Breaking: John Kasich is dropping out

Now that he's out I wonder if he'll consider joining Trump on the ticket - if offered. He's got government experience and is popular in Ohio, which Trump must win. On the other hand, he did not do well in the primaries and he may be considered too moderate to attract the conservative wing that does not like Trump.

I'm a little bit sad actually. I think this country is healthier when the discourse is healthy. It's too bad, although I don't know how much shot Kasich actually had other than to keep people talking about politics and less about all the distractions (dickstractions?).

So is there any way possible not to have Trump be the nomination?

I'm gonna go hang myself now.

Yeah, I'm not seeing how this--if it's true--is a "welcome" surprise. Unless one is a big fan of Trump. Apologies if that's the case.

I am not happy. I'd been really hoping for a contested convention and anyone but Trump. The mere possibility that he might be our president horrifies me.

I was thinking that Drumpf might surprise us all and be a sturdy, competent leader.

And then monkeys started flying out of my butt.

BenPanced said:

I was thinking that Drumpf might surprise us all and be a sturdy, competent leader.

And then monkeys started flying out of my butt.

Click to expand...

I've wondered if there's a possibility. It's hard to believe, but then again, who ever would have thought we'd end up with Trump as a real contender.

I think it's possible he'll simply select people to actually do the job. "I want Isis defeated. Go make it happen." And then it's a matter of who he gets for those positions.

It's a thought. Not one I have a lot of faith in, but don't take it away from me just yet.

Vince, if you're going to consider that one, you could also try considering the possibility that Clinton might do a pretty good job as president too...

Back to just screwing over his personal fiefdom of Ohio...

Vince524 said:

I've wondered if there's a possibility. It's hard to believe, but then again, who ever would have thought we'd end up with Trump as a real contender.

I think it's possible he'll simply select people to actually do the job. "I want Isis defeated. Go make it happen." And then it's a matter of who he gets for those positions.

It's a thought. Not one I have a lot of faith in, but don't take it away from me just yet.

Click to expand...

At the very least, he'd be embarrassing. Even if he never got around to his wall, gutting the first amendment, or shipping off all the Muslims, he'd be routinely saying and doing things that would cause our allies and the rest of the world (except perhaps Putin) to react with derision, scorn, and/or anger.

Sure, we've had gaffe-prone presidents before and presidents who said unpopular things. But Trump is in a class by himself, IMO. And he doesn't give a shit if he's offensive, so any vile statement he spews, he'll likely grind in with his heel.

Vince524 said:

I think it's possible he'll simply select people to actually do the job. "I want Isis defeated. Go make it happen." And then it's a matter of who he gets for those positions.

Click to expand...

The George W. Bush method. *shudders*

This is a slow motion train wreck, and I'm stuck watching from one of the cars in the back.

I admit, it irks me that Kasich has had some success passing himself off as a moderate, but watching Trump cruise into the convention the last candidate (boy, did I type and erase a lot of options) standing makes me weep for humanity. Even if he somehow (is there even a way) he doesn't get the nomination, even if he's trounced in the general, I will still feel those ten million votes for him as a wound. Yes, I am that dramatic, but I also mean it.

Vince524 said:

I've wondered if there's a possibility. It's hard to believe, but then again, who ever would have thought we'd end up with Trump as a real contender.

I think it's possible he'll simply select people to actually do the job. "I want Isis defeated. Go make it happen." And then it's a matter of who he gets for those positions.

It's a thought. Not one I have a lot of faith in, but don't take it away from me just yet.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that was the theory with GWB.

raburrell said:

Vince, if you're going to consider that one, you could also try considering the possibility that Clinton might do a pretty good job as president too...

Click to expand...

Besides, Trump may be victim of a heart-attack before November. Or perhaps he'll be driven over by a bus.

raburrell said:

Vince, if you're going to consider that one, you could also try considering the possibility that Clinton might do a pretty good job as president too...

Click to expand...

