Trump using tenuous ‘defense’

trump

What am I missing here?

Donald J. Trump — at the time newly married — went off on a hot-mic rant 11 years ago in which he talked about having sex with a married woman, groping another woman, about how his “star” status enabled him to have his way with women, disparaged another woman’s appearance … all while dropping f-bombs and using crude references to the female anatomy.

Then he defends himself by saying essentially two things:

* The audio recording is more than a decade old and does not reflect the person he is or was — or will be as president of the United States.

* Bill Clinton abused women and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, fought savagely to defend her husband over what he did more than two decades ago.

So, which is it? Does the 11-year-old audio recording count more or less than a 20-plus-year-old series of alleged sexual dalliances — plus an actual relationship that occurred while Bill Clinton was president of the United States?

Trump, the Republican nominee for president, is running against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee.

I’ll ask one more question: Does the behavior of a nominee’s spouse even rise the level of actual relevance that’s equal to the behavior of a current candidate for the presidency?

Men should take offense, too, at Trump’s words

160105_trump

Media commentators are wondering about the impact that Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump’s ghastly references to women will have on the females who’ll vote for president.

Sure, that’s an important story to cover. Trump was caught saying some pretty hideous things about women 11 years ago on that bus. He talked about seeking to have sex with a married woman, grabbing someone in her “wherever,” and making other disparaging remarks about women’s appearance.

OK, he has surrendered much of the female vote.

I’m wondering, though: What about the men who are offended by this clown?

Men across the America should be equally offended on behalf of, oh, let’s see:

Their daughters, their sisters, their wife, their aunts, their granddaughters, their girlfriends, their mother, their grandmothers, their great-grandmothers, their favorite teacher, their godmother, their daughters-in-law, their sisters-in-law, their mother-in-law.

They should be offended on behalf of every woman who’s ever had a positive impact on their lives.

This story should anger not just women. It should infuriate men who must explain the meaning of Trump’s comments to their young children or grandchildren, or to a young sister.

 

This next ‘debate’ is going to be a doozy

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, stands with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the first presidential debate at Hofstra University, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016, in Hempstead, N.Y. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Donald J. Trump has taken credit for a lot of things lately.

* For predicting the terror attack that killed 49 people in an Orlando, Fla., nightclub.

* For persuading President Obama to release his birth certificate that proves he is a “natural-born” U.S. citizen.

* For selecting a running mate, Mike Pence, who did a stellar job while debating Tim Kaine the other night.

* For juicing up the ratings that drew all those viewers to the first debate with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Well, the Republican presidential nominee can take credit for what’s going to transpire, more than likely, at the next debate, when he and Democratic nominee Clinton square off.

Ladies and gents, we are heading for a serious train wreck of a political spectacle Sunday night — all due to Trump’s hideously lewd comments about women that were caught on a “hot mic” 11 years ago as he was preparing for a cameo appearance on a daytime soap opera.

You’ve heard about it, yes?

Well, the reaction has been ferocious. Many Republican leaders want Trump to drop out of the race; others of them want his running mate, Mike Pence, to bail.

They wanted a full-scale apology from Trump. What they got last night in a 90-second video was as much a threat against Clinton as a mea culpa for saying how he sought to have sex with a married woman, how he wanted to grab another one in her private area, how he was able to have his way with women because he’s a “star.”

Did you see contrition in Trump’s face or hear it in his voice as he delivered that so-called “apology”? I did not.

Now we get to watch Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump field questions from votes in this town hall event in St. Louis. The questions will come not only from moderators Martha Raddatz of ABC News and Anderson Cooper of CNN, but from every-day folks who (a) believe Trump has disqualified himself as a presidential candidate or (b) believe Hillary Clinton needs to answer as well for her husband’s own well-chronicled sexual misbehavior.

The rest of the issues — trade policy, the war on terrorism, the economy, jobs — may be cast aside as Americans tune in to hear Trump seek to defend the indefensible.

Go ahead, Donald. You are more than welcome to take credit for triggering this national debate.

Trump apologizes for ‘distraction’

150401135040-donald-trump-gallery-8-super-169

Well, there it is.

