The Donald

[fordman1]

Well what do you thing can this guy really become the next President?

[AlexNC]

Can...perhaps. Should he is an entirely different question

[Lefty651]

There's now way he wins against Hilary/Bernie

[JasonNJ]

George Bush and Obama became president so anything is possible.

[fordman1]

I hope I am wrong but I would not bet against Trump. The American people are so stupid and getting stupider every day. Prove it by asking 10 people some history questions. Ask them who was our two main allies in WWII. Ask them who were we fighting. Who was the Pres. then. Who was the Pres. when the war ended. Ask them how many great lakes there are. How about which side of the Mississippi, Mississippi is on. How many states border on the Pacific Ocean. Make up a few for your self.

[Aslan]

Can...perhaps. Should he is an entirely different question

When he first announced I figured it'd just be another sideshow failure. But the political climate is perfect for a candidate like him because most people are tired of two extremes on the right and left. You have a Democratic Party that considers to push as far to the left as they can with open borders, race wars, appeasement of our enemies, uncontrolled spending, and generally apologizing to the World that America exists. Then on the other side of the aisle you have a Republican Party that closes down the government, opposes health care, opposes general welfare programs, forces evangelical beliefs on everyone, and refuses to compromise on any issue ever.

And the simple evidence to support this is very clear. Our greatest Presidents in the last 30 years were Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton was a moderate Democrat and would never survive the Democratic primary. Ronald Reagan would be considered less conservative than anyone running for President now. Trump managed to see that gap between the parties and inserted himself in that position.

People don't love Bernie nor Trump. But they are simply tired of electing people to do a job, and then spending years and years hearing excuses why they can't do their job. How can candidates run for President, that are Senators and Congressman, despite Congress having a 13% approval rating. If they can't do THAT job...why give them a promotion? People are tired of it. And if electing a maniac egotistical moron sends the message...then maybe.

Going into the debate last night; my top 4 were:
1) Bernie Sanders (I want to see if he can get some populist ideas through without killing the economy.
2) Rand Paul (Not a big fan of him fiscally, but I like his isolationist streak.
3) George Patacki (seems like the best of a LOT of evils)
4) Donald Trump (Might destroy the country, but at least he's not a party lackey)

Post debate I have Trump ahead of Patacki. I'm not sure even if Patacki is still running. Without him, it becomes a Top 3 because the next nearest candidate I'd consider is Marco Rubio and I might just stay home rather than cast that vote.

I DO think Fox Business was the worst moderating I've seen so far. They asked tough questions late, but the first two hours seemed like "How much do YOU dislike Obama and Hillary?" followed by statements of how much they hate Obama and/or Hillary. The primary voters already know they aren't going to vote, as registered Republicans, for a Democratic candidate. They want to know why they should vote for you versus the other Republican. But as Carly Fiorina has shown, you can have virtually no platform other than not liking Hillary Clinton...and that'll get some conservatives excited. It's pathetic.

[fordman1]

Aslan you gave a pretty good anasalis of the candidates. You got the Dem's wrong, they are not that far left. They just look that way because the right is so far gone. RAISE THE FRIGGIN TAXES AND QUIT COMPLAINING. GIVE US FREE HEALTH CARE. I don't give a crap about the middle east. Cut off all ties to them and let them kill each other over the crazy religion.

[Tony]

I don't think Aslan went too far left with the description of the democratic party, it's true both parties have veered further and further toward the extreme and the average person is sick of it. Open borders and free trade are perfect examples of idea's that have cost our country billions of dollars. Also take Obama-care, an example of healthcare reform that is totally crippling our country, we spent 1.2 trillion dollars more that we should have on health care for horrendous results compared to countries like the UK that have vastly superior and universal care with better access and better ratings in every single category measured.
This is why Trump and Sanders have gained so much support, they are unconventional and controversial, can they do all the outlandish things they've claimed they will do ? Of course not, look at the record of recent presidents, using facts published by politico on his promises, he has kept less than half of his promises to the American people. ( http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...ises/obameter/ ) Expect Trump or Sanders to possibly do a little better and Hillary to do significantly worse and you'll see that many of the big promises are nothing more than posturing and gaining free coverage.
Take a look at Trump and all the massive coverage he has been getting for free by making outlandish type claims and comments, he is a master of self promotion.

