My feelings is that every president we’ve ever elected suffers from all of these mortal sins. Trump isn’t any different, he’s just more obvious. I’m thinking about Hillary‘s husband having sex in the oval office. And I’m thinking about Hillary, letting those people at Benghazi die , rather than ordering a strike. I’m thinking about Jimmy Carter saying that he lusted in his heart. And I’m thinking about Bernie saying that ipen borders is a KOCH brother scheme. Anyone who serves as president will be corrupt in one way or another, this something I’ve learned over the last 70 years. One side does not have a monopoly on truth. That is what I’ve learned having been a member of the communist party, the Socialist party, the Democrat party and the peace and freedom party. Each one of those political parties thought they were right, yet each had blind spots to their own corruption.
The funny thing about wisdom, is it can be amazingly clear when looking at it from afar; but terribly difficult when analyzing oneself. Hence some very smart people making (or siding/agreeing with) some extremely questionable actions or decisions. However it sometimes just takes a viewpoint that is outside oneself that makes so much sense that we can’t help but see ourselves through its lenses.
Yes. I can explain why he has pursued wealth. Because it is the American Dream. It is more important to some than others. Apparently, such things were important to him.
That trait, to pursue success, it is not universal. But in this country, we have more freedom to pursue an improvement of our circumstances than most others.
There are many recognizable names of very successful people who have given back to the great nation that gave them the opportunity to succeed. They do it in various ways, generally creating a financial entity that helps those most in need.
I would argue the current leader of our country is doing the same thing. Giving back to the country that gave him the opportunity to succeed to the level he did.
The same drive that fueled his success in a few arenas allowed him to achieve the ultimate level of power in this country.
There are examples of his largess, generosity or charity. His very act of serving as president and donating the compensation is one.
And a lot of people inherit money only to spend or lose it. Guess what? The rich need places to live as well.
But the rich were not and are not the only interactions he has or had. He relates to the public because he has interacted with the trades class during his projects. The dude has been financially up and flat broke, owing more than you or I will ever see in our lifetimes. So, those cardinal virtues definitely come into play when you are on the ropes and you face the choice of fight or quit.
I know half the voting public holds your opinion. Many of my friends hate him viscerally. Considering Trump’s popularity before choosing to run for office and afterwards, I often wonder how much influence the legacy media, politicians, Trump’s own words and deeds have contributed to the change in that popularity. He was ubiquitous on the boob tube for a decade or two.
But he always sang the same song. 🎶America is getting screwed🎵
And I have to thank you! I have endlessly scoured the internet for this quote that I’d heard but could not remember from where.
It is from the 2003 documentary, “Born Rich” by Jamie Johnson of the Johnson & Johnson family.
In it, Ivanka Trump recalls her dad lamenting on his financial condition in 1990.
“I remember once, my father and I were walking down 5th avenue and there was a homeless person sitting right outside of Trump Tower. I think I was probably nine or ten, something like this, it was around the same time as the divorce. I remember my father pointing to him and saying, “You know, that guy has 8 billion dollars more than me.” Because he was in such extreme debt at that point, you know? And me thinking, ‘What are you talking about?’ He was sitting outside of Trump Tower and I’m looking and I didn’t understand. I think I just thought about it a year or two ago and found it interesting and makes me all the more proud of my parents - they got through that.”
He's grifting like a motherfucker Dave. I reject the notion that 'The American Dream' has anything to do with great wealth. He inherited a HUGE fortune. Hundreds of millions. I find it a LOT easier to admire a person who sets out to provide a service, and fill a need ... who then does that so well, that the multiplying affect makes him or her wealthy. Sam Walton was one such man. Jeff Bezos is another. And of course we have many historic examples such as Ford and Carnegie.
Donald Trump is not that kind of man, though his father was. Fred Trump built simple homes and barracks for common folks and ship workers. Apparently, he too was a bit of a sleaze, but he contributed to the American Dream through affordable housing .... which has to do with freedom and security rather that grabbing dough by the handful. Trump built showoff apartments for rich elites. His only real interface with the commoner was to take their money at casinos.
