Is Donald Trump A Viable Presidential Candidate?

Donald Trump is everywhere right now: on television in a debate; soundbites galore on various news networks; radio; appearing in person wherever he may be at that moment. He is always good for a sentence or a paragraph, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes thought provoking and oftentimes seemingly straight out of a large portion of America's own mind, questioning this or that in politics today or commenting on something that troubles us.

But how in touch is he really? We know he is a consummate showman, understanding what gets ratings, what to say to touch off an argument then walking away unscathed. After all, he's not called The Teflon Don for nothing.

John Q. Public oftentimes looks at the rich and powerful as being part of the Republican Party and the Voice of the People as being part of the Democrat Party. In recent years the Tea Party has been apparently speaking on behalf of the majority of the people due to the perception that the Democrats are too far one way and Republicans too far the other way, and thus do not represent the Middle Class effectively. Trump has at various times in the past provided donations to both Republican and Democratic parties and has spoken at various Tea Party functions. So one has to wonder: what party does he line up with the most?

At present he is attempting to run on a Republican ticket although he has not ruled out running a third party or independent. While some people may have concerns over this apparent waffling, personally I do not. As a business man first and foremost I feel Trump is simply keeping his options open until he has to commit. When he reaches that point he will declare one or the other and we will move on.

He did run for President on the Reform Party ticket in 2000 and in fact won the California Primary while on that ticket. Speculation ran wild in 2011 when Trump thought about running for President and even garnered support which gave him a lead in some polls though he never had committed to running. Perhaps this is what has led to him actually running at this time.

At various times over the years he has changed his position on certain "hot topic" subjects, sometimes going 180 degrees from a former view. For example, in 1999 he was for abortion rights but respected the opposition to it. In 2011 he was pro life and now believes late abortions should be banned except in certain circumstances.

Regarding the budget he has remarked that we need to prepare for an upcoming crash (in 2000) and has several times voiced concern over the National Budget. Once remarking that we would see a major boost to the economy by the ND elimination (1999) and in 2015 saying that if the debt reaches $24 trillion we will have reached a point of no return. He did provide a possible answer to the debt in 1999 calling for a one time tax of 14.25% on wealth.

When asked about crime, he has remarked that we need a tougher stance as a country on crime, criminals and the judicial system. Judges should be held accountable to a higher degree; that criminals should not have as many rights as they appear to have; and that we need to proceed with capital punishment for those convicted of murder.

He has been hard on illegal drug use, even removing a winner of his Miss USA contest for an overindulgence of drugs, yet he feels America should legalize certain drugs and use the tax revenue for educational purposes relating to drugs.

Trump has been outspoken in the Common Core practice which was a part of the Educational System, calling it a disaster this year. He also desires to cut the Department of Education down, having stated that at a Tea Party convention in South Carolina in January. He believes that education needs to be local, held accountable by those closest to the problems rather than by a Governmental oversight committee.

In addition he believes we need to stop the "dumbing down" of our schools as well. His concerns about not offending a child by holding them accountable for their spelling, that being hard on the student and letting them know when they have spelled something incorrectly is far better than ignoring the situation and allowing them to continue on as illiterate.

I applaud this effort for the reason I have railed against this myself for years. If the word is spelled incorrectly, whatever the subject may be count a point off! Just because the subject may be Science does not mean the student shouldn't be able to spell cell as cell, not sell!

One of the topics Trump has come under fire for recently is that of Immigration. As far back as 1999 he has held a firm stance on immigration saying that we need to limit immigration and focus more on those who live here rather than those who are here illegally. He has spoken on building a wall across the US Mexican border; that those who cross the border illegally are little more than violent criminals; and that if we give citizenship to illegal aliens we are setting our country up for a fall.

When asked about the Unemployment Rate he believes it to be closer to 20% than the advertised 5.6%. America has lost jobs overseas due to the raising of taxes on businesses and that is one of the primary reasons for our current unemployment catastrophe.

So, what do I think? Well, first off he is not a politician so that's a good thing. For years I have felt that Washington is too full of those who are too full of themselves, who have no connection with the common man on the street and as such can in no way serve those people. Now, do I really believe Trump does understand the common man? Not really, but I do know that he is a business man, for all his faults. He understands how to cut deals, how to stretch his funds, how to get more that he gives away. Can any other politician say that?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Now, I will admit something to you all: who the last person I voted for President was. Ready? Don't laugh!

Ross Perot.

Yes, Ross himself. Why did I "throw" my vote away on him? Because I believed he could do something no modern President could do: balance the budget. And by balancing the budget more good things might follow. Like, say more spendable income because of fewer taxes; less dependence on foreign items; a halt to the selling off of America to China. Things like that. The movie Brewster's Millions struck a chord in me: Vote for None Of The Above. Remember that? If no one there is worth your vote vote for none of them. How I wish Americans would get off their collectives arses and do something, anything to change the direction of our nation. Why vote for A or B if neither one is who you truly want for that position? Find another answer!!! I thought Perot might have been that answer.

Is Trump the answer for today? Will Trump be able to do this? Who knows? But for sure, any other contender won't even try. Every other candidate is a lifelong politician who knows which side of his bread is buttered, and it ain't the side we can see. They all owe someone a favor or a hundred, they all will cut the throat of their own mother to get a deal done, they all believe they are doing the right thing by continuing to do the same tired old thing their predecessor did. Oh, their words will be different, promises made and then broken, and at the end we will be left with even more unemployment, more debt, more of all the things this country doesn't need and none of what it does.

I believe Trump might break the mold. Whether or not he identifies with the common man, he at least understands what this person thinks and acts in a manner that leads me to believe he might be better suited to accomplishing what no other candidate will: halting the corruption and set the feet of Lady Liberty back on the righteous path once more. He believes in America and appears to care about her well being. I can't say that about any other candidate; at least not yet.

The one thing I am worried about is that he is going to get everyone in an uproar, then bow out. He may try to transfer his followers to another candidate and walk away if he doesn't get the Republican nomination. I hope not; I hope he stands firm in this resolve and that he truly has the best interests of our nation at heart. If he does walk away he will leave a bitter taste in a large population's mouth for he does seem to cut through the crap and attack the heart of the problem. Perhaps he doesn't always use the most P.C. terms, but it appears as though he does know what he is talking about for the most part. He is shrewd, he understands things as few politicians do and I think he just might be the best person for the job.

So, will we have another actor President? Will we have another Apprentice-like show where we get to watch him tell one politician after another "You're Fired!"? Wouldn't that be nice? Will he be one who shoots his mouth off, says something that cause the Presidential aides to blush, or hide their mouths with hands clenching papers? Probably. But will he stand firm in the face of corruption? Will he help us take back America from the corrupt? I believe he might.

He's better than the alternative. And God knows, we've had enough of those "space fillers" for years; the time has come to put someone else in office.

Then we can always chuckle when we hear this song about his hair.