I am still trying to figure out who is really surprised about this. After all, with Donald Trump what you see is really what you get. Other presidential candidates have talked about transparency. It generally is just talk. In most respects, Trump is probably the most transparent candidate who has run for President in my lifetime. He pulls very few punches and he certainly is not Mr. Politically Correct. In fact, these are big reasons for his popularity with his supporters.
The reality is that Trump is Mr. Reality in what has become a reality show world.
The incessant attacks on Trump should also be no surprise. Consider just the last ten days---the plus size Miss Venezuela, the release of the tax returns and now the Billy Bush banter tape.
In fact, here is what I predicted back in February for what awaited Trump in the general election campaign.
...the Democrats are going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Trump. Romney was a veritable choir boy and look what they did to him. You can only imagine what material the Dems will have to work on with Trump.
This is one of the principal reasons I adamantly opposed Trump in the GOP primaries even though I acknowledged his personal appeal. It was simply too risky given his personality and his nearly 50 year record in the public eye. 2016 had all the earmarks of a year in which the Republicans should recapture The White House. Putting Trump at the top of the ticket offered potential rewards in attracting disaffected middle class voters but it also carried with it the risks we see playing out right now.
It remains to be seen what effects the latest attack will have on Trump. However, he has survived far worse so far. I think the manner in which he handles this and conducts himself in Sunday night's debate will go a long way in determining whether this has a lasting impact.
My expectation is that for his core support, which probably totals around 40% of likely voters, I don't think this will have much effect. For example, GOP primary voters went with a war hero and a Boy Scout in two successive elections and what did it get them? Nothing.
I have said from the beginning that a big part of the appeal of Trump is that everyone knows he is a bit of jerk. However, most GOP voters decided this year that going with nice guys didn't get them very far in the past. It was time for someone who was a bit of a bull in the china shop. To shake things up in Washington, to say what was not being said but which everyone could see with their own eyes was going on, and to stand toe to toe with our adversaries.
What is more disconcerting is the fact that as the media breathlessly meltdowns on Trump's stupid comments from over a decade ago, WikiLeaks has released information (the Podesta emails) on what Hillary actually said to those who paid her tens of millions of dollars for those closed door talks.
These disclosures barely are registering a whisper in the media even though the comments are much more important to our futures and our evaluation of the candidate.
Isn't it curious that the Trump tape just happened to surface at the same time that the WikiLeaks disclosures were being made? As someone I greatly respect once told me , "There is such a thing as coincidence in this world, but it is extremely, extremely rare." You be the judge.
What was Hillary talking about to those groups that could afford to pay her $250,000 or more for a one hour speech.?
These are the "Dreams of My Hillary" (in homage to Barack Obama's "Dreams of My Father") based on what has already been uncovered in the disclosures. More surely to come.
"Open borders".
"Open trade".
"Cuts to Social Security."
"Universal health care"
Other than open borders, how much have you heard Hillary talking about any of these issues in this way?
Perhaps that is explained by this other comment she made in her closed door meetings.
"You need both a public and private position" on the issues.
Like it or not, Trump is Mr. Reality. It is nothing but an act for Hillary. If only we could see what she said and did behind the curtain.
Trump's fate on November 8 will not be determined whether he is Mr. Nice Guy.
It will be determined by whether the majority of voters want to face and embrace reality or they are content to sit through the third act of a very bad play by a very bad actor.
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