Donald Trump

[Selene]

Sterling appearance on Colbert and the Zogby news was quite interesting.

Real estate mogul Trump has widened his lead to 20 points in a brand new Zogby Analytics poll taken after the second Republican presidential debate. The new poll of 405 likely Republican primary/caucus voters nationwide with a margin of sampling error of +/- 5.0 percentage points, conducted September 18-19, shows Mr. Trump with 33% (up 2 points from his pre-debate 31%). In second place is neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson who actually dropped 3 points to 13%. Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, widely considered to be the big winner in the debate, moved up from just 2% last week to 7% and fourth place in the new poll - just 2 points behind former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's 9% (which is exactly where he was last week).

Texas Senator Ted Cruz moves up a point to 5%, followed by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, and Ohio Governor John Kasich all tied at 4%. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who by many accounts, had a good debate night, stayed at 3%.

The biggest losers in the post-debate poll - besides Dr. Carson's drop - were Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker who fell from 5% to 2% and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee who polled 2% (down from 4%).

Mr. Trump's lead is across the board, among most major sub-groups - 36% among men, 30% with women, 30% Republicans, 39% independents, 29% moderates, and 31% conservatives.

Dr. Carson's best showings were among Republicans 14%, and conservatives 16%. Mrs. Fiorina did better among men (9%) than women (5%) and Republicans 8% than independents (5%). Mr. Bush scored 10% with women, 8% with men, 12% moderates, but just 6% among conservatives.

The poll was conducted in the middle of controversies regarding negative attitudes toward Muslims expressed by both Mr. Trump and Dr. Carson. Mrs. Fiorina gained the most traction from the debate but no one besides Mr. Trump has broken away from the pack.

http://zogbyanalytics.com/news/649-zogby-poll-trump-widens-lead-after-gop-debate

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

There will be a video to embed later (hopefully). For now, The Donald killed it on Colbert.

Oddly enough, Trump started out as shy. By the end, he had warmed up and won the crowd over.

Also, he dodged a trap Colbert set for him. Playing a game of "Who said this?" (whether Trump or Colbert said it), Trump guessed correctly on all (albeit a bit indecisive on one, which he said could have been either). The last quote sounded a bit like Trump, or Colbert lampooning Trump, but a bit off, so Trump said it was neither. It was actually by Charles Manson.

Can you imagine if Trump had said it was him? Or Colbert?

So The Donald came off as a guy who knows himself well to Colbert's audience. And it was all in good humor.

An article just came out about the interview:

Donald Trump Wins Stephen Colbert’s Show
by Lisa de Moraes
Deadline
September 22, 2015

From the article:

“I want to thank you, not only for being here, but for running for president, ” Stephen Colbert told Donald Trump on The Late Show tonight. “I’m not going to say this stuff writes itself, but you certainly do deliver it on time every day,” added Colbert, who has been feasting on Trump’s candidacy since debuting as host of CBS’s late night show early this month.

Colbert didn’t so much interview Trump as perform WWE Theatre with the reality TV star turned GOP front-runner. You know, pretends he’s thwapping the guy, but it’s all for fun – and ratings. Not coincidentally, about a week earlier, Trump visited NBC’s late-night rival, Tonight Show and pounded Colbert in the ratings that night.

. . .

Once out on stage, Trump was challenged to play a game in which he tried to determine which quote he had said, and which had been said by Colbert’s Comedy Central show faux-bloviator character. Trump was game – and got them all right. The last statement – “The real strong have no need to prove it to the phonies” – stumped him somewhat; he knew it wasn’t his, but he didn’t think it sounded Faux-Colbert-ish either. Trump was right again: The line was Charles Manson’s.

. . .

The interview threatened to turn into a love fest when Colbert asked Trump if he was shocked at the enormous response he’s been getting around the country since announcing his candidacy, “because you shocked Republicans.” Colbert cited a recent Zogby poll showing Trump at 33% , adding “I’m not surprised at all.” Trump smiles at the audience and said, “I’m liking him a lot!”

“I’m liking you too,” Colbert responded, saying the GOP position has been that “money is speech and you’re a 10 billion dollar mouth.”

And so on...

This was not Trump's target audience, but I suspect he won quite a few people over.

Drip... drip... drip...

