Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Monday, November 21, 2016

Donald Trump, America’s first independent president

Viewed through any conventional lens, President-elect Donald Trump’s candidacy was improbable from start to finish. Today, two things about his victory seem to be in sharper focus: one, that Trump’s victory might best be understood as the success of the country’s first independent president, and second, that the Trump coalition may be even more uniquely his than President Obama’s has turned out to be.

Think again about how he prevailed. There are a handful of major events during a general election that give the nominees a chance to showcase themselves, their judgment and their vision. One is the selection of a running mate. Another is the staging of the conventions. A third is performance in the debates. Hillary Clinton did better than Trump on all three tests, though Trump’s team believes the debates did not fall so decisively in her favor.

Then there are the other factors that go into producing a successful candidacy. These include resources, the operations and mechanics of campaigning, and the skill with which candidates avoid mistakes and deal with the unexpected setbacks.

More

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Think again about how he prevailed. There are a handful of major events during a general election that give the nominees a chance to showcase themselves, their judgment and their vision. One is the selection of a running mate. Another is the staging of the conventions. A third is performance in the debates. Hillary Clinton did better than Trump on all three tests, though Trump’s team believes the debates did not fall so decisively in her favor."

All you need to know about the author and the WaPo is shown in this paragraph. In what reality can anyone claim that Kaine was a better pick then Pence for VP. Pence was a former Congressman and current Governor who had a good reputation with the Tea Party. Kaine was just another Clinton hack. Most people would also say that the debates were a draw. Considering Clinton lost the election her performance in the debates must not have been that great. Both conventions were equally watched and both candidates received the usual bounce after the conventions. One could say that with all the fawning over Clinton by the media that the Dems convention was a failure considering she didn't get a bigger bounce.
Even now the Post can't accept that Trump won and blames it on the voters as shown by this sentence.

"Clinton might have won had she not suffered erosion among African American voters — one key portion of the Obama coalition — or prevented more white, college-educated voters from moving away from her and returning home to the GOP, the group her team saw as a key element of a new Clinton coalition."

Real gracious of the Post to blame Clinton's loss on black voters and college educated whites.