The idea of not accepting the relative pittance of $400,000 a year for a presidential salary is just window dressing. And a tax write-off. That would be like me doing this column for free. Oh wow! Passing up on my $250 a month!? What a giver. But that pittance is a far greater slice of my overall worth than $400k is of Trump's. (BTW ... I'm not sure that he waived his salary for his current term)
This man is not in office to serve. He's in office to get even, stay out of jail, and pull in the serious bucks. And he is driving the wedges between Americans as deep as he possibly can. Pardon me for not falling for the con.
I am not going to argue points in the stack. If I want to write my own I am free to do so.
Although, I feel many on both sides have views that are colored by personal preference, each side of the political spectrum have different opinions on which presidents are good and which are bad.
We really won’t know the answers until their time in office is over. It will all come down to is “are we a better country than before they started?” As the sausage is being made, things can get pretty ugly. Let’s let time take some of the raw edges off and view things from the lens of history.
I have one question...if anyone can answer, please do....why is it that all the demonstrators/riots and horrible public conduct (ex: calling of names such as Nazi and Gestapo, which as a relative of a concentration camp survivor really offends me) are left leaning people?
Don't even bring up Jan 6...that's too controversial and a hornets nest to be dealt with another time.
I don't see right leaning people vandalizing cars, burning American flags, etc. Why is this bad behavior tolerated by the left?
Mostly because liberals live in cities, and are also the natural landing place of youngsters. The rioters are always opportunists that attach themselves to protests, because it's cheap fun in the big boring city.
Democrats in power in these cities don't prosecute because they fear being called racist. That said, the big 'No Kings' event was one of the largest national protests ever, and was as peaceful as the Great Women's March of 2017.
I am struck by how the ancient virtues all require both a commitment to the common good and self-discipline, good guideposts for us all. I think that these are self-evident values if we stop to reflect. We all live up to them to different extents at different times. It is reasonable to expect that our leaders live these values both in order to do their jobs well and to be examples for our children. I appreciate in the midst of all the current chaos the grounding in that which has proved it’s worth over time.
What Trump's Big Beautiful Bill really does is to shift the burden of STATE Medicaid programs (emphasis on the word STATE) to the STATES. The federal government paid a lot of money into STATE Medicaid programs... and instead of blasting Trump, the STATES can still raise the money to pay for their own STATE Medicaid programs. WHY YOU ASK!!! Because the Federal DEBT is a whopping $37 trillion, which is THREE TIMES the gross domestic product of France, Germany, and UK COMBINED!!! OK, maybe STATE taxes will have to go up, but maybe that will give those STATES the incentive to run their STATE Medicaid programs more efficiently.... and who benefits from the BBB? Well I know a little (actually A LOT) about income taxes, and the primary beneficiaries are older people with moderate incomes drawing Social Security. Now the issue I have is that the BBB doesn't lower the NATIONAL DEBT. So without lowering the NATIONAL DEBT, all this back and forth about it and who gains or loses is like spending a lot of time designing the menu for the Titanic.. who gets the filet mignon or who gets the porridge... it doesn't matter... without lowering the NATIONAL DEBT... our ship of state is still gonna hit that proverbial North Atlantic iceberg.
I’m not defending, just asking that we also remember that President Obama did much of the same (“elections have consequences”), foisting his ideas against what many others did not want, as did Biden for certain. Singling out Trump seems a bit disingenuous. BUT, I agree that our nation has moved far too far to the edges of politics, thus depriving the center of reasonableness. As for the Seven Deadly Sins, could we not measure our previous two other Presidents similarly? Do any of these three need to have just one or more sin to be worse than the other? I’m not picking things apart here, Dave, just adding context from my view. I really do hope that we as a nation can get back to CENTER, or at least close. And that will take the efforts of media, social and mainstream. They hold the match to the gasoline, but by our acceptance of them, we decide if they throw it.
