One of the most unpleasant and grating parts of most current political campaigns is the nails-on-a-chalkboard scripted events trying to portray the candidate as just a [fill in the blank]. Whether it's Kamala Harris talking about cooking, or Jon Tester photographed in blaze orange in spite of not having a hunting license, or Michael Dukakis in the turret of a tank, or John Kerry in that idiotic NASA bunny suit, candidates will almost always beclown themselves trying to look like Everyman.
But they aren't "Everyman," and everyone knows it. Chlamydia Harris hasn't cooked a meal in years, and probably doesn't know where the kitchen is -- although I'll bet she knows where the icemaker is for her late-night bourbons. Hillary Clinton having coffee at a diner in NH is pure fiction...normally she wouldn't be caught dead near normal people, and the carefully stage-managed fantasy is intended for the cameras and the LIVs...nothing else.
And...is it just my imagination or do Democrat candidates pull this nauseating crap far more frequently than Republicans? The last own-goal of a Republican attempting to be just one of the guys was Kristi Noem's embarrassing "Yup...I shoot dogs" brag. Is it the tendency of Republican candidates to be from the private sector, compared to the tried-and-true pipeline for Democrats of elite college --> NGO or political staff --> government job --> private sector --> Candidate?
Or is it the smug and disconnected Democrat apparatus that always minimizes the intelligence of the American voter? I'm not overly impressed by the typical American voter's focus on reality, but I doubt many of them buy the goods that the Democrats are trying to sell with these sham events!
Like this one!
24-Year Military Veteran And Self-Described 'Gun Guy' Tim Walz Struggles To Wrangle His Own Firearm
The idea that Tampon Timmy Walz is a gun guy is simply moronic. He is a well-known gun control fan, so trying to finesse the hunters of America into believing that he's just one of them is a bit far-fetched. And while I am no hunting expert, I was pheasant hunting last month (I sucked) and I don't recall anyone holding his shotgun the way Tampon Timmy is.
In a word...Awkward. And that signals a lack of familiarity with guns. And maybe I am over-analyzing the video, but it sure looks like his shotgun is upside down (there is another video at the link that is equally awkward)!
But there is one candidate who doesn't participate in these scripted embarrassments.
Donald Trump. Say what you will about him, he is very comfortable in his own skin, and has no interest in pretending to be something he isn't. Can anyone recall Trump doing one of these horrid events? I can't.
I don't need my president to be just like me. I don't need him to be just one of the guys. I don't need him to be anything other than a patriotic American whose focus is the protection of the United States of America from its enemies, and the success and well-being of the American people.
If that means he is a middle-aged Jewish guy with a fascination with guns and food and booze? Great! I'll invite him to dinner and we can talk shooting, bourbon, and Sous Vide.
And if that means he is a late-70s New York City Real Estate mogul with a monstrous ego and a conviction that he can fix any problem with "a deal?" That's fine too.
The difference between the cookie-cutter Democrat candidates who are all in on acquisition of power, but have no dedication to anything else on earth, and Donald Trump, is that they are chimeras, while Donald Trump is exactly what you see and hear.
You might not like it, but it is genuine. That doesn't mean he is just like you and me...he isn't. But he isn't a shape-shifting monster that tries to mimic its audience, no matter who and what they are.
As for dinner with Donald Trump? Eh...he doesn't drink, and eats his steaks well-done with steak sauce or (shudder) ketchup. It might be entertaining though, especially if he brought Melania!
But as a president? Yes.