Michael

[Brant Gaede]

There are those of a liberal bent who have started to give Trump some slack. I think it's because they think he might actually win and they see no great ideological threat. Also, they can't knock him down and they've looked dumb trying.

--Brant

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Here's the interview. It was up on Real Clear Politics Video, but it's really YouTube:

 

 

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

O'Reilly figured it out. The only way to fight Trump and win is to not fight him. Say he's a good guy who gets grumpy.

 

What's The Donald going to do now? Say it's a lie? Wanna bet he'll still be going on O'Reilly's show once in awhile?

 

I guess I spoke too soon.

 

And everybody knows Trump and Fox are going to kiss and make up soon.

 

I still believe this, but it looks like there is going to be one helluva media show first. It will be interesting to see how Fox reacts when Trump schedules competing networks to cut into their ratings.

 

Here's the start from NBC News, just a notice of the feud so far:

 

Trump Reignites Feud with Fox News

 

And Trump himself:

 

.@FoxNews has been treating me very unfairly & I have therefore decided that I won't be doing any more Fox shows for the foreseeable future.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

September 23, 2015

 

In the long run, Trump is going to win this no matter how it turns out. He is showing the public--in action--that no one controls him from backstage.

 

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

And to rub it in:

 

Stephen Colbert Gets Big Donald Trump Ratings Bump

 

Trump just linked to that story in a tweet here:

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wow! What a great night. Thank you to all of the viewers and congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenAtHome">@StephenAtHome</a> <a href="http://t.co/5rq2iMpHx6">http://t.co/5rq2iMpHx6</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow">@colbertlateshow</a></p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="

23, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

 

Michael

 

[Selene]

This is a remarkable individual...

 

Good interviewer also.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Even Alex Jones is loving the young ladies.

 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gTe0Jgq12lE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Jones told Diamond and Silk he is liking Trump more and more each day. And it's because of Trump's views.  

 

Michael

[Selene]

And from the Tomb of Unknown Pols, comes the Bush Pacs...

Here comes the first LSTS's to hit Beach Trump ...

The battle against Donald Trump is ramping up on a new front: Super PACs.

The economic conservative Super PAC “Club for Growth Action” is jumping into the fray, unveiling an Iowa ad buy with two television spots worth more than $1 million. The ads start Thursday in Iowa, both on local television and on Fox News.

The move represents the first major effort by an outside group to bring down the real estate mogul, who is leading in polls nationally and in early states. Jeb's Super PAC, Right to Rise, will follow with anti-Trump television spots worth more than $20 million in early states.

The Club's first ad focuses on what they say is Trump's "very liberal" record, warning voters that Trump is "just another politician" and that "he's really just playing us for chumps" by running for the Republican nomination. Its second ad also attacks Trump as "the worst kind of politician," but this time the spotlight is on his support of eminent domain, asserting that he holds a typically liberal stance on the issue.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/conservative-super-pac-declares-war-donald-trump/story?id=33772593

Love this approach and I have always advocated to take this strategic response to this particular type of ad.

It was rare that I found a candidate that would have the courage to do it. Well my current search is over...

Lawyers for GOP frontrunner Donald Trump sent Club for Growth a letter Monday demanding that the group cease and desist its ongoing campaign critical of Trump.

The cease and desist demand targets recent TV ads, as well as media interviews promoting the commercials, that suggest Trump is "very liberal." Monday's letter singled out a Club for Growth claim that Trump supports higher taxes, which Trump's legal team says is misleading and comes from a single, 15-year-old article.

"In other words, you lied," the letter said. "Mr. Trump does not support higher taxes. This is the very definition of libel."

Now they have to waste resources[time and money] to respond. When you are ducking punches, sometimes you don't have the presence of mind to counter punch.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-trump-club-for-growth-cease-desist-letter?utm_source=jolt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Jolt09232015&utm_term=Jolt

[Selene]

Michael:

Here is the Fox problem:

Donald Trump is still refusing to appear on the Fox News Channel — but apparently his self-imposed boycott doesn't prohibit watching the channel's shows.

And what a surprise, it was on the "Bimbo's" show...

Trump exploded on Twitter on Wednesday night after National Review editor Rich Lowry appeared on Fox and used some rather, well, colorful language to describe exactly how Carly Fiorina bested Trump at last week's Republican presidential debate.

