1..That the ruling class take note of the dissentful voices and comprehend the drivers that cause that dissent
Because if the rulers take no action the dissenters only course of action is disruption or violence against the state
2. the general populace must be educated and intelligent enough to fully comprehend the intent of the dissenters words
but I fear that reasoning power and ability to assess an argument are not universal skills among the populace and that personality politics will win out.
I think that the way successive US governments have shut down dissentful voices and ignored the wants and needs of various sectors of the country led directly to Trumps election - and because Trump is seen by many to be addressing those issues he will be re-elected.
I think the best you can hope for is a nice guy for 2024.

@ShadowAmicus I don't think "nice" is the appropriate word...one does not have to be nice to be moral and looking out for the interest of those less fortunate, educated, etc. To me, taking advantage of people when they are not at the same level of sophistication is just abhorrent...

I know in business, I am tough as nails and have to make some very hard decisions and have been called every name in the book...but those decisions were made for the good of the employees and with no underlying motivation or need for ego stroking and personal gain.

Free speech is also a misnomer...we are free to speak and share our minds but societal norms must also come into play where people refrain from hurting each other and use basic manners to not intimidate, insult or degrade others...free speech with a few leashes to hold back hatred and potentially harmful actions from others...filters are self-imposed, not governed by laws...and it seems many have lost those filters or don't think they apply because they are so astutely ignored by those who are in positions of "leadership", ie. the president.

@thinktwice take your second paragraph and replace employees with country and you have a fairly good description of the presidents role - taking hard (often very hard) decisions.Have added a link to the free speech clip - you may find it interesting

@ShadowAmicus "no personal gain or enrichment"..I believe these two items are not part of His plan...so far, there are so many examples of how he or his family have benefited...I believe a businessperson should get paid fairly and profit to a certain extent, but not at the expense of others..He is neither business man nor leader...a rich boy playing with America, IMO

@thinktwice I totally agree that Trump is a horrendous human who should never have been allowed into the role of president - but in Hilary he faced weak opposition and I still see no evidence of any candidate having much chance of defeating him this time around.

@ShadowAmicus I am struggling to find a candidate that I am willing to put my money and time behind. I am not necessarily driven by party politics as much as supporting someone that is reasonable and decent. They all come with baggage...and it is sad to me that this has come down to those that are less vile than the current guy...our public officials sure have lowered the bar and that is not good for the American people...

@thinktwice It is always sad to have to choose between bad and worse - which is why so many people are rejecting traditional politics - but then there must have been better options than donald

@ShadowAmicus There were way better choices than donald or hillary...we all fucked up

@SeaGreenEyez This will be good 4 consecutive democratic President and Congress terms and will make history. We will have universal healthcare with single payer, corporations will not be people, SC will be tamed, campaign finance reforms will come in, compassionate but tough immigration will happen.... all good things. It is also possible that Trump will be in prison.I might even marry a Republican who will be submissive at the time with no power and voice anywhere

Or three.