I didn't promote either of the two previous presidents. And criticized them freely when they screwed up. But neither of them treated the job like a reality show. Neither was a self-promoting blowhard who filled their cabinets with incompetent yes-people. Neither has openly profited personally while in office, or intentionally deepened our national divisions. Neither scape-goated a large part of our population as criminals, or sent them to concentration camps without due process.
You want me to equally criticize presidents that are no longer in power? Why? There's only one guy in the White House now, and he is the one who should bear our critiques. That's what free societies are all about.
Elections do have consequences, and I gave Trump my support first time around, as long as he was actually trying to be a decent president. I suggest that you open you eyes a bit wider. This asshole is doing a rotten job.
"He here without sin, cast the first stone". Since when are Great Leaders required not to be flawed? Churchill, Paton, MacArthur, Marcus Aurelius, Pericles, Alexander the Great. All, very
flawed. I do strongly believe in "Survival of the Fit Test", MERITOCRACY. And believe Trump,
despite all his flaws, can help lead that direction.
Interesting that in your your examples, no 'presidents' were mentioned, but two emperors were.. Hey, if you prefer incredibly fucked up dishonest authoritarians as your leaders, knock yourself out. I'd rather live in a democratic republic where the top people cared more about us than about themselves.
Dave, I suspect your post this week is fully tilted to discern only negative interpretive conclusions, while also failing to consider the four virtues. Sadly, very weak.
My feelings is that every president we’ve ever elected suffers from all of these mortal sins. Trump isn’t any different, he’s just more obvious. I’m thinking about Hillary‘s husband having sex in the oval office. And I’m thinking about Hillary, letting those people at Benghazi die , rather than ordering a strike. I’m thinking about Jimmy Carter saying that he lusted in his heart. And I’m thinking about Bernie saying that ipen borders is a KOCH brother scheme. Anyone who serves as president will be corrupt in one way or another, this something I’ve learned over the last 70 years. One side does not have a monopoly on truth. That is what I’ve learned having been a member of the communist party, the Socialist party, the Democrat party and the peace and freedom party. Each one of those political parties thought they were right, yet each had blind spots to their own corruption.
The funny thing about wisdom, is it can be amazingly clear when looking at it from afar; but terribly difficult when analyzing oneself. Hence some very smart people making (or siding/agreeing with) some extremely questionable actions or decisions. However it sometimes just takes a viewpoint that is outside oneself that makes so much sense that we can’t help but see ourselves through its lenses.
That is why posts like this are so important.
Keep it up
Yes. I can explain why he has pursued wealth. Because it is the American Dream. It is more important to some than others. Apparently, such things were important to him.
That trait, to pursue success, it is not universal. But in this country, we have more freedom to pursue an improvement of our circumstances than most others.
There are many recognizable names of very successful people who have given back to the great nation that gave them the opportunity to succeed. They do it in various ways, generally creating a financial entity that helps those most in need.
I would argue the current leader of our country is doing the same thing. Giving back to the country that gave him the opportunity to succeed to the level he did.
The same drive that fueled his success in a few arenas allowed him to achieve the ultimate level of power in this country.
There are examples of his largess, generosity or charity. His very act of serving as president and donating the compensation is one.
Well, Trump sucks at grifting. https://www.newsweek.com/chart-shows-net-worth-us-presidents-before-after-office-1992975
https://blog.cheapism.com/what-presidents-are-worth/
And a lot of people inherit money only to spend or lose it. Guess what? The rich need places to live as well.
But the rich were not and are not the only interactions he has or had. He relates to the public because he has interacted with the trades class during his projects. The dude has been financially up and flat broke, owing more than you or I will ever see in our lifetimes. So, those cardinal virtues definitely come into play when you are on the ropes and you face the choice of fight or quit.
