Trump the New Arnold?

If the people who have voted for Donald Trump can stop for a moment to reflect upon his words and deeds, would they not see him for what he is? An empty suit. The amount of doggerel that flows through his mouth is enough to fill the Grand Canyon.

Hyperbole aside, I have yet to see his appeal. But there must be something I am missing. So let me try an experiment. Let me empty my head of rationality, of compassion, of logic, of sensitivity. Let me drain my soul of common sense, intellectualism, reason and decency. Let me replace these qualities with pettiness, bullying, melodrama, anti-intellectualism, bravado and bluster. Let me point to circumstances that never existed, rationalize my infidelities, my bankruptcies, my failures as a businessman. Let me deflect criticism about my hiring illegal immigrants, or creating my products in the very countries I now hold accountable for manipulating currencies or sending us their worst, their rapists and drug dealers.

Add a heap of narcissism and sexism, racism and xenophobia, and let me tout my success with manufactured statistics on my popularity amongst "the highly educated, the poorly educated, women, evangelicals, hispanics." Ah, there it is, the ingredients that comprise his appeal.

Never before in the history of this great country has a "politician" surfaced that is so unencumbered by facts as to greed his way to the most powerful office in the world. And for what? To reinforce the warped notions of self, to tout his own masculinity, to increase his own brand.

California tried once and elected a non-politician/celebrity to the governorship after the debacle that was Gray Davis. Arnold all but bankrupted this state. We suffered record deficits, unbalanced budgets, shortfalls, and our GDP shrunk by tens of millions of dollars. We lost jobs. We suffered mightily until Jerry Brown rescued us from the brink of collapse. Do we want to try that experiment on a national scale?

I long for a politician with the grace and magnanimity of a Barack Obama, the charm and charisma of a John F. Kennedy, the compassion of a Jimmy Carter, the soul of a Lincoln, and the courage of a Roosevelt.

Where are they? Liz Warren? Gavin Newsom? Kamala Harris? These people are the future of this country, but only if The Donald never steps foot in the White House except as a guest to a dinner honoring the great liars and narcissists this country has ever produced.