BloggeRhythms

Just watched a few minutes of the Varney show on Fox News business channel. A political consultant, whose name I didn’t catch, classified Jeb Bush as “boring.” Moving on to Trump, she said he has no “class.“ When Varney then asked what she thought of Bill Clinton’s wife, she replied that “both” terms applied to her. 

 

As far as Trump vs. Bush is concerned, yesterday Chris Stirewalt on FoxNews.com said that  “Donald Trump’s video savaging former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is rough stuff. It was so effective that it drew immediate howls of “Willie Horton,” which is generally a sign that a Republican has produced a viscerally effective spot. The video juxtaposes Bush’s comments about illegal immigrants committing an “act of love” with the mug shots of illegal immigrant murders.”

 

Chris went on to opine: “But Bush’s campaign was not caught flat-footed. The response was a supercut of some of Trump’s wildest statements about partial-birth abortion, single-payer health insurance and his praise for Hillary Clinton.” And then, the truly critical part: “The kicker is Trump being asked why he is a Republican and him responding “I have no idea.”

 

In this case, Trump's more than likely totally honest reply, clearly indicates that his campaign’s recent success is a complete surprise to him. Due to a confluence of poorly handled world events by both major political parties, coupled with stumbling, bumbling, self-serving alibi’s from both party’s leaderships, an opening for a brash, unprincipled outsider to gain center-stage was provided. So, he stepped in.

 

Another problem has now been created for him, however. Because while Trump’s ever-changing harangues might attract frustrated Republican voters at present, the job of POTUS demands several things he simply doesn’t possess right now and can’t possibly acquire by next November. Learning how to run a government entity, such as a state, cabinet department, or even serving in some aspect of Congress. Whereas, as often mentioned here before, the U.S. presidency isn’t a position that can be learned “on the job,” as the past six years have conclusively proven.    

 

Additionally, acquiring a bit of diplomacy might he helpful in other ways for Trump. Michael O'Connell @hollywoodreporter.com writes that, “Donald Trump might have issues with Megyn Kelly, but viewers evidently don't. If August is any indication, her Kelly File is shaping up to be the cable news destination for coverage of the 2016 election.

 

“Kelly had the highest-rated cable news show for the month, even with her weeklong vacation. Buoyed by the record-breaking showcase of Fox News Channel's GOP debate and her 11 p.m. telecast that night, she outpaced typical victor Bill O'Reilly for only the third full month since she shifted to her high-profile primetime slot in late 2013.”

 

As far as Trump’s concerned, there are surely other places he can go to perhaps be treated better then he perceives Fox dealt with him. But from an audience favorability point of view, “CNN did lose some of its primetime steam — seeing a 17 percent year-over-year primetime ratings drop in August after months of growth. MSNBC, still No. 3, was down by only 7 percent.

 

Which means that by taking on Megyn Kelly, and by association, Roger Ailes, Trump seems to have made a huge mistake.

 

Which brings us to today’s update on Bill Clinton’s wife, who has further popularity issues of her own.

 

According to Gary Langer @abcnews.go.com, “Negative views of Hillary Clinton have jumped to nearly their highest on record in ABC News/Washington Post polls, while Donald Trump’s personal popularity has grown more polarized along racial and ethnic lines. 

 

“Clinton’s favorability has burbled back under water: 45 percent of Americans now see her favorably, down 7 percentage points since midsummer, while 53 percent rate her unfavorably, up 8. Her unfavorable score is a single point from its highest in ABC/Post polls dating back 23 years; that came in April 2008, in the midst of her last presidential campaign.”

 

For both candidates, whites are the majority group containing 64 percent of the adult population. They “now divide evenly on Trump, 48-49 percent, favorable-unfavorable. Clinton, by contrast, is far more unpopular than Trump among whites, 34-65 percent. So while racial and ethnic polarization is on the rise in views of Trump, it remains even higher for Clinton.”

 

And, in Bill’s wife’s case, it likely will get worse for her, whereas, Carol D. Leonnig and Rosalind S. Helderman report @washingtonpost.com, that “While she was secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote and sent at least six e-mails using her private server that contained what government officials now say is classified information, according to thousands of e-mails released by the State Department. 

 

“Although government officials deemed the e-mails classified after Clinton left office, they could complicate her efforts to move beyond the political fallout from the controversy. They suggest that her role in distributing sensitive material via her private e-mail system went beyond receiving notes written by others, and appears to contradict earlier public statements in which she denied sending or receiving e-mails containing classified information.”

 

Leading to the ongoing question: Joe Biden, Mayor Bloomberg, Jerry Brown, and Starbuck’s chairman and CEO, Howard Schultz, are you reading this?  

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios