2016 elections - because it's never too early

[Maladict]

Btw, I have to say that "Reince Priebus" is an awesome name (his real first name being Reinhold notwithstanding).

[CountDeMoney]

Rinse Grievous.

[Jacob]

Rinse Grievous.

Rinse Previous. Always good advice.

[FunkMonk]

https://twitter.com/AndrewKirell/status/785896765539037185

Ben Carson to a stunned @brikeilarcnn: Maybe the problem is that you haven't heard enough men crudely boast of their sexual conquests.

Bennie and Rudy truly are the best surrogates in Presidential campaign history.

[celedhring]

Guys, this is not even his final form:

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump  4h4 hours ago
It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.

[Syt]

https://twitter.com/AndrewKirell/status/785896765539037185

Ben Carson to a stunned @brikeilarcnn: Maybe the problem is that you haven't heard enough men crudely boast of their sexual conquests.

Bennie and Rudy truly are the best surrogates in Presidential campaign history.

Full interview: http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/10/11/ben-carson-donald-trump-tape-wolf.cnn

(The Twitter video didn't work for me)

[FunkMonk]

https://twitter.com/AndrewKirell/status/785896765539037185

Ben Carson to a stunned @brikeilarcnn: Maybe the problem is that you haven't heard enough men crudely boast of their sexual conquests.

Bennie and Rudy truly are the best surrogates in Presidential campaign history.

Full interview: http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/10/11/ben-carson-donald-trump-tape-wolf.cnn

(The Twitter video didn't work for me)

The full video is even better 

[The Minsky Moment]

Baghdad Bob patented those hand gestures, he's going to sue Ben Carson.

[The Minsky Moment]

Also note to any would-be Trump surrogate: avoid the phrase "train going off the cliff"

[Caliga]

I remain convinced of the possibility that Trump agreed to run for President to help the Clintons out and is trying to destroy the GOP from within.

That, or he's mentally ill.  One or the other for sure.

[Syt]

A letter to The Atlantic about Trump and his love for Patton and MacArthur:

http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/10/donald-trump-and-the-generals/503558/?utm_source=atlfb

It is easy to see why these two military legends are attractive to Trump:

1) Both were known as showmen and motivators. This is clearly Trump's modus operandi as well; he is most comfortable being the showman and motivator. When he isn't in the granted position of head of the dais, he looks, seems, and acts out of place. (For example, think back to the instance in Flint where the pastor takes the initiative to challenge him as a person.)

2) Both were known to take personal animus against rivals on their own side to extremes. Think of Patton's constant infighting with Montgomery, and his less than amicable relationship to Bradley after Sicily.

3) Both were known for strident aggressive stances against an enemy without consideration for larger picture effects. MacArthur's blunders with antagonizing the Chinese after Inchon, and Patton's immediate post-war desire to go to war with the Soviets before the armed forces and the country (or its non-Russian allies) could even recover from WWII.

4) Both faced disgrace at the hands of the media and at the hands of those who were better able to handle the larger context of events (Eisenhower for Patton, and Truman for MacArthur).

5) Both had authoritarian tendencies supposedly in defense of freedom.

6) Both are seen as the epitome of the "masculine" general—the ones who take action and get the job done, rather than the kind of general who sees complexity and takes a more complicated approach (Patton v. Eisenhower and Bradley, or MacArthur v. Ridgeway).

7) Both had great strengths but fatal flaws that ended (or almost ended) their careers. Patton's consideration of PTSD as cowardly is particularly insightful, as some of Trump's comments seem to indicate a similar attitude.

Trump's use of these particular generals fits in line with both his own, and his base supporters', attitudes towards conflict, war, and masculinity. These men chose to see events in binary paradigms and reacted accordingly—hero/coward, friend/enemy, good/bad—with deliberate elimination of room for something in-between or more complex. With Trump, if something's good, it is The Greatest. If something is bad, it is totally The Worst. His choice of dichotomy helps make issues simpler and condenses them for people who don't want to spend a lot of time (or can't spend a lot of time) determining complexity, or who don't want to be bothered with complexity. It makes for great bumper stickers, but usually terrible policies, especially when it comes to larger picture actions.

I keep wishing a moderator would ask Trump "What then?" when he states his preferential policies on numerous fronts. Ally with Russia against ISIS!  (What then? What if Russia does what is has so far, and really refuses to take on ISIS because they are a useful bogeyman?) Not get involved in ousting dictators about to commit atrocities! (What then?  Sit back and allow the atrocities to continue?) etc. There are debates to be had and points to be made in favor of Trump's preferred choices, but no one seems capable of following up a question to get to his next steps and plan B, C, and D in case his preferred plan doesn't work.

MacArthur's plan if the Chinese entered the Korean War was to go nuclear, period. It wasn't much of a plan, although it fit MacArthur's small picture needs of tactically dealing with an in-theater enemy.  When the issue became clear that MacArthur's plan B was so poor of an alternative, Truman removed him.

However, no one has bothered to figure out Trump's plan B to even judge how good or bad it is (and Trump himself probably doesn't even have a Plan B because he believes all his Plan A's are The Greatest). This is one of the tells that shows more than just about anything else that he isn't qualified to be President. Plan A's fail all the time. Having a workable plan B, C, D, and E is the difference between an Eisenhower and a Patton, a Ridgway and a MacArthur.

[CountDeMoney]

Guys, this is not even his final form:

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump  4h4 hours ago
It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.

It's the bunker scene, but on the 66th floor.  So positively textbook demagoguery, it's practically boring.

[Zanza]

I remain convinced of the possibility that Trump agreed to run for President to help the Clintons out and is trying to destroy the GOP from within.

That, or he's mentally ill.  One or the other for sure.

If he outs himself as a Clinton surrogate after the election, he would be the greatest troll in the history of mankind.

[CountDeMoney]

Didn't MacArthur's mom dress him as a little girl when he was a schoolboy?

[lustindarkness]

I remain convinced of the possibility that Trump agreed to run for President to help the Clintons out and is trying to destroy the GOP from within.

That, or he's mentally ill.  One or the other for sure.

Kinda sorta. Too proud to sacrifice himself on purpose but stupid enough to  have no idea he is a plant that was manipulated to run.