Donald Trump, speaking about John McCain: I liked him, then he lost. He lets us down.
Interviewer, "But he was a war hero...
Donald Trump: I never liked him as much after that because I don't like losers.
Interviewer, "But he was a war hero..."
Donald Trump: He's not a war hero.
Interviewer: He spent five years...
Donald Trump: He's a war hero, because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured.
You really have to go a long way to make the late Senator Joe McCarthy seem a courtly gentleman. Let's face it, in the history of the republic, few if any major candidates for the office of president have sunk below the depths of that odious sink hole. Ted Cruz seems to have the potential for it. He has the disposition of a hungry barracuda coupled with an ego which rivals that of the late Benito Mussolini--both outstanding qualifications for the job.
However, after Saturday's performance in Ames, Iowa, no one can deny Donald Trump is the man of the moment.
When it comes to xenophobia, truth twisting, media monopolization, and now, low blows, El Donald has proven himself unmatched in the vile art of American demagoguery.
One of the excuses he is using for the brutally snide attack on John McCain over the weekend--mostly after the fact--is that McCain had called the people who attended a recent Trump rally in Phoenix, "crazies." At least that is the one he used on stage right after he claimed, McCain wasn't a war hero and just before he derided the Senator's academic standing in his graduating class at the Naval Academy.
Since then he has insisted, despite what was caught on tape, he never said McCain wasn't a war hero. In fact, he blames the press for misrepresenting the context of his wording and points out he most certainly did say, John McCain was a war hero at least four times during his time on that Iowa stage. Yeah, but, besides the outright lie, what he fails to mention is his tone was about as caustic as Truman Capote's when Capote said of another author, "He doesn't write. He types."
Beyond the tortuous warping of what actually went down, Trump is now rambling as fast as an auctioneer on meth about the conditions of VA hospitals and the treatment of veterans. In his words, "...illegal immigrants get treated better than many of our vets and John McCain hasn't done anything about it."
In addition he made a point to tell "Today Show," host Matt Lauer, the republican candidates who were critical of his comments were, "zero" in the polls.
Well, Bobby Jindal might be, but that didn't stop him from delivering the best one line response to Trump's bombast. He told the media, "After Donald Trump has been a prisoner of war, then he'll be in a position to comment on and criticize the Senator's record."
Rick Perry used terms like, "a new low in American politics," "unfit," and said Mr. Trump should withdraw from the race.
That motion was seconded by Florida Senator, Marco Rubio who was quoted as saying, "It's not just absurd, it's offensive. It's Ridiculous. And I do think it is a disqualifier as commander in chief."
In fact the only person in the field refusing to condemn the Trumpster is the aforementioned Senator Cruz, who not only recognizes a kindred spirit, but lusts after his supporters.
An NBC News headline asked if this might be the tipping point for Brother Trump. He caught heat after the attack on Mexicans and Mexico, but at the time those rebuttals seemed hesitant, almost reluctant. That's because early on in the campaign, all the candidates must sell their souls to the right and they all know that immigration is a hot button issue with the tea party yokels. They're also fully aware those same rubes have an outsized influence on republican primary results.
However, after Saturday, there are few, if any, restraints they have to worry about. That's because the vast majority of republicans, no matter where they are in the spectrum, believe that, unless your name is John Kerry, denigrating a decorated war veteran's record is out of bounds.
McCain appeared on MSNBC earlier today. He seemed saddened and resigned to the politics of fear and slander, Mr. Trump so gleefully practices. He spoke not of himself, but to the insult, Trump, in effect, leveled at every veteran who has been taken prisoner during times of war. He even refused to bite the bait when he was pointedly asked about the propriety of someone like Trump, who avoided the military during the Vietnam conflict, questioning the valor of those who fought it.
It was a display of grace that, Trump, the ultimate grifter and bully, will never understand.
Donald Trump is not going to win the republican nomination for president. He will never serve in the oval office. That doesn't mean we aren't in trouble. The very idea this crude, bellicose, real estate pimp could run for the highest office in the land and get this much media attention is so appalling, one has to question, not just the level of the nation's intelligence, but our moral character as well.
Think not? Listen carefully--that sound you hear is the founding fathers spinning in their graves.
sic vita est
7-20-15
DCL
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