It remains to been seen who comes out on top, I can only say the more people we elect that are not career politicians the better, they have proven that they are totally self serving and base their decisions not on what's best for the people but what's best for themselves and what the big money contributors want them to do. That puts "Hillary the horrible" as number one on the list of people to NOT vote for, she has proven time after time she is totally out for herself and doesn't give a crap about the people.....

[fortheloveofbowling]

I hope I am wrong but I would not bet against Trump. The American people are so stupid and getting stupider every day. Prove it by asking 10 people some history questions. Ask them who was our two main allies in WWII. Ask them who were we fighting. Who was the Pres. then. Who was the Pres. when the war ended. Ask them how many great lakes there are. How about which side of the Mississippi, Mississippi is on. How many states border on the Pacific Ocean. Make up a few for your self.

Or just ask them to spell analysis.

[AlexNC]

I agree with the assessment of why his message is appealing to people. I also think some of the more outlandish stuff is more about getting attention, and most candidates move towards the center after the primaries. Aside from the crazy stuff he puts out, he is probably more moderate. I am moderate. This doesn't stop me from thinking he is an asshat. In general, as I've grown older I feel more disappointed with the candidates on the ballot in elections both at the state and national level. One of the things that bothers me most is that many policies never get a chance to mature after they are adopted. As soon as the other side gains the majority (on the stance that everything the previous majority did was terrible), it becomes all about tearing things apart and going in the opposite direction.

When he first announced I figured it'd just be another sideshow failure. But the political climate is perfect for a candidate like him because most people are tired of two extremes on the right and left. You have a Democratic Party that considers to push as far to the left as they can with open borders, race wars, appeasement of our enemies, uncontrolled spending, and generally apologizing to the World that America exists. Then on the other side of the aisle you have a Republican Party that closes down the government, opposes health care, opposes general welfare programs, forces evangelical beliefs on everyone, and refuses to compromise on any issue ever.

And the simple evidence to support this is very clear. Our greatest Presidents in the last 30 years were Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton was a moderate Democrat and would never survive the Democratic primary. Ronald Reagan would be considered less conservative than anyone running for President now. Trump managed to see that gap between the parties and inserted himself in that position.

People don't love Bernie nor Trump. But they are simply tired of electing people to do a job, and then spending years and years hearing excuses why they can't do their job. How can candidates run for President, that are Senators and Congressman, despite Congress having a 13% approval rating. If they can't do THAT job...why give them a promotion? People are tired of it. And if electing a maniac egotistical moron sends the message...then maybe.

Going into the debate last night; my top 4 were:
1) Bernie Sanders (I want to see if he can get some populist ideas through without killing the economy.
2) Rand Paul (Not a big fan of him fiscally, but I like his isolationist streak.
3) George Patacki (seems like the best of a LOT of evils)
4) Donald Trump (Might destroy the country, but at least he's not a party lackey)

Post debate I have Trump ahead of Patacki. I'm not sure even if Patacki is still running. Without him, it becomes a Top 3 because the next nearest candidate I'd consider is Marco Rubio and I might just stay home rather than cast that vote.

I DO think Fox Business was the worst moderating I've seen so far. They asked tough questions late, but the first two hours seemed like "How much do YOU dislike Obama and Hillary?" followed by statements of how much they hate Obama and/or Hillary. The primary voters already know they aren't going to vote, as registered Republicans, for a Democratic candidate. They want to know why they should vote for you versus the other Republican. But as Carly Fiorina has shown, you can have virtually no platform other than not liking Hillary Clinton...and that'll get some conservatives excited. It's pathetic.