Hate to join in giving this blowhard the attention he lives for, but I did want to add one observation: While everyone I know is wondering how someone this silly and pathetic could be polling so well as a presidential candidate, my experience has been that people of my parents' generation -- and I may, um, be referring to
my parents -- have a very different relationship with "successful" and "wealthy" people. They seem to automatically assume that if someone is a "millionaire" -- a title they grew up aspiring to acquire -- then that makes them smarter than they are, or at the very least means they must know something that they don't. This accomplishment alone seems to be enough for them to believe they're good enough to be president (my parents totally bought into the whole Ross Perot thing, too), and enables them to overlook potential candidates' shortcomings, however blatant they may be. People of my generation, on the other hand, are frequently less impressed by wealth -- and certainly more skeptical of it -- as we've lived through so many ill-gotten gains -- and we don't see it as some mysterious thing that you sit around "wishing" for or wondering why it didn't "happen" to you. I knew going into journalism that I would not get rich. But I also have enough wealthy friends to know that if I really wanted to be, I could go back to school -- as my friend Larry did when he was in his late 20s -- and work my ass off to get an MBA from a top business school and land a job that pays a lot. I don't mean this to say that my generation thinks they're smarter than our parents' -- I certainly still have the same financial concerns as they do -- but I think there's a fundamental difference in how we view candidates, and it is the reason why a rodeo clown like Donald Trump could be so appealing to older Americans, while my peers and younger are more interested in candidates who have banked more impressive records on human rights, social and environmental issues than cold hard cash. And as Michael Moore pointed out so astutely in "Capitalism: A Love Story," this same awe of the wealthy -- and the never-ending belief that some day they could be one of them -- is why so many middle and lower-income people continually vote against their own interests, and have no problem being outraged by school teachers with hard-earned benefits, but can barely muster up a hint of rage at the Wall Street power-brokers who raped them and their families.
Hate to join in giving this blowhard the attention he lives for, but I did want to add one observation: While everyone I know is wondering how someone this silly and pathetic could be polling so well as a presidential candidate, my experience has been that people of my parents' generation -- and I may, um, be referring to my parents -- have a very different relationship with "successful" and "wealthy" people. They seem to automatically assume that if someone is a "millionaire" -- a title they grew up aspiring to acquire -- then that makes them smarter than they are, or at the very least means they must know something that they don't. This accomplishment alone seems to be enough for them to believe they're good enough to be president (my parents totally bought into the whole Ross Perot thing, too), and enables them to overlook potential candidates' shortcomings, however blatant they may be. People of my generation, on the other hand, are frequently less impressed by wealth -- and certainly more skeptical of it -- as we've lived through so many ill-gotten gains -- and we don't see it as some mysterious thing that you sit around "wishing" for or wondering why it didn't "happen" to you. I knew going into journalism that I would not get rich. But I also have enough wealthy friends to know that if I really wanted to be, I could go back to school -- as my friend Larry did when he was in his late 20s -- and work my ass off to get an MBA from a top business school and land a job that pays a lot. I don't mean this to say that my generation thinks they're smarter than our parents' -- I certainly still have the same financial concerns as they do -- but I think there's a fundamental difference in how we view candidates, and it is the reason why a rodeo clown like Donald Trump could be so appealing to older Americans, while my peers and younger are more interested in candidates who have banked more impressive records on human rights, social and environmental issues than cold hard cash. And as Michael Moore pointed out so astutely in "Capitalism: A Love Story," this same awe of the wealthy -- and the never-ending belief that some day they could be one of them -- is why so many middle and lower-income people continually vote against their own interests, and have no problem being outraged by school teachers with hard-earned benefits, but can barely muster up a hint of rage at the Wall Street power-brokers who raped them and their families.
7 comments:
Your parents, maybe. My parents are in their 70s and think he's a total buffoon.
Mine too Topaz!
Also, I'll never understand when anyone who runs for president says that "I'm going to do ______ when I'm elected!" Voters buy into this notion that the president can do whatever he or she wants. People forget that the Congress and the House have some say too and can possibly block anything the president offers. I think Donald Trump has forgotten that too, unless he is able to payoff those who fight his policies.
Please excuse any spelling errors. My head is exploding from a sinus infection.
The fact that Trump started in his father's real estate/development firm was a key factor in his success. Of course so many people don't realize that so much of "living large" is just financing life with debt and living off other people's money. Welfare mentality sucking from a different teat.
Of course it helps to go bankrupt a few times in order to get those millions.
Note to Joe. I think Bush showed the president can do whatever he wants and not be held accountable for it either.
This is very well put. I think people who came from a depression/post-depression culture assume the rich to "Have it all figured out". And if I may speak for the poor underclass... many of them I've worked with do not associate success with discipline, work ethics, good decision-making, skill-set. They think it is fated. And when it seems like someone is wildly successful, they're inclined to hand over the reins, because they assume this person will be a success at everything.
I don't think Trump started out doing this to REALLY win it. But as Quentin Crist said, "Fame is a dangerous narcotic"; he just may convince himself he could do this. So I'm not laughing as hard as I would, had I not seen Reagan and Bush rise from laughingstock to the white house.
Sorry about the typo. Quentin CRISP. Jeez, I guess I should look at the preview thingy...
You're just jealous because you don't have a great relationship with the blacks.
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