So that happened. Still in a state of stunned sadness really. The former emotion is easy to understand, the latter less so. At this stage impossible to adequately describe in a few words the emotions at present but as this saga has provided many laughs in last few months need to address it now so can move on to better and brighter things. Like curling up in a corner in the fetal position. The sadness is likely linked to the world we live in and the one my grandkids will grow up in. Its much more than the fact that someone like Trump can be elected President of USA as disturbing as that is. Its a world dominated by media and celebrity, racism and ignorance, misogyny and hatred. Its a world where a man charged with sexual assault (innocent until proven guilty)can seek refuge in an OS Embassy but still influence an election through selective release of personal data. He says he has no data on Trump. I suggest he hasnt looked very hard. Its a world where the most powerful man in the world doesnt have to release his tax records. I could go on but it is too depressing really. So lets look at some other issues that more annoy than depress!
Pollsters are right up there with weather forecasters when it comes to accuracy and indeed showing any remorse or regret for their incompetence. Now you may argue that , like weather forecasting, it is almost impossible to determine these things with any degree of accuracy. Too many variables. Fine, I get that. THAN FUCKING STOP DOING IT.You screwed up Brexit and now the US election. There were many WTF reactions to the result but in all that I think the Democrats and Clinton in particular escaped some blame that should be coming their way. Someone screwed up royally and relied too much on this amazing poll data. They took the rust belt for granted and it cost them the election. In my working life certainly meant a lot of people – dubbed “Golden Boys” – who were promoted beyond their capability but who were a protected species even when they got it horribly wrong. They were of course management suck ups but you have to think in the Democrats there are some people who should never run a campaign again and yet it is Clinton that will take the blame and that is fair in part. She has zero charisma and cant connect with average people. Except maybe Tim Kaine – the walking embodiment of average . Now VP may not be that important after the election but it is in the campaign and once he finished presenting his spanish harmonica recital 23 times there was nothing left. With Trump you needed the dull Pence to offset him. With Clinton you needed the exact opposite. Her fascination/reliance on celebrity played well on TV and in big cities but not in Bumfuck, Idaho. Say what you will about Trump – and I have – but his campaign out played Clinton at every turn. The final night was a classic example. Philly Cheese off with The Boss and Da Boss on stage before a rapturous crowd and next day she loses Pennsylvania. Its all in the detail and for every big city she carried with 15% of the vote Trump carried 10 counties each with 2% of vote. One thing where technology is great these days are the updated counts where they drill down to single booths etc. Fox news will be insufferable now while CNN seems fairly balanced if a little Democrat flavoured. I watched the CNN coverage and it was pretty good but there is always that one moment with them and this time it was at the end. Trump is giving his acceptance speech and CNN breaks into it to say that they can now declare that “Donald Trump has won this election. Now back to President Elect Trump giving his um…. .ah……. victory speech. Oh”
And the speech was pretty good as expected. Very early days. The one thing that stood out though was apparent shunning of Pence and one wonders what that relationship really is like. He thanked him almost as an afterthought after thanking everyone else including Billy Bush first! One wonders if Trump really wants the Presidency? I am sure he does not realise what it fully entails and many think he will be the face and Pence et al will run the country. You know, like with Cheney 🙂 One thing to remember is Republicans have control of both houses so no excuses Donald. Wall, Isis, Obamacare….. all in your power. Some of my Yank friends are Republican and say no need to worry about Trump as plenty of checks and balances in Congress to slow him down. I just hope these checks and balances have had a recent oil change and service! The Supreme Court should be a concern for many given it will now have a very conservative look for decades but you can only tell people so many times eh. As disturbing as this result is the one thing you dont want to happen now is for something to come out about Trump that precludes him from the Presidency. If you are a massive conspiracy theorist – and who isnt – this would be the final big play by Russkies or whoever to destabilise the country and send it into constitutional chaos.
There is a personal angst to all this too. Devoted followers know I love my trips to the USA . Its a country I love. This relies heavily on my Q Super continuing to perform well – HELP – and Trump not tightening the immigration laws against extremely handsome and intelligent visitors. I return in February next year for Seattlandia and one cant help but wonder if the country will have changed at all. Should be no Government shut downs at least!
In a night/day of many emotions expressed by many people Van Jones summed it best in a thoughtful and emotional response delivered while still in a state of shock
flashman181 