I know half the voting public holds your opinion. Many of my friends hate him viscerally. Considering Trump’s popularity before choosing to run for office and afterwards, I often wonder how much influence the legacy media, politicians, Trump’s own words and deeds have contributed to the change in that popularity. He was ubiquitous on the boob tube for a decade or two.
But he always sang the same song. 🎶America is getting screwed🎵
And I have to thank you! I have endlessly scoured the internet for this quote that I’d heard but could not remember from where.
It is from the 2003 documentary, “Born Rich” by Jamie Johnson of the Johnson & Johnson family.
In it, Ivanka Trump recalls her dad lamenting on his financial condition in 1990.
“I remember once, my father and I were walking down 5th avenue and there was a homeless person sitting right outside of Trump Tower. I think I was probably nine or ten, something like this, it was around the same time as the divorce. I remember my father pointing to him and saying, “You know, that guy has 8 billion dollars more than me.” Because he was in such extreme debt at that point, you know? And me thinking, ‘What are you talking about?’ He was sitting outside of Trump Tower and I’m looking and I didn’t understand. I think I just thought about it a year or two ago and found it interesting and makes me all the more proud of my parents - they got through that.”
He's grifting like a motherfucker Dave. I reject the notion that 'The American Dream' has anything to do with great wealth. He inherited a HUGE fortune. Hundreds of millions. I find it a LOT easier to admire a person who sets out to provide a service, and fill a need ... who then does that so well, that the multiplying affect makes him or her wealthy. Sam Walton was one such man. Jeff Bezos is another. And of course we have many historic examples such as Ford and Carnegie.
Donald Trump is not that kind of man, though his father was. Fred Trump built simple homes and barracks for common folks and ship workers. Apparently, he too was a bit of a sleaze, but he contributed to the American Dream through affordable housing .... which has to do with freedom and security rather that grabbing dough by the handful. Trump built showoff apartments for rich elites. His only real interface with the commoner was to take their money at casinos.
The idea of not accepting the relative pittance of $400,000 a year for a presidential salary is just window dressing. And a tax write-off. That would be like me doing this column for free. Oh wow! Passing up on my $250 a month!? What a giver. But that pittance is a far greater slice of my overall worth than $400k is of Trump's. (BTW ... I'm not sure that he waived his salary for his current term)
This man is not in office to serve. He's in office to get even, stay out of jail, and pull in the serious bucks. And he is driving the wedges between Americans as deep as he possibly can. Pardon me for not falling for the con.
As always, Dave, you nailed it. A thoughtful, well-written, and searing indictment of DJT.
Thanks again for your introspective writing Dave. You are a master.
I am not going to argue points in the stack. If I want to write my own I am free to do so.
Although, I feel many on both sides have views that are colored by personal preference, each side of the political spectrum have different opinions on which presidents are good and which are bad.
We really won’t know the answers until their time in office is over. It will all come down to is “are we a better country than before they started?” As the sausage is being made, things can get pretty ugly. Let’s let time take some of the raw edges off and view things from the lens of history.
I enjoyed all the comments...very thought-out.
I have one question...if anyone can answer, please do....why is it that all the demonstrators/riots and horrible public conduct (ex: calling of names such as Nazi and Gestapo, which as a relative of a concentration camp survivor really offends me) are left leaning people?
Don't even bring up Jan 6...that's too controversial and a hornets nest to be dealt with another time.
I don't see right leaning people vandalizing cars, burning American flags, etc. Why is this bad behavior tolerated by the left?
Mostly because liberals live in cities, and are also the natural landing place of youngsters. The rioters are always opportunists that attach themselves to protests, because it's cheap fun in the big boring city.
Democrats in power in these cities don't prosecute because they fear being called racist. That said, the big 'No Kings' event was one of the largest national protests ever, and was as peaceful as the Great Women's March of 2017.
Thank you for taking time to reply. Appreciate your thoughts.