Donald J. Trump has issued — seemingly — the first full-blown, unqualified apology of his life.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/facing-backlash-trump-apologizes-for-lewd-comments-in-%e2%80%9905-video/ar-BBx95Fw?li=BBnb7Kz

“I apologize” for saying and doing “foolish things,” he said.

I’ve watched the video — it’s only about 90 seconds long — three times already. I do not perceive a sense of actual shame for the things he said in 2005 about women, about his attempt to have sex with a married woman, the access his star power had in allowing him to start kissing women whenever he felt like it, his desire to grab them in their private areas.

No, he called it a “distraction” from other issues. Those ghastly comments don’t reflect his true character, Trump said.

Whatever.

I … don’t think it’s quite that easy to dismiss.

Maybe that’s just me. My gut tells me I’m not alone.

The video was obtained by a major newspaper and aired in the past 24 hours. It reveals to me the character of an individual who’s said some pretty hideous things about women over a number of years.

It’s part of a pattern that the Republican presidential nominee has exhibited.

I do not think this issue is going away.

Will a Trump apology make it all go away?

Donald Trump gestures while speaking surrounded by people whose families were victims of illegal immigrants on July 10, 2015 while meeting with the press at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, where some shared their stories of the loss of a loved one. The US business magnate Trump, who is running for president in the 2016 presidential elections, angered members of the Latino community with recent comments but says he will win the Latino vote. AFP PHOTO / FREDERIC J. BROWN        (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

The word this evening is that Donald J. Trump is going to release a video of him issuing a full apology for what he said 11 years ago about women.

The Republican presidential nominee was heard making statements about how he put moves on a married woman. The recording contains some lewd, profane language.

It is disgusting in the extreme.

So, the question is this: Does a full-throated apology from the GOP nominee erase what he said? Does it expunge the record? Does it mean he can proceed as if nothing happened at all?

I think not.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/billy-bush-says-he%E2%80%99s-ashamed-by-lewd-talk-with-donald-trump/ar-BBx9lLD?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

 

‘We’re not electing a Sunday school teacher’

trump-women

Donald J. Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, tried — in some sort of fashion — to defend his former boss’s conduct regarding women.

Perhaps you’ve heard. The Washington Post published a story in which Republican presidential nominee Trump was caught on a “hot mic” saying some ghastly things about women.

Lewandowski said: “I’ve never heard anything like this out of him and so let me say, we are appointing a leader, we are electing a leader to the free world, we’re not electing a Sunday school teacher.”

Sure thing, Corey. I get that.

But don’t we have the right to expect the “leader of the free world” to behave like a mature adult?

The so-called “locker room talk,” which is how Trump has described it, did not occur when Trump was a kid. It happened 11 years ago. Trump was just shy of turning 60. He was newly married to Melania, his third wife.

This is how a future major-party presidential nominee should talk?

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/299920-lewandowski-defends-trump-were-not-electing-a-sunday-school

This is not a “boys will be boys” moment.

Hits just keep coming for Trump

bbx9hr9

This link is worth your time. It’s from the Washington Post. It contains a video of Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump talking about — what else? — women.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/ar-BBx95Fw?li=BBnb7Kz

It’s extremely disgusting. It’s lewd. It’s vulgar. It’s contains language that includes what my late father used to call the “functional four-letter word.”

It was recorded in 2005, just 11 years ago, when the future presidential nominee was not quite 60 years of age. He was a grown man, on the cusp of senior citizenship when he was heard saying some remarkably vulgar things about women.

I just do not know how many more of these examples of hideous conduct many voters in American can tolerate from a major-party candidate for president of the United States.

Someone will have to explain to me how this does not disqualify someone serving as head of state of the greatest nation on Earth.

In need of an intervention

Touchscreen smartphone with Earth globe

I never — not in a zillion years — thought I would say this, but here goes.

I need an intervention because I left my cell phone at home today while I was at work. I felt oddly disconnected from the world.

Some of you who’ve read this blog for some time know the drill. I had vowed to become the last person on Earth to own a cell phone. I waged a public — and passionate — campaign to that end.