I have. I really have. I tried to keep an open mind about her. I even voted for her re-election for the senate once.

But all I see with her is one scandal after another. All the bad that we got out of Bill's term without any of the good.

There's only one good thing about her getting elected, and that's the fact that if she does, Trump doesn't.

Unfortunately, the same is true for the reverse.

Sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, this country is screwed no matter what. It's just a matter of which eye I want to stab myself in.

Vince524 said:

I have. I really have. I tried to keep an open mind about her. I even voted for her re-election for the senate once.

But all I see with her is one scandal after another. All the bad that we got out of Bill's term without any of the good.

There's only one good thing about her getting elected, and that's the fact that if she does, Trump doesn't.

Unfortunately, the same is true for the reverse.

Sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, this country is screwed no matter what. It's just a matter of which eye I want to stab myself in.

Click to expand...

I think part of that is having to consider whether the scandals are as bad as they seem to you now as well.

Maaaaybe Benghazi was simply a tragic and cowardly attack that was difficult to sort out even for the people who had all the intelligence, and she would have dearly loved to spend her time figuring out how it happened and how to make sure it doesn't happen again rather than arguing the semantics of whether a "terrorist attack" is equivalent to an "act of terror".
Maaaaybe she's not all that technically proficient, and more than a little paranoid about what Republicans might do with her personal email, especially in the middle of her daughter planning a wedding, and took some bad advice on how to handle it.

The shared animus towards the two baffles me a little, because it feels like they represent such different things. Clinton is, for better or worse, a continuation of the status quo, an extension of Obama's policies, with perhaps a slightly more aggressive domestic push and a more interventionist foreign policy. If you're looking for change, either from the right or the left, obviously that's not ideal... but I don't understand how you could envision it as catastrophic. The country's had 16 combined years of Clinton/Obama; it's still standing, prospering in some eras, floundering in others. I think the worst you could say about a Clinton presidency is that not much will change for the better, but I don't know how you'd argue she'll meaningfully change things for the worse. And if you're even remotely left-leaning, even if Clinton screws absolutely everything else up, her impact on the Supreme Court will be vastly better than Trump's.

Honestly, I think a lot of the animus against Clinton is not really well-founded dislike of her policies or her scandals (most of which I agree are overstated, though the email thing still bugs me).

It's because she's a Clinton. Americans have an inherent dislike of political dynasties - the Kennedies have floundered, we had two Bush presidencies and Jeb tanked going for a third, and now we have a former First Lady who wants to be President.

I think she'd have an easier time if she hadn't already spent eight years in the White House.

darkprincealain said:

I'm a little bit sad actually. I think this country is healthier when the discourse is healthy. It's too bad, although I don't know how much shot Kasich actually had other than to keep people talking about politics and less about all the distractions (dickstractions?).

Click to expand...

Though the thought that he is the nominee still horrifies me, I think Trump will clean up his act for the general election and engage in discourse that is no better or no worse than any other politician's. He will make an effort to "be more presidential," as he likes to say.

cmi0616 said:

Though the thought that he is the nominee still horrifies me, I think Trump will clean up his act for the general election and engage in discourse that is no better or no worse than any other politician's. He will make an effort to "be more presidential," as he likes to say.

Click to expand...

There was an interesting article about that this morning. One political writer theorized that the reason Trump appeared so depressed and distracted when he spoke to his peeps after Cruz quit was because he was not looking forward to ending his modus operandi and ditching the derision and dick-measuring for a more professional act. The author further intimated that Trump was in a rough spot. His hardcore peeps really like it when he derides his opponents with language they can identify with. If he goes 'full presidential' he may risk alienating them.

R.Barrows said:

The author further intimated that Trump was in a rough spot. His hardcore peeps really like it when he derides his opponents with language they can identify with. If he goes 'full presidential' he may risk alienating them.

Click to expand...

And they'll vote for Hillary Clinton instead? Somehow I don't see it.