Dear Dirty America

MICHAEL J BLAIR
Perthshire, Scotland

Sometimes even the best thought out master plans can go spectacularly wrong.

I have been following the US Presidential circus more closely in recent weeks. Mainly because it has become obvious that something is wrong with the whole set up. There is an air of unreality and disconnection about the process this time round.

credit: DonkeyHotey

Neither candidate has natural charm or warmth and both appear manufactured to look as if they are capable of being world leaders. Trump, a blustering blowhard and Clinton, an emotionally stifled robot.

In any kind of normal working environment, neither of these people would be allowed to operate a drinks machine, never mind attempt to lead the most powerful country on the planet!

I have no ability to understand how anyone with any intelligence could be taken in by a politician. How can an adult be so in awe of someone who wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire?

Please note, hero worship in politics is very unpleasant and completely pointless! These people care only about themselves. Do not make them feel as if they are important or useful. This only encourages them!

Having listened to Donald Trump’s  comments in the last few months, I think he has begun believing his own publicity. Up until now he has been able to make the most ridiculous and unpleasant statements and hasn’t suffered any adverse effects from his own fan base.

But recently, this has changed. His speeches and comments have begun to show his contempt for anyone who doesn’t slavishly agree with his views. People who backed him should have realised that he was a ticking political time bomb.

Anyone who thinks that Donald Trump got to this stage of the race without help from anonymous powerful and very wealthy individuals, is deluded. Mr Trump is generally portrayed as a independent, untouched by the dirty world of politics, but I don’t think this is true. He had to have the backing of the power brokers who decide whether he is going to be useful and compliant to their plans, or whether he was going to be difficult and awkward.

He seems to have persuaded these people that he could be trusted to do as he was told, but I see cracks appearing in the agreement. Donald Trump is a megalomaniac and probably thinks he can break any agreement without penalty. In his mind, he is the most important person on the planet and therefore no one can control his ridiculous outbursts.

He doesn’t ever think that the rules apply to him. This is always what happens to an uncontrolled runaway ego.

I have reservations about Mrs Clinton as well. I saw her speaking at the Democrat convention and was amazed at how wooden and lacking in genuine passion, her speech was. It was as if she was on autopilot and even when she tried to up the tempo, she sounded like a bad actress in a low budget soap opera.

Her non critical followers don’t seem to be able to think any more clearly than the rabid bunch following Trump! It’s very sad to see people being led

credit: Ranan_Lurie

by the nose to believe every word these charlatans utter.

Where is the independent thinking?

It’s a mob mentality, which is extremely dangerous. But people feel secure if everyone they interact with share the same views and have a common enemy. This was evident in Scotland during the independence referendum and still is, two years later!

These Presidential candidates are flawed just like everyone else. In fact, much more flawed than most people due to the rarefied atmosphere in which they live and work. There is no one to tell them they are idiots or out of control. A very unpredictable state of affairs!

If Donald Trump keeps making these massive errors of judgment, he will find the people who “backed” him will not want to take the chance of him actually becoming President of the USA. I expect to see over the coming months a tailing off of the media support for Trump, and opinion polls reflecting the decline!

This would of course leave Hillary Clinton a virtually free run in the November election. This isn’t something which fills my heart with joy.

If America can learn anything from this farce, it is that there is a need for decent quality candidates. This choice is no choice!

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[Clinton versus Trump merchandise photo courtesy of Marco Verch, from Wikimedia Commons; Donald Trump riding wrecking ball created by DonkeyHotey; Hillary Clinton cartoon by Ranan_Lurie, Wikimedia Commons]