"Let's be honest: Carly cut his balls off with the precision of a surgeon — and he knows it," Lowry said on "The Kelly File."

Host Megyn Kelly was shocked. "You can't say that!" she said, before covering her eyes with a hand. "You can't say that."

[Donald Trump launches a Fox News boycott]

Trump quickly exploded on Twitter and wrote in a tweet: "Incompetent @RichLowry lost it tonight on @FoxNews. He should not be allowed on TV and the FCC should fine him!" And then: "@FoxNews owes me an apology for allowing clueless pundit @RichLowry to use such foul language on TV. Unheard of!"

I have seen the "cute" little eye cover move by her before and it is at best disingenuous.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/23/donald-trump-wants-the-fcc-to-fine-a-critical-fox-news-pundit/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_politics

A...

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Adam,

Heh.

While Fox News is trying to cut Trump's balls off, South Park rapes and murders him:

Controversial South Park episode shows Donald Trump being raped and murdered: Show attacks tycoon's run for President, his immigration policies and then kills him off in shocking final scene

These people who say Trump be a'hatin' are showing us a higher path toward spiritual serenity, I guess.

Michael

[Peter]

Some excerpts from:
http://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2015/09/24/scott-walker-the-gop-and-the-fools-gold-in-iowa-n2055917

Iowa is the fool’s gold of Republican politics.
Winning the Iowa caucus is not the key to winning the Republican nomination. Since 1980, the Iowa caucus has been an abysmal predictor of who the eventual GOP nominee will be. The only Republican candidates who were not running unopposed to win the caucus and the nomination are Bob Dole in 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000. Every other “winner” went on to lose the nomination.

George H. W. Bush beat Ronald Reagan in 1980, and Bob Dole beat George H. W. Bush in 1988. Reagan won in 1984, Bush the elder in 1992, and Bush the younger in 2004, but all were unopposed and incumbents.
Remember President Mike Huckabee’s tenure in the White House? How about President Rick Santorum? They won Iowa in 2008 and 2012, respectively, and lost the nomination. Dole at least won the caucus and the nomination in his 1996 try but was beaten soundly in the general election.

Iowa is the race you don’t want to win. It may seem like a sprint, like you have to hit the ground running. But this isn’t a 100-yard dash; it’s a marathon. The fastest person off the starting line is rarely the first one across the finish line.

. . . . Where Iowa fails, New Hampshire succeeds. Although not a perfect indicator, the Granite State picked non-incumbents Reagan in ’80, Bush in ’88, McCain in ’08, and Romney in ’12. Winning Iowa doesn’t help win anything else; winning New Hampshire, or even performing well, does.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Peter,

 

Heh.

 

According to the establishment Republican media, if Trump loses Iowa, that will mean he's done. If he wins Iowa, that will mean it's fool's gold, that no winning candidate wins Iowa (besides, look at poor Scott Walker), so he's done.

 

 

Anyway, getting back to big balls, let's let the lovely ladies give us an injection of pure positive energy instead of cheap profundity rolling down the noses of pundits to us cornball unwashed masses:

 

 

 

Michael

[Peter]

I watched them, thar girls once and that was enuf. If there was a transcript I might read it, but they remind me of Amos and Andy. Well actually, The Kingfish and Andy. Amos was an intelligent and decent sort. Yesterday I watched an old VHS tape bought from the dollar bin, narrated by comedian George Kirby on the Amos and Andy radio show, and the two white guys in blackface who played them and then the TV show with real black actors. I was disappointed because they did not show one complete TV broadcast of the show.

I agree about the waffling on Iowa. No matter the outcome it will be explained away by the Rino's. When the next six candidates drop out I wonder how many will take a swipe at Trump as they walk off the stage? And where will their voter's support go? I saw where Trump had a slight lessening in the polls. O'Reilly was on Regis and Kathy Lee today (smile) and he said Trump will need to forget about the *slights* and talking about his hair and get serious, like a REAL Republican. I wish. Do you think that will happen soon? Let's have a show of hands. When will Trump start talking like the President should? Is there a Presidential way to get elected and a Presidential way to talk? If what people like most about Trump is his candor and truthfulness perhaps he should not sound like Jeb or O'Reilly.

