Suppose both parties manage to shoot themselves in the foot during the primaries. Maybe this is the moment for a moderate libertarian to run as a third candidate!p?
First, does anyone other than a completely dedicated Democrat believer even listen to Obama speeches any more? I just don't see the likelihood that he's going to say anything interesting to me, but he's extremely likely to repeat Democratic platitudes and to attack Republicans.
Second, if you want to egg someone on to run for office, I think what you do is attack them. Just like if you want to egg someone on to fight you physically, you make small but insulting attacks against them.
I think it is more likely that Obama's interest is in gaining status among his own tribe (the left), which obviously means attacking Trump. His status with the left has a direct monetary reward in form of the millions he will make from public speaking after leaving office.
I doubt Obama cares all that much about gaining status among the Democrats; he will be getting a substantial lifetime pension from having been President, and as Joe says, he stands to make a lot more money by doing the public speaking circuit after he leaves office, if he wishes.
Obama may, as a matter of intellectual conviction, want to help out the Democrats. But I don't know if that translates to his doing anything to foster Trump's nomination just to throw the party a softball. I think he's just as likely to believe, as many liberals appear to, that either of the major Democratic candidates could easily defeat Trump or any of the other Republican contenders.
1 Trump is NOT the easiest candidate to defeat. He can potentially take key states in the northeast away from the Democrats (he's certainly created more jobs for New Yorkers than Hilary). Besides that, he was leading against the other candidates in almost every poll, since he announced his candidacy.
2 Obama is probably more concerned with his perception among Democrats than Republicans. His political career is nearly over, and he's looking at his legacy. Both Clinton and Sanders will base their campaigns on their relation to Obama (either as a success, or as a failure).
3 Obama, in this case, is simply looking for 'cheap heat'. Trump is a bit of a buffoon, and vilifying him is a means of restoring credibility with his base.
Obama knows that the best way to attract Trumps attention is to be critical of him. When Trump attacks back, it will draw attention away from the other riders in the Republican clown car. A complete win for Obama. Trump draws out the radical parts of the party and the possibility of an end to the in-fighting going on in the Republican party right now becomes even more remote. I see the end result as it will be open civil war within the republican party at the convention. Obama is fueling the fire happening within the republican party. A strategic move on his part. I plan on watching the republican convention with a case of beer, pizza and popcorn. It will be quite the show!
The radical parts of the party? Trump attracts more moderates and independents than the other GOP candidates. People assume that Trump's are the most radical because Trump himself is so RHETORICALLY radical, I think.
Depending on the subject, many people consider me a moderate Conservative on many subjects. In no way do I consider any people I have met who support Trump to be moderates. Most of my moderate friends have no idea who to vote for because there are no good candidates for the right. Same thing for the left. It seems like all of the moderates have dropped / been pushed out of both of the parties. It scares me when as long as 20 years ago I saw the future of politics as being violent at the polling places in about a century from now. I am beginning to wonder if violence and gunfire will happen at the polls in my lifetime. Maybe this year.
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Suppose both parties manage to shoot themselves in the foot during the primaries. Maybe this is the moment for a moderate libertarian to run as a third candidate!p?
Two issues with that come to mind.
First, does anyone other than a completely dedicated Democrat believer even listen to Obama speeches any more? I just don't see the likelihood that he's going to say anything interesting to me, but he's extremely likely to repeat Democratic platitudes and to attack Republicans.
Second, if you want to egg someone on to run for office, I think what you do is attack them. Just like if you want to egg someone on to fight you physically, you make small but insulting attacks against them.
I think it is more likely that Obama's interest is in gaining status among his own tribe (the left), which obviously means attacking Trump. His status with the left has a direct monetary reward in form of the millions he will make from public speaking after leaving office.
I doubt Obama cares all that much about gaining status among the Democrats; he will be getting a substantial lifetime pension from having been President, and as Joe says, he stands to make a lot more money by doing the public speaking circuit after he leaves office, if he wishes.
Obama may, as a matter of intellectual conviction, want to help out the Democrats. But I don't know if that translates to his doing anything to foster Trump's nomination just to throw the party a softball. I think he's just as likely to believe, as many liberals appear to, that either of the major Democratic candidates could easily defeat Trump or any of the other Republican contenders.
1 Trump is NOT the easiest candidate to defeat. He can potentially take key states in the northeast away from the Democrats (he's certainly created more jobs for New Yorkers than Hilary). Besides that, he was leading against the other candidates in almost every poll, since he announced his candidacy.
2 Obama is probably more concerned with his perception among Democrats than Republicans. His political career is nearly over, and he's looking at his legacy. Both Clinton and Sanders will base their campaigns on their relation to Obama (either as a success, or as a failure).
3 Obama, in this case, is simply looking for 'cheap heat'. Trump is a bit of a buffoon, and vilifying him is a means of restoring credibility with his base.
Obama knows that the best way to attract Trumps attention is to be critical of him. When Trump attacks back, it will draw attention away from the other riders in the Republican clown car. A complete win for Obama. Trump draws out the radical parts of the party and the possibility of an end to the in-fighting going on in the Republican party right now becomes even more remote.
I see the end result as it will be open civil war within the republican party at the convention.
Obama is fueling the fire happening within the republican party. A strategic move on his part.
I plan on watching the republican convention with a case of beer, pizza and popcorn. It will be quite the show!
The radical parts of the party? Trump attracts more moderates and independents than the other GOP candidates. People assume that Trump's are the most radical because Trump himself is so RHETORICALLY radical, I think.
Depending on the subject, many people consider me a moderate Conservative on many subjects. In no way do I consider any people I have met who support Trump to be moderates. Most of my moderate friends have no idea who to vote for because there are no good candidates for the right.
Same thing for the left.
It seems like all of the moderates have dropped / been pushed out of both of the parties.
It scares me when as long as 20 years ago I saw the future of politics as being violent at the polling places in about a century from now.
I am beginning to wonder if violence and gunfire will happen at the polls in my lifetime. Maybe this year.
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