by Mish
Is that the case?
Stockman: “This election is over. Trump made a game defense of himself, enough to keep him in the race, but it is going to descend deeper into the gutter from here, than ever before in American history. And the people of America are going to be disgusted. And they’re not going to come out and vote. And a lot of them now feel free to vote their conscience and their conviction for the third party candidate. So Hillary will have no mandate. And I think that’s good. Because she stands for everything that’s wrecking this country. We’re gonna now have a crisis; there will be a market crash; there will be a recession. She will be a 45 percent politically-crippled mandate-less president, and we are going to finally show the American people that this fantasy that both parties have been projecting has to end. … I do not think she won the debate. I think the media destroyed Donald Trump as a candidate.”
General Agreement
There is very little I disagree with, until the final sentence.
It’s pretty clear the election is over, but that was clear after the first debate.
I would not go so far as to say the markets will “crash”, but that depends on the definition. I actually suspect more like a 40-50% decline over seven to ten years with nothing much worse than a 15-20% decline.
No year may look like a “crash” but the end result for pension plans will be worse.
Hillary certainly is damaged goods, but she will be able to damage the country with help of her Republican neocon friends who would rather see her in the White House than Trump.
All things considered, that’s a lot of agreements. But, if a “crash” is coming, however one defines it, Donald Trump would not have stopped it either.
Media Destroyed Trump?
My main disagreement with Stockman is his statement “I think the media destroyed Donald Trump as a candidate.”
Certainly the media tried to destroy Trump, but the media failed every step of the way.
Trump Destroyed Trump
It is Trump who destroyed Trump. The man finally imploded.
Heading into the first debate, it was Trump’s election to lose, and he lost it with an amazing set of gaffes.
When asked about taxes, he had an easy answer: “I pay may taxes according to the law, just as I presume Hillary does. Warren Buffet complained his secretary pays more in taxes than he does. But does Buffet voluntarily pay extra taxes? Does Hillary? If Hillary does not like the law, why didn’t she change it when she was a senator?”
How hard was that?
Why didn’t Trump ever bring up the Clinton Foundation? Why didn’t he press harder on Libya?
In regards to the “birther” issue, all Trump had to say was “I changed my mind once I saw the birth certificate. Am I not allow to change my mind? Didn’t Hillary change her mind on the Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement (TPP)? Of course she did. She now agrees with me. If she can change her, mind why can’t I?
Trump was asked several pointed questions. Hillary was asked none. Trump could have and should have, after the third pointed question, gone after the moderator with a comment “Doesn’t Hillary get any hard questions? Whose side are you on?” That would have brought lots of laughs.
Such a response to the moderator by Trump would have required some quick thinking, but there is no excuse for Trump flat out not being prepared for the debate.
Ahead of the first debate, Trump was one state away from pulling into the lead, and a moderately good debate would likely have done that. Answers like the above, easily worked out in advance, may have been a knock out blow to Hillary.
Finally, and in regards to all the new sexual allegations, Trump should simply have said something along the lines “I made a mistake. So did Hillary when she married Bill.”
The bottom line is the medial did not destroy Trump, his own arrogance, lack of humility, and total lack of preparation for the first debate did.
Barring a medical or other type of disaster, this election is indeed over.
I am voting for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
