Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Trump the Chump
The President decided--two years into his presidency--to releasehis official birth certificate as a way to quell the "birther" debate over whether Obama is a "real" American. This on a day when Obama shook up his national security staff, which of the two got the most coverage? ABC News ran a story, featuring George Stephanopoulis, that was obviously spoon fed from the White House. The story, featuring Senior Administration Officials who tried to talk Obama out of releasing his official birth certificate, but he disregarded their advice and put the issue to rest (yeah right).
It seemed odd at first as to why Obama even bothered. Clearly this is not going to put this issue to rest. The next round of recriminations will focus on whether the copy is authentic and/or whether Obama coerced Hawaiian officials to doctor a fake certificate. Remember these accusations are from the same group of people convinced today that Bill and Hillary Clinton murdered Bill's White House counselor.
So why bother? I think Obama and his campaign advisers are engaging in a bit of 2012 gamesmanship--perhaps by elevating this issue they elevate Donald Trump as a serious contender AND they elevate an issue that most Americans believe is nutty. If Obama can help Donald into the Republican Primaries, where Trump can use his bags of money and media attention to contend, then Obama can hopefully drain the funds of the eventual nominee to nothing just to win the primary. Think of what happened to Bob Dole in 1996--by the time the nomination was secured, Dole was so broke that he could not afford advertising to respond to the tsunami of ads coming from the Clinton/Gore campaign team and their allies among affiliated groups. The sum: A trouncing of Dole in the 1996 election.
And Trump, the Chump, has zero chance of doing anything other than inflating his own sense of importance. Just like Ross Perot, Trump will receive kid glove attention among the mainstream media before the primaries begin, but once the 2012 race takes off, the media will begin to pick him apart just like they did with Perot--remember, he dropped out of the race in the summer of 1992 because the media scrutiny got too intense (and because George H.W. Bush was planning on sabotaging his daughter's wedding). And Trump has a lot of dirt to offer. To get a taste of what is to come, take a look at the recent Daily Beast profile by Howard Kurtz. What I like best of the profile, and what will make for a great ad, is this comment by Trump regarding the multiple bankruptcies he has filed: "I do play with the bankruptcy laws--they're very good for me as a way of cutting debt."
Wow! Can you say tin ear? Or perhaps the same people who produced this ad against Arlen Specter are already on it!
It seemed odd at first as to why Obama even bothered. Clearly this is not going to put this issue to rest. The next round of recriminations will focus on whether the copy is authentic and/or whether Obama coerced Hawaiian officials to doctor a fake certificate. Remember these accusations are from the same group of people convinced today that Bill and Hillary Clinton murdered Bill's White House counselor.
So why bother? I think Obama and his campaign advisers are engaging in a bit of 2012 gamesmanship--perhaps by elevating this issue they elevate Donald Trump as a serious contender AND they elevate an issue that most Americans believe is nutty. If Obama can help Donald into the Republican Primaries, where Trump can use his bags of money and media attention to contend, then Obama can hopefully drain the funds of the eventual nominee to nothing just to win the primary. Think of what happened to Bob Dole in 1996--by the time the nomination was secured, Dole was so broke that he could not afford advertising to respond to the tsunami of ads coming from the Clinton/Gore campaign team and their allies among affiliated groups. The sum: A trouncing of Dole in the 1996 election.
And Trump, the Chump, has zero chance of doing anything other than inflating his own sense of importance. Just like Ross Perot, Trump will receive kid glove attention among the mainstream media before the primaries begin, but once the 2012 race takes off, the media will begin to pick him apart just like they did with Perot--remember, he dropped out of the race in the summer of 1992 because the media scrutiny got too intense (and because George H.W. Bush was planning on sabotaging his daughter's wedding). And Trump has a lot of dirt to offer. To get a taste of what is to come, take a look at the recent Daily Beast profile by Howard Kurtz. What I like best of the profile, and what will make for a great ad, is this comment by Trump regarding the multiple bankruptcies he has filed: "I do play with the bankruptcy laws--they're very good for me as a way of cutting debt."
Wow! Can you say tin ear? Or perhaps the same people who produced this ad against Arlen Specter are already on it!