Peter

[Jonathan]

Anyway, getting back to big balls, let's let the lovely ladies give us an injection of pure positive energy instead of cheap profundity rolling down the noses of pundits to us cornball unwashed masses...

Coulter bitch-slaps the "useless idiots":

This is the problem with using the word "elites" to refer to Republican Party apparatchiks: They're all such utter mediocrities.

I don't mean to be unkind. It's simply a fact.

Trump graduated from the Wharton School of Business and went on to make $11 billion. Carson went from Yale to the University of Michigan Medical School and was the first man to separate twins conjoined at the brain. Fiorina graduated from Stanford University and then earned $80 million in business.

By contrast, look up the educational achievement of the average pundit sneering at Trump’s idiocy and the ordinariness of his supporters. I won’t be as nasty as they are, but wow! – people who went to bush league schools shouldn’t throw stones. There's nothing wrong with attending a bush-league college. But maybe ease up on holding yourself out as a great intellectual appalled by the dirty masses if you went to a third-rate college in the era of need-blind admissions...

Ironically, it's the Ivy League billionaire living a glamorous New York City life who has rocked the political world by speaking for ordinary Americans and insulting the powerful. Meanwhile, depressingly average Washington insiders insult ordinary Americans and suck up to the powerful.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

When will Trump start talking like the President should? Is there a Presidential way to get elected and a Presidential way to talk?

Peter,

Maybe we should ask Harry Truman.

One of my favorite stories about him concerns his language. There are many versions floating around, but usually goes like this:

Harry, talking about growing plants, kept referring to the good manure he used. Some prim and proper political woman took Bess aside and asked her if she could get him to stop saying manure so much. And Bess said something like, "My goodness no. It took me many years just to get him to use that word."

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Jonathan,

Coulter has more balls than most establishment Republican men.

That's so metaphorically true, it almost could be reality.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

The latest from Variety:

Donald Trump, Roger Ailes To Meet To Iron Out Differences

According to a Fox statement: "Fox News Chairman & CEO Roger Ailes and Donald Trump spoke this morning and plan to have a meeting next week to discuss their differences of opinion regarding Fox’s coverage of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign. Ailes will be joined by senior Fox editorial executives."

Next week?

And senior Fox editorial executives will be there?

Ha!

Both Trump and Ailes know something nobody else seems to know, not even the "Fox editorial executives."

Their feud is good for ratings. Good for Fox ratings. Good for Trump ratings.

That's why they can wait to resolve it.

Gotta get the Sunday pundit shows in first.

Michael

[Selene]

Michael:

What I love about The Donald is that he is doing this right out in front of everyone...it is a reality show...

All these self appointed media supported "critics" like Krautheimer, Will etc. are just pieces in the show...

A...

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Here's an example of classy Trump criticism from a lady at Salon:

So much for Stephen Colbert dipping his balls in Donald Trump’s mouth

What's worse, most of the article was not about Trump.

When it did get to Trump, the author gushed over Colbert for secretly eviscerating Trump with a new strategy that doesn't look like Colbert is eviscerating him. The author thinks Colbert has honed his covert tools for manipulating public perception.

(This is basically BS to make excuses for Colbert toning down his Trump criticism.)

But, taking the lady at her word, with a headline like the one she wrote (based on a Colbert 2012 gag), maybe she could use some lessons in covert.

You just can't make this crap up.

LOL...

Michael

[Mikee]

Jonathan,

Coulter has more balls than most establishment Republican men.

That's so metaphorically true, it almost could be reality.

Michael

Michael,

"More balls" simply means reckless. I know "no risk, no reward"...but reckless is not necessarily a compliment. It could mean action without thought.

[guilty]

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Mike,

LOL...

I was being a smartass.

In the context I meant it, I was referring to outspoken courage and integrity.

Think of Coulter as one may, she does not keep her agenda hidden behind wussiness or the covert arts.

Michael

[Peter]

I know Michael thinks Trump is a savant. If that is a fact then there must be some information Trump knows about Rubio that we are not privy to. There must have been a private exchange between them for this animosity to surface.
Remember Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.
Peter Taylor

From Business Insider, Donald Trump is in an all-out attack against a surging new rival — and he just fired back By Colin Campbell 8 hours ago.