I am struck by how the ancient virtues all require both a commitment to the common good and self-discipline, good guideposts for us all. I think that these are self-evident values if we stop to reflect. We all live up to them to different extents at different times. It is reasonable to expect that our leaders live these values both in order to do their jobs well and to be examples for our children. I appreciate in the midst of all the current chaos the grounding in that which has proved it’s worth over time.
What Trump's Big Beautiful Bill really does is to shift the burden of STATE Medicaid programs (emphasis on the word STATE) to the STATES. The federal government paid a lot of money into STATE Medicaid programs... and instead of blasting Trump, the STATES can still raise the money to pay for their own STATE Medicaid programs. WHY YOU ASK!!! Because the Federal DEBT is a whopping $37 trillion, which is THREE TIMES the gross domestic product of France, Germany, and UK COMBINED!!! OK, maybe STATE taxes will have to go up, but maybe that will give those STATES the incentive to run their STATE Medicaid programs more efficiently.... and who benefits from the BBB? Well I know a little (actually A LOT) about income taxes, and the primary beneficiaries are older people with moderate incomes drawing Social Security. Now the issue I have is that the BBB doesn't lower the NATIONAL DEBT. So without lowering the NATIONAL DEBT, all this back and forth about it and who gains or loses is like spending a lot of time designing the menu for the Titanic.. who gets the filet mignon or who gets the porridge... it doesn't matter... without lowering the NATIONAL DEBT... our ship of state is still gonna hit that proverbial North Atlantic iceberg.
Sounds like you didn't read my piece, but are just looking for a place to vent.
I’m not defending, just asking that we also remember that President Obama did much of the same (“elections have consequences”), foisting his ideas against what many others did not want, as did Biden for certain. Singling out Trump seems a bit disingenuous. BUT, I agree that our nation has moved far too far to the edges of politics, thus depriving the center of reasonableness. As for the Seven Deadly Sins, could we not measure our previous two other Presidents similarly? Do any of these three need to have just one or more sin to be worse than the other? I’m not picking things apart here, Dave, just adding context from my view. I really do hope that we as a nation can get back to CENTER, or at least close. And that will take the efforts of media, social and mainstream. They hold the match to the gasoline, but by our acceptance of them, we decide if they throw it.
I didn't promote either of the two previous presidents. And criticized them freely when they screwed up. But neither of them treated the job like a reality show. Neither was a self-promoting blowhard who filled their cabinets with incompetent yes-people. Neither has openly profited personally while in office, or intentionally deepened our national divisions. Neither scape-goated a large part of our population as criminals, or sent them to concentration camps without due process.
You want me to equally criticize presidents that are no longer in power? Why? There's only one guy in the White House now, and he is the one who should bear our critiques. That's what free societies are all about.
Elections do have consequences, and I gave Trump my support first time around, as long as he was actually trying to be a decent president. I suggest that you open you eyes a bit wider. This asshole is doing a rotten job.
YES
"He here without sin, cast the first stone". Since when are Great Leaders required not to be flawed? Churchill, Paton, MacArthur, Marcus Aurelius, Pericles, Alexander the Great. All, very
flawed. I do strongly believe in "Survival of the Fit Test", MERITOCRACY. And believe Trump,
despite all his flaws, can help lead that direction.
Interesting that in your your examples, no 'presidents' were mentioned, but two emperors were.. Hey, if you prefer incredibly fucked up dishonest authoritarians as your leaders, knock yourself out. I'd rather live in a democratic republic where the top people cared more about us than about themselves.
Dave, I suspect your post this week is fully tilted to discern only negative interpretive conclusions, while also failing to consider the four virtues. Sadly, very weak.
I certainly did consider the four Cardinal Virtues. Did you give up halfway through? If you have something less ‘weak’ to add, feel free.
Yes Dave, I read your full post and objectively, I stand no different, from my post. All the best, Greg
IMHO, you nailed it Dave. All the excuses I see here to excuse bad behavior are just that.