You can’t con people, at least not
for long. You can create excitement, you can do wonderful promotion and get all
kinds of press, and you can throw in a little hyperbole. But if you don’t
deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on.
I’d never understood how Jimmy
Carter became president. The answer is that as poorly qualified as he was for
the job, Jimmy Carter had the nerve, the guts, the balls, to ask for something
extraordinary. That ability above all helped him get elected president. But then,
of course, the America people caught on pretty quickly that Carter couldn’t do
the job, and he lost in a landslide when he ran for reelection.
The above two paragraphs are not
mine. They belong to Donald Trump. They came from his book “Trump: The Art of
the Deal.” In between the words above Trump was talking about how Jimmy Carter
had come to ask him for donations to his Presidential library. In the paragraph
right after he threw shade on President Ronald Reagan.
This time around Trump is the one running the con,
just as he described. This time, as we approach the finish, voting citizens
appear to be catching on to Trump not being the man that he says he is. He does
not have the stamina nor qualifications of President Carter. He hasn’t been
able to deliver the goods in his own campaign.
The major difference between Trump
and President Carter is that Carter had a lifetime of service to people through
his church, his service to the country, as governor, as President and post-presidency.
Oh yes, he also won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump has a lifetime of service to
himself, making money, avoiding service to his country, and debauchery. There
are several versions of Trump to pick from depending upon what he wants at any
given time.
Hillary Clinton also has a real
history of service to her country and qualifications too numerous for
mentioning here. She also has blemishes, real blemishes, not the fake ones made
up by men with the morality of Trump. She received them in the ring while doing
the job. She made mistakes and owned up to them. Fortunately you don’t have to
take my word on her qualifications. Here’s what Donald Trump said about her:
Hillary
Clinton I think is a terrific woman. I’m a little biased because I’ve known her
for years. I think she really works hard and does a good job.
Well
I know her and she’d make a good President or Vice President.
How
did she do as Secretary of State? Probably above and beyond everybody else.
That version of Donald Trump knows
she’s the best candidate. Be like this Trump—vote for Hillary. He did.