After the election

It’s November 9^th. For a long time now I have been saying and writing that I will be sad today, regardless of who wins, but glad for who lost. I feel both these things. Both candidates are unacceptable in my view.  

I am, sick at heart of the campaigning, but so is everyone else I know. I hope this is my last political post for a while, at least that is not historically based, but, who knows? These are my intended closing thoughts, not in any particular order.

Boy, did I get everything wrong. I was 90% sure she would win. I believed the polls, though I cautioned some few people I knew who were certain, that you can’t ever be. Pretty much everyone I know believed the polls too. Yes, some of his supporters thought he'd win, but many of them expected him to lose too. Pretty much the only thing I have been right about was who would be the VPs. But, I thought that was pretty easy. Both were good choices and I would have preferred both to their bosses. Pence turned out to be the more valuable by virtue of his demeanor, which was a tonic to Trump’s abrasiveness. I do give Trump credit for letting Pence be Pence, and not demanding fealty to every opinion. I do think he will become very popular and if Trump has any brains, he will give him his own lead.

Never before have we had two such unbearably bad candidates, even if one of them was very qualified – in a technical sense by experience – for the job.

This is our third completely inexperienced president in a row. A one term governor, a one term senator and now a no term anything. It doesn’t mean he will be a bad president. Washington and Lincoln were very light in the governing aspects of their experiences.

While I am sad that the two parties have given us such poor choices, and that a man as willfully ignorant, arrogant, sometimes seemingly delusional, dishonest, insecure, bigoted (though that I believe is exaggerated) and inexperienced, is president, I am grateful that Clinton, who was experienced, but also dishonest, corrupt and arrogant, was defeated. I am grateful that the media has gotten a stinging slap in the face. I am glad that there is a break in the pace of progressivism and its concurrent strains of victimization and slow dismembering of capitalism, federalism, equal rights and constitutionalism.

If Hillary Clinton had merely said something like –

“I recognize that not only was the server a mistake, but I have been in cover up mode for the past year – and I apologize. . .” or . . . “I pledge to select at least one of the next two Supreme Court Justice from the same list as Donald Trump has made. . .” or both, she might have won. But maybe not.

What will Trump do? I had no idea. I have no idea. I don’t think he knows. But I think these things are dead in the water:

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      - A wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

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      - Banning Muslims from America in any manner, except perhaps new standards for vetting asylum seekers.

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      - The self-deportation or forced deportation of many millions illegal aliens.

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           - An independent prosecutor for the Clinton emails.

One thing that I believe has been exaggerated about Trump is his supposed bigotry. I do think he is bigoted in the way many people I know who were already grownup at the time the ‘60s and its revolutionary movements happened. People in their 70s and up now.

I am not happy as others about the Republicans controlling the two houses and the presidency. I tend to like split government. I am not even sure what they can do with the Democrats still having a filibuster, which they will use and blame the Republican's own use of it for their own. Both parties routinely exchange their positions on that device based upon which is in the majority and minority.

I am happy that people like Al Sharpton will no longer be the adviser to the president with respect to race matters. Obama's handling of racial matters has been one of the most disappointing aspect of his two terms for me. Even if unintentionally, he has fomented greater division in our society. Trump may also, but I think in other ways.

I think some people who are happy will be eventually disappointed by Trump. Foremost conservatives because I don’t believe Trump is as conservative as he makes out. Also, Putin and Russians. Trump will turn on them on a dime if it is in his interests.

Who is happy today, other than Republicans? Putin, but I think he is too cagey not to suspect what I suggested above. Netanyahu has to be ecstatic. Perhaps conservatives in Britain and Brexit supporters.

For better or worse, we have Trump for at least 4 years. We will see then if he faces Elizabeth Warren or some other left-wing flame thrower.

We will now see the Trump children eclipse the Kardashians on American’s magazine covers. Hopefully, it will not be as sordid and uncomfortable.

In the end, how could he have won with women and minorities, particularly Hispanics, and almost the entire media so against him? How could he win Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, plus almost everything else? The answer is Hillary Clinton? Both parties deserved to lose because of who they championed, though I give Republicans credit who rejected him. In the end, the appearance of corruption surrounding her was her undoing. Worse than his sex scandal.

Though I predicted I would be unhappy today, I also said we have to move on. I hope everyone gives him a chance. I think most people will. What the future will bring, I have no idea. I’ll still make predictions as if nothing happened, because, I have it on good authority (the famed psychologist, Daniel Kahneman) that this is what we all do – make wrong predictions and keep making them using the same frail strategies.