I take some solace from the Wall Street Journal poll that shows Nicky Haley clobbering Joe Biden in a hypothetical 2024 election. It is the strong evidence I have been searching for that a healthy majority of the public recognize what an epic disaster the Biden administration has been.
Seeing the accumulating polls elsewhere showing Biden trailing Trump by a couple of percentage points here and four or so there, I felt like Hillary, in one of her many pathetic 2016 campaign ploys, asking how it was possible that she wasn’t far ahead of Donald Trump, given the undeniable fact that he was, well, you know, Donald Trump. The WSJ poll (which gives Trump just a 4-point advantage over Biden, 47-43) restores a bit of my faith in the civic competence of the American people. Haley isn’t a particular impressive alternative, but she has executive experience, can put a coherent sentence together, is well short of retirement age, and appears capable of learning. All of this makes her infinitely preferable to Biden or Trump. She is, as I have pointed out before, a weasel whose integrity is dubious at best, and has not displayed enough of the kind of character traits that I believe a trustworthy leader must have in abundance, but if it’s her, Biden or Trump, the choice should be easy. A substantial number of my fellow Americans agree.
This is good. The American public, those with a firm grip on reality and some sense of self-preservation, apparently know that electing either Biden or Trump for another four years is a blind leap into the abyss, hoping to land on a ledge or find a branch to hang onto. Unfortunately, the poll is a) just a poll and b) doesn’t matter as long as Republicans, who get to choose the nominee, are dominated by Trump cultists impermeable to common sense.
Moreover if, by some amazing confluence of good luck and random events along with a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon rainforest, Haley were to prevail over Trump, it is nearly guaranteed that this destructive narcissist would run a third party campaign emulating the 1912 Teddy Roosevelt tantrum that gave the nation its most destructive POTUS since George mapped out a workable template. Trump would throw the election to Biden out of spite. Do you doubt that? Does anyone?
He’s the Once and Future Asshole.
Well, who knows—chaos theory and the fickle finger of fate (Cultural reference pop-quiz!) may have surprises in store. At least the poll provides evidence that most of the public realize how awful the Democratic reign has been. They also realize just how unpleasant—I’m choosing my words carefully—another four years of Trump will be, especially after progressives have been programed to believe he’ll be emulating Pol Pot.
It’s a good news/bad news joke. Not a particularly funny one, though.
Ethics Alarms 
Never underestimate what people who do out of spite. I am reading a book on Black troops during WWII (excellent book “Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad” by Matthew F.Delmont) and have run into more than one white person opining that he’d rather the U.S. “lose the war” than have Black troops or defense workers treated equally.
People become extraordinarily selfish when their worldview is at stake.
Changing a worldview takes decades sometimes. I grew up hating gay people and did not come around to a grudging acceptance that there are these kind of different people who really should not be abused until I was in my forties. It’s amazing how good people can get at hiding who they really are when there is real danger to revealing it.
“fickle finger of fate”
Laugh In
Bingo!
I could vote for Haley. I agree that she seemed like a weasel in the debates, but it is a format that sucks.
As for the “Once and Future Asshole,” unfortunately, Asshole is not a recognized public office, which relegates Trump to being an Asshole for Life, or Perpetual Asshole.
I did catch the reference though (but have not read the book).
And, I think you are right. Trump would likely try to pull a Grover Cleveland, but would likely do no better than a Teddy Roosevelt.
-Jut
I am saddened by your omission of a level of alliteration. It was the flying fickle finger of fate.
I am awash with shame. The statuette even had wings on it…
Thank you for relieving me of my angst. I remember it well.
“One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingy.”
jvb
What realistically needs to happen is for Trump to get Haley on his team. Together they would probably be unstoppable. The only way to get Trump off the political stage on a permanent basis is to get him his second term after which he can no longer run again.
I am afraid that I don’t see a difference between Haley and Biden. Both would result in the same government because the same people would be in charge. Haley would be a slave to the bureaucracy with their one-worlder aspirations as well as the special interests that pay her salary, just as Biden is their puppet. Where does Haley’s money come from? That is who will be in charge under Haley. Follow the money.
Nicky Haley will be a one world government puppet as Michael pointed out. Her stand on NATO indicates to me that she has no understanding of the opportunity costs to the US for having to virtually underwrite the military preparedness of the very nations on the front line. The money we spend on NATO could be used to improve our Naval and Air Forces to meet the challenges of China’s military expansion.
Her record as governor reflects standard Republican fare and the only thing I can find as an accomplishment as governor was to call for the execution of Dylan Roof. I find it interesting that the very behavior so many detest in Trump was exhibited twice by Haley on the debate stage when she called another contender scum for challenging her record. She has absolutely no record of dealing with natural disasters or other events that demonstrate one’s mettle in facing adversity. In short she was a care taker governor much like Calvin Coolidge was as president.
