HAS TRUMP HACKED THE POLLS? How hard would it be to hack the polls? Not very hard at all. Why would anyone want to? Think about where we are now. The Conventional Wisdom holds that Trump can’t be removed from office because his base is still with him. We “know” his base is still with him because “the polls” say they are. In other words, the polls ARE the Conventional Wisdom.
The polls are Trump’s life line. They are key to whatever power Trump has left on Capitol Hill (elected officials watch the polls constantly) and his ability to draw crowds in so called “Trump Country.” Currently, Gallup has Trump at 39% job approval which is on the low side for a normal President interested in successfully governing. That’s not Trump. Trump is in survival mode. Actual public service and stewardship…please, that’s not Trump’s cup of tea. Trump has a desperate need to survive. He has to stay in the White House. Take him out of the White House and he’s looking at lawsuits, back taxes and criminal trials at the State and Federal Level.
If you look at Trump’s Job Approval numbers (Gallup) since he’s been in office they haven’t been above 45% or below 35%. That narrow band makes me suspicious. (Obama fluctuated between 69% and 40% and George W Bush between 90%, right after 9-11, and 25%). Trump’s poll numbers look managed and phony. How would Trump’s people execute a hack? Not my field of expertise…ask Mark Zuckerberg. I do know ethical considerations didn’t (or wouldn’t) stop them. Good poll numbers beget better poll numbers. The subject appears in command and looks like a winner. Bad poll numbers beget worse poll numbers as the subject appears out of control and looks like a loser.
Do you think the guy who gave us Trump University and bone spurs is going to leave his fate in the hands of his fellow citizens responding to poll questions and not seek to doctor the system? I don’t think so either.
ROBERT MUELLER. A little known fact about Special Counsel Robert Mueller involves his service as a Marine in Vietnam. When he graduated from Princeton in 1967 Mueller tried to join the Marines but couldn’t pass the physical because of a knee problem. He waited a year, picked up a Masters Degree, did physical rehab on his own and was accepted by the Marines a year later on his second try. We’re talking the Viet Nam era when middle-class and rich kids were jumping through hoops trying to stay out of the military. Bob Mueller was going the extra mile to get into the military. And the Marines, no less, where the chance of getting shot at was 100 per cent. Mueller won the Bronze Star with Valor in Viet Nam and considered staying in the Marines as a career. When it became apparent that a career, even in the Marines, required a lot of desk duty, he changed his mind and entered University of Virginia Law School. A few years ago, Mueller was asked about his professional life, with its multitude of accomplishments. Specifically, what gave him the most pride. Bob Mueller’s response, “the Marine Corps deemed me worthy of leading other Marines.”
WHO IS PRO LIFE? Did you ever notice that the people who are least likely to have ever changed a diaper are the most fervent in proclaiming their “pro life” position? It appears that the most dedicated “pro lifers” are most concerned with that part of the life cycle that begins with conception and ends at birth. Not much actual work is required during this period…just do what you can to to put on your best Mike Pence face. You know the face, its the Prayer Breakfast Face. After birth, the formerly fervent pro lifers delegate their passion for life to Nancy Pelosi who is clearly the most dedicated and effective pro lifer in Congress for the birth to death part of the life cycle. Nancy got basic training in the birth to death segment by having five kids in six years and changing a few thousand diapers herself…probably more than the entire Republican Caucus combined. Ain’t politics grand? John McCain had the politics of abortion figured out. He said if you’re trying to win a national election as a Republican “say you’re pro life and stop talking about it.”
ELIZABETH WARREN. I watched Warren speak to Al Sharpton’s Action Network a couple of days ago. She has no quit in her. A while back I dismissed her candidacy on the grounds that her failure to come completely clean on the “Native American Ancestry” issue in a timely manner was fatal. I’m changing my mind and giving her a clean slate. She’s not my candidate…I don’t have one yet…but I’m taking her out of jail and wishing her well. As they say, “that, and five dollars, will get her a cup of coffee.” Hang in there Elizabeth Warren.
ADDENDUM:
I entitled this Post OBSERVATIONS NO. 1 because I’m thinking of using this format in the future rather than the essay format I’ve used in the past.
Comments are welcome at tomc[at]wednesdayswars[dot]com. Comments will be addressed in subsequent posts.