George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush are two folks I was thinking of when I made the comment here that the anger that brought the rise of Trump was that ordinary Americans had been screwed over royally by folks with good manners and clean language. In the case of the Bushes, folks who are, decidedly NOT racist, to boot.
I could actually like the Bushes if they hadn't burdened us with needless Middle Eastern Wars that served purposes other than the interests of average Americans. I can blame the repeal of Glass-Steagall on Hillary, but NAFTA was a joint endeavor; bi-partisanship at its worst. The Bushes represent well-mannered Globalism that has been a living hell for the working class of America.
The Bushes are well-mannered. Trump takes rudeness and crudeness to the next level, and, no, I don't endorse THAT aspect of Trump. I would prefer my sons act like the Bushes socially; polite and respectful. But I would not like them to grow up to become Globalists who are responsible for much of the inequality and the decline of sufficient employment for the working class of America.
I'll grant you Hillary didn't really give a damn about economic inequality, but do you honestly think Trump does after everything you've seen thus far? Besides taking a flame thrower to the TPP, what has he done to bridge that divide? How do you go from voting for Obama to being a full-blown Trump supporter while still supporting most of the things Obama speaks about?
Good question. I ask myself this question at times.
To answer it:
(A) Trump is less prone than Hillary to expand our foreign involvements. North Korea is an unusual situation, the scope of which was unforeseen at the time of the 2016 election. North Korea is very much a can we've kicked down the road to the point where we MAY have reached a limit.
(B) I am a social conservative, and I loathe the degree of political correctness that has infiltrated our politics (and, indeed, our everyday discourse). People have to watch every word, and the context of every word, lest they be called racist, sexiist, homophobic. Indeed, people feel free to throw those bombs at others just because someone isn't voting for their candidate. Trump, while overly rude and crude at times, has exposed the phoniness of the politically correct on both the right and left. This talent Trump has for exposing the phoniness of others rises to the level of a gift. And people LOVE IT!
(C) For the umpteenth time, I'll say this: Hillary Clinton truly hates Evangelicals, and would use the Presidency to harass them. Barack Obama, while a social liberal on abortion, SSM, etc, did not have that sort of hatred and vindictiveness toward Evangelicals. Trump, while not a Godly example of what a Christian should be, has respect for Evangelicals and for the fact that they attempt to be Salt and Light to the World (even if he has no concept as to what that means). Trump is a friend to Evangelicals. Hillary is an enemy, and a wolf in sheep's clothing to boot.
I also believe that, in the end, Trump is going to "fix Obamacare". That's his real plan. He can't say that, of course; it would invoke wrath among Republicans, and Democrats would find it something to be wary of. But Obamacare was a flawed program that (A) was going to require tinkering as it went along, and (B) was very much dependent on Medicaid Expansion for its success. (We all know how Medicaid Expansion played out.) Part of the phoniness Trump has revealed is the phoniness of some GOP opposition to Obamacare; they've been running their mouths forever, and pass repeal when they know it'll be vetoed, but not when they have a President almost DARING them to pass a repeal.