Real-estate developer Donald Trump is now frequently attacking a presidential rival he mostly refrained from criticizing in the past: US Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida). During a Thursday-morning CNN interview, Trump hit Rubio as a "kid" in a wide-ranging critique. He first bashed Rubio's credibility as a foreign-policy wonk when asked to compare their knowledge about Syria. "Marco Rubio sits behind a desk sometimes and he reads stuff," Trump said, according to CNN's transcript. "That's all he does. I create jobs all day long. I'll know more about all of this than all of them put together, and believe me, we'll have a winning strategy. If Marco Rubio is good, how come we're doing so badly?"

Trump went on to dismiss the 44-year-old senator's age. "These guys don't know how to win," he said. "Marco Rubio, he's like a kid. He shouldn't even be running in this race, as far as I'm concerned. He's a kid." Later in the interview, Trump again called Rubio a "kid" and criticized him for not deferring his candidacy to Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor. "He's a kid. He has no right — I mean, frankly, he was very disloyal to Bush," Trump said. "Bush was his mentor. And everyone said he'd never run because Bush was his mentor. Well, the fact that Bush was his mentor didn't stop this young guy who is overly ambitious from wanting to run. Now Bush looks foolish and he looks like he's a very disloyal guy, frankly."

Earlier in the day, during a "Morning Joe" interview, Trump also mocked Rubio for perspiring during last week's presidential debate. "I'm looking at guys like Marco Rubio, who has the worst voting record in the United States Senate. And [he's a] young guy — although he sweats more than any young person I've ever seen in my life," Trump said. "I've never seen a guy down water like he downs water. They bring it in in buckets for this guy."

Rubio fired back in an interview Thursday, calling Trump "touchy and insecure" and ripping his performance in last week's Republican presidential debate. "He had a really bad debate performance last week," Rubio told Kentucky Sports Radio, according to BuzzFeed. "He's not well informed on the issues. He really never talks about issues and can't have more than a 10-second soundbite on any key issue. And I think he's kind of been exposed a little bit over the last seven days, and he's a very touchy and insecure guy and so that's how he reacts, and people can see through it." Rubio has surged in national polls since a strong performance in last week's debate, and he moved up to second place behind Trump in his home state of Florida. He and Bush are the establishment favorites in a GOP field still dominated by the real-estate magnate and, to a lesser extent, fellow political outsiders in retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.
Trump frequently brags about being a "counter-puncher" during speeches and interviews, meaning he tries to wait until he is criticized before hitting back hard. This has prompted Trump to trash almost all his rivals at various points in the campaign, with a couple of exceptions. In Rubio's case, the senator recently said Trump had yet to "talk seriously about national security." Trump responded by unloading on Rubio earlier this week . . . .

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

... there must be some information Trump knows about Rubio that we are not privy to. There must have been a private exchange between them for this animosity to surface.

Peter,

There is an anti-Trump war-room maintained by the old-money establishment Republicans. According to a press report I read somewhere, this is a formal war-room. They traffic in leaking stuff to the left-wing press like Politico and all kinds of dirty tricks. These are just their normal tools of the trade.

Rubio is one of the darlings of the crony-capitalist establishment Republicans. If they can't have Jeb, they will gladly take Rubio. And things don't look so hot for Jeb right now.

I imagine Rubio is perfectly content with the dirty tricks of his backers. In fact, I can see him chiming in behind closed doors--on opinions as well as dirty-trick strategies.

And Trump probably gets reports.

This is speculation, but it would explain Trump's sudden hostility to Rubio.

Michael

[Selene]

Mike,

LOL...

I was being a smartass.

In the context I meant it, I was referring to outspoken courage and integrity.

Think of Coulter as one may, she does not keep her agenda hidden behind wussiness or the covert arts.

Michael

My my what a surprise - she is a professor...and of International affairs AND comparative literature no less...

Sophia A. McClennen is Professor of International Affairs and Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University. She writes on the intersections between culture, politics, and society. Her latest book, co-authored with Remy M. Maisel, is, Is Satire Saving Our Nation? Mockery and American Politics.

http://www.jobs-salary.com/the-pennsylvania-state-university-salary.htm<<<<nah no reason for these high tuitions lol