What Nicky Haley brings to the table is her estrogen which is what white suburban women want. That is what creates the difference in poll numbers. I ask, would we suggest that women who would prefer a female candidate simply because of gender is any more “cultist” than those who support Trump. The two candidates with proven track records of getting things done are the two painted as extremists: DiSantis and Trump.
It is often said here that bias makes you stupid and maybe I am. However, I have to ask why we would hold Trump responsible for the “unpleasantness” initiated by those indoctrinated to believe he is the second coming of Pol Pot. Any unpleasantness is a byproduct of their behavior. It is like claiming Israeli air strikes were done without provocation.
An unbiased look at the Trump presidency was one without wars breaking out everywhere, we had reasonable border security, price level stability and high rates of employment across the board. Yes, Trump is boorish and a narcissist. So too was Obama as well as many others who held that position. With that said, I cannot find a single incident in which Trump made a cultural faux pas in his overseas meetings. He never barfed on a Japanese PM. I am sure European world leaders would have groveled to his presidency if he had promised to do for them what they had a responsibility to do for themselves. When people see their gravy train leaving town while they are left standing on the platform they whine and it was that whining that our media portrayed as losing our standing on the world stage. Too eff’n bad.
His initial weakness was that he failed to understand that most of the the permanent DC culture cares little for the long term and is focused on protecting their professional and financial wellbeing. They care nothing about the debt or the costs on future generations. High priced bureaucrats look for ways to grow their power and influence while insulating themselves from risk. It’s politics 24-7. He needed to fire more people.
By “unpleasantness” I mean government paralysis and regular and escalating rioting, tempting Trump to use the National Guard and fracturing the republic. I don’t care if it would be Trump’s fault entirely: it won’t happen without him, and is almost certain to happen if he’s elected, especially with less than the popular vote. Arguably this wouldn’t be Trump’ “fault” at all, but the pattern is set in stone, and he obviously will spit into the wind, because that’s what he does.
All behavior is learned. It will not matter who is president if that candidate bucks the system the unpleasantness to which you speak will occur anyway because they have found it to be effective in achieving their goal. This is why they are painting DiSantis as a racist and homophobe. Now they are setting their sights on Ramiswany who has received multiple death threats.
Using the National Guard to prevent or quell violence does not fracture the republic. If that were the case, our republic would have died in the 50’s and 60’s. Government force has been used throughout our history to put down riots until recently when the mayors decided to let their city’s burn.
I disagree that anything is inevitable except the elimination of the values embodied in the Bill of Rights if the Leftists and unprincipled government officials are left to pillage the rest of us in the name of social justice. When that happens, Trump will be a welcome relief because of the carnage that will ensue. There are plenty of Letitia James and Jack Smith’s just waiting to make their mark so they too can profit from a potential victory over freedom.
Half the President’s job is to behave and appear in a manner that is appropriate to the office. Maybe more than half. The nation depends on the legitimacy of and respect for the office of the President. Trump doesn’t fulfill these obligations at all. Not at all. I know most people don’t understand this about the office, but it is true, and every Presidential scholar and analyst recognizes it. This was Obama’s one area of competence. Trump is far more vulnerable to attacks because he refuses to act like the President. This is why anyone else will not be subject to the same level of opposition.
I hope your optimism about the progressives giving legitimacy to a conservative president is correct. Progressives have been working to delegitimize Republican presidents or candidates since Barry Goldwater ran against Johnson.
I think giving Obama credit for looking presidential when he never had to fend off a relentless stream of attacks from the press is similar to him getting the Nobel Peace prize on virtually day one of his administration. He just hid his animus toward people better.
I would like to believe that society wants to have a president that behaves in manner that models our expectations of civility, strength and emotional restraint but I don’t anymore. Society has become coarser over the last 250 years. Our presidents are a reflection of the broader society to our detriment.
I do have trouble making sense of an argument that Haley’s poll numbers are good ethics news. Good political news, perhaps. I find her the least objectionable of the current GOP field, and I suspect that I’m not alone in that among Democrats and independents. So if beating Biden is the all-encompassing goal, I get it from a political perspective. But I struggle to understand how “a weasel whose integrity is dubious at best” constitutes a significant improvement in ethical terms.
Curmie
I saw you were making a point I was going to make regarding weasel words. I find this behavior to be a deal breaker for me at the primary stage.
Such rhetoric suggests a willingness to deceive.
Jack, it seems you are basing your objection to Trump on a hecklers veto and an opinion on how you wish the president should act. With the current cultural divide, the best choice is the one that threatens the least amount of the Rights guaranteed by the Constitution, that is in my opinion sadly Trump.
It’s not my opinion on how the President should act. It is the model of how the President is expected to act and has to act to earn the mantle and protections of the office as laid down layer my layer over centuries, based on the model created with care and foresight by George Washington. The office literally doesn’t work if that template is breached, and Trump has demonstrated that principle. Yes, he was sabotaged from the beginning, but that “heckler’s veto” would not have been nearly effective if he had made an effort to meet the dignity, honor and decorum mandates of the job.