The real teflon Don

TRUMP, BUSH, ON FOREIGN POLICY

IS TRUMP INVINCIBLE?

The new polls that came out today have shown Donald Trump holding a large lead in South Carolina and an even larger lead in Nevada. He is also leading in every poll in every state and in the nation. The opinion of all the analysts and all the supporters of the other candidates was that after his disparaging remarks about the reputation of former president George Bush, Trump's numbers would be collapsing in South Carolina. The conventional wisdom was that South Carolina is a military state, with large numbers of military personnel.  Bush has been proclaiming that he has been endorsed by long lists of generals and admirals, but the generals and admirals (all who are retired) have not been deployed to foreign lands, nor have they watched their friends and family members seriously injured and killed for a foreign policy that has shown no positive result for them or their families. I have little doubt that they and their families are ready for a reexamination of our foreign policy; they have sacrificed more than the politicians in Washington and the Republican establishment both of which are ever ready to interfere around the world.

While Trump's articulation of his positions may leave a lot to be desired, he has made it clear that he will not be assuming the same foreign policy that we have been following for the last 30 years. I do believe that Mitt Romney's insisting on continuing the same interventionist policy of the past was part of the reason for his defeat. The military is not opposed to war, but is tired of fighting battles with no end game, with no goal of victory, with no outcome to compensate them for their loss of blood and lives. Does anyone ever ask what this has done to the families of these soldiers? They cannot be expected to sacrifice endlessly. If your intention is to destroy the morale of your military, no one could have done a better job than Bush and Obama. I hear other candidates articulating how we need to depose Assad and establish democracy in the Middle East. They go as far as to say we may need to be there another 20 years. This is bullshit, plain and simple. We cannot afford to spend 20 years nation building anywhere, let alone the Middle East. 

The only other candidates who have articulated a change in foreign policy were Rand Paul, who is now gone, and Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton has pursued a similar policy of deposing foreign dictators without a plan of who will replace them. We have spent trillions and killed and wounded thousands with no positive result. Are we going to continue this policy, because it is what is on the conservative list of positions? Who has had the courage to question the wisdom of our foreign policy?

I see that Donald Trump lacks many qualities, but I see no point in expounding on them. I do believe that many Americans like myself see our country declining in many ways. Electing the revolving door of lawyers and politicians who deal exclusively in words and philosophical debates has not changed the direction of our country. I pretty much know where guys like Bush, Kasich, and Clinton will take us - they will manage the decline till there is nothing left to rescue. Bernie Sanders, I believe, would speed up the decline. I believe that Americans think we need to try something different and Trump seems to be who is there right now. If he is not successful, there will emerge someone else in the future. I don't think the political landscape will ever be the same.