President Trump: Obama's Third Term

I can just see some people's faces. What?! Trump and Obama are nothing alike. But hear me out. I have not "jumped the shark." 

First one needs to remember the Obama campaign. Clearly he was not ready to be president. He had been in the Senate for only two years, and his service there was unimpressive. But he was a fresh face. I had always thought that he was actually running for vice president, and got lucky. He campaigned on Hope and Change. That is exactly what the electorate wants. They want change, and they hope it works. The fact that someone with such a lack of experience was able to sideline Clinton for 8 years tells us that Clinton was out of touch with the people. 

Look at her campaign slogan. "I'm with Her." Yes, she had another slogan as well, "Together something or other." I will not bother to look it up. The fact that I can't remember it says a lot about the Clinton campaign's rhetorical skills. But instead of "I'm with Her," her slogan should have been "She's with US." The rumor is that her husband saw this coming and tried to get her campaign to address these issues with the average working class person. Even though former President Clinton's political instincts are said to be quite good, he was ignored. His existence probably hurt her campaign as his sexual past was actually worse that Trump's. President Clinton's past allowed some to vote for Trump as the other side was worse. While Hillary Clinton naturally had policies, her emphasis was almost entirely, "I am not Trump." 

This was not enough. 

While Trump has considerably more "life experience" than Obama had in 2008, this experience was not all positive. His political experience was even less than Obama's. Trump ultimately was a celebrity from a reality TV show. In some ways he was the "ideal" candidate. 

I see a connection with the Obama slogan, "Hope and Change," with the Trump slogan "Make America Great Again." In fact, Trump's slogan could also have been "Hope and Change." Nostalgia does have it appeal, just look at the popularity of the sitcom, "Happy Days," from which the term "jump the shark" entered our cultural lexicon. Personally I do not want to live in the 50's reincarnated. 

Like Obama, Trump is a master of rhetoric. Both had substance, but in neither case did the substance matter. 

For both Obama and Trump, rhetoric was enough. 

Has American "jumped the shark" with a President Trump? No one knows. I am "guardedly pessimistic." No one can repeal the business cycle, so President Trump will have to deal with a recession, just as a President Clinton would have. At least Trump, having skirted personal bankruptcy in the 90's, understands the risks. 

There is that clichéd Chinese curse that seems to fit the US right now: 

May you live in interesting times.