Then I declared victory and purchased my cell phone. My wife bought one, too. Our first phones weren’t of the “smart” variety. They were those flip-top phones that didn’t work very well.

Then we upgraded to smart phones.

I still don’t use many of the functions built into the thing, but I do rely on it for some useful things: e-mail retrieval, reading news services come immediately to mind.

I left the thing at home today. I couldn’t check my e-mail, which arrives regularly during the day. I couldn’t keep up with the news and commentary.

For a good part of the day I was adrift.

I felt oddly out of touch.

Then my work day ended. I went to meet someone for lunch, only the friend I had planned to meet had sent me a Facebook message — which I also can read on my phone — asking if we could reschedule for another day. My friend has a sinus infection and needed to see a doctor.

Had I had my phone with me, I would have known that fact and would have avoided making the trip across town for a lunch date that never materialized.

What have I become? Am I now addicted to this geeky technology?

I need help!

Hey … what day is it?

retirement.pic_

This is the latest in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on upcoming retirement.

I once knew this guy, the late Neil McKay, who was fond of poking fun at people.

“Aww,” Neil would say, “he doesn’t even know what day it is.” He meant the jab in a sort of kind-hearted way.

If he were around today, he could say that very thing about me.

It would be true … almost!

Back in the day, when I was working full time for a living, I had to know what day it is. It was imperative. I lived on deadlines and getting my work done by a certain time and a certain day — or else. Journalism makes those demands on those who practice the craft.

Now? I’m hard-pressed on occasion to keep ’em straight.

I’m aware that today is Friday. In fact, I rolled out of bed this morning knowing it. But the days do arrive when I cannot quite grasp the day of the week.

I end up looking at my watch — yes, I still wear one of those things on my wrist — to make sure I know the day.

The notion of retirement is freeing me of the time-sensitive obligations that tie down most of you working stiffs. Even though I’m there yet and have not arrived at the “fully retired” stage of life, I find myself grasping at times for information that I had locked in my noggin.

The day of the week? Gosh, I don’t know. Let me check.

My major concern these days — other than planning the next RV outing with my wife or awaiting the next visit with our granddaughter — seems to be ensuring that I am able to see the sun rise the next morning.

Four years and two months into this new, semi-retired phase of life, I’m happy to say … so far, so good.

Media stars jousting over candidates of their choice

10456

My list of pet peeves has grown over the years as I have grown older.

I don’t call myself a curmudgeon, but I do at times come off as a fuddy-duddy. Some things about contemporary journalism, for instance, annoy me greatly.

Such as when reporters and commentators become newsmakers. My old-school thought is that they should be apart from the action. They can report on it and, yes, comment on it without making hay.

That all said, now we have two Fox News stars jousting with each other. News anchor Megyn Kelly has become a “supporter” of Hillary Rodham Clinton, says avid Donald J. Trump ally Sean Hannity.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/megyn-kelly-sean-hannity-trade-barbs-over-trump-treatment-229220

The feud is on.

Hannity is a commentator. He is a strong conservative voice on the “fair and balanced” cable network. He’s been in Trump’s camp since the beginning of this presidential campaign.

Now he’s decided to challenge Kelly, who serves another function at Fox; she is a news anchor. She’s also a pretty solid journalist. Kelly had the bad form, I guess in Hannity’s view, to ask Trump some tough questions way back during that first GOP primary debate. She wanted Trump to explain his highly offensive comments about women. The exchange that ensued sparked a feud that continues to this day.

That makes Kelly a Hillary Clinton supporter, according to Hannity.

I should note that of the two, Megyn Kelly is the one with a journalism education and professional background. Hannity lacks those educational credentials; he’s a talker.

I, frankly, don’t much care who she intends to vote for when the time comes. It shouldn’t even be a topic for public discussion. But then we have Hannity — who doesn’t hide his own bias — trying to make noise … which is all this is, in my humble view.

These media stars need to settle down. They ought to stop firing their barbs at each other and concentrate on the individuals and policies on which they report and offer opinion.

Who’s the major culprit in this goofy exchange?

Sean Hannity. Of course!

My advice to the young man? Knock it off, dude, and keep on shilling for Trump.

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience