Trump is at it, Again. Is America Buying a Lemon?

At the recent orgy rally in North Dakota, Trump has demonstrated that he has no new election strategy in the presidential race, now that he has secured the nomination. The same cheap verbal tricks and clever name calling. That's it. That is how he manipulated the fools on his side of the isle. He is the GOP candidate. The million dollar question is: will the same verbal fluff will work on the rest us. Will Trump make the sale?

Trump himself has been called many names that are, in fact, an accurate description of his essence. He has been called a persuader by the cartoonist Scott Adams. He has been called a salesman by yours truly. But, being an objective judge, I would not award myself the first prize in this label contest. The top prize would go to the former candidate Mitt Romney. His choice term is con artist.

Con artists perfect their persuasion techniques. Con artists have no intention to actually deliver. Their top priority is getting a certain fool -- the mark -- to do drop their vigilance and make one mistake. Hand over the money, open the door, cast a ballot. This time, the mark is America. Are we buying it?

The 2016 Race: Masks Come off, Standards Shatter.

This rant is a reaction to a rather depressing article on npr.org about hate messages on social networks, but it is more than that. I have been reading the news. I am connecting the dots. And I see one ugly picture. I see the shattering of standards of minimal decency, of treating all human beings with basic respect. The 2016 campaign isn't over, but the standards are gone.

The article I mentioned is about a social media app called Yik Yak. It is used on some college campuses to let the students chat with each other anonymously. Naturally, under the mask of anonymity, people could get a bit nastier than normal, but just how bad could it get? If you guessed threats of rape and calls for lynching, congratulations! You are correct.

That was just one dot, mind you. How about the incident with written hate message at CSU Sacramento last January? Another red dot.

There are more dots, to be sure, such as every other thing that comes out of the GOP front-runner's mouth. My favorite one is his retweet of "Jeb speaking Mexican", but there are plenty more, and plenty more to come.

I have said it before and I will repeat it: he is a salesman. The real problem is, that stuff sells. His personal contribution to the standards-shattering is probably significant: he came out, walking all over certain norms of social conduct and not only is he just fine, he is being rewarded. What a courageous pioneer.

Only two years ago, the country had a chance to "admire" Rush Limbaugh, but at least -- thank Goodness -- he has been loosing business. I will not claim that the standards were very firmly established. Nor will I deny that racism and hate were an issue all along. But at least, there was a widely accepted consensus that those were bad things.  In the offices and on public forums, people had to either be decent or to wear a certain mask if their spiritual face was too ugly to bear.

I had once told my kids that in Germany, swastikas were illegal, but in the United States they were only de facto illegal. Nobody would arrest a Nazi, but nobody worth hanging out  with will ever say hello to them, either. I told my kids they were lucky to have been born in America. This is the most successful nation in the world. We have standards here, for crying out loud!

Back in the twentieth century, the country has been at crossroads. Thanks to the human rights movement, thanks to the turbulent history of the 60's and 70's, we are headed in the right direction. Were headed, that is. A ship like USA doesn't turn easily, so it must be that for the last several years, we have been making a supertanker's equivalent of a swerve in the direction of the dark ages.

If Trump Had To "Go," Would He Excuse Himself Off Stage First?

When I was five, a visit to the bathroom was a serious blow to anybody's credibility, especially to my political opponent's. I would have used it against them, no problem.

Trump's recent lavatory-related jab against his rival was targeted at that level of maturity. Which, according to the cartoonist Scott Adams, is the right level to target.

Heck, if Trump himself needed to "go" during his rally, would he bother walking offstage, like a decent person? Or would he do it right there?

One thing for sure, if he did, he'd get roaring applause from his supporters. And he'd rise in polls once again. Given  everything else that's been going on at his rallies, this is the next logical step.

GOP '16 Menu: a Tealiban Extremist and a Sales Weasel.

AP Photo/ Isaak Brekken.

A certain blog I've been following lately, keeps calling Trump a master persuader. I would prefer the term Master Salesman. I am mulling over the possibility that he could face Sanders in November, and I am not sure I like the odds.

Bernie would argue like an adult. Trump's strategy could be summarized as strategic name calling. There is more to it than that, of course. I doubt Trump could out-govern Sanders, out-fix the injustices of the system, out-defend-the-nation, etc. But he had made many a sale in his business career, so he can surely out-sell Bernie, or anyone else running against him.

The aforementioned blogger, while quietly flattering Trump, has not really been so flattering to his voter base. Let me introduce you to the Moist Robot Theory, which states that most of us can be programmed subconsciously, by carerful choice of emotionally colored words.

That and large audience, which Trump can afford to pay for, is all he really needs to push his message. I hope the American voters are better than that in general, but the support Trump has been enjoying is an excellent case for Moist Robot Theory.

I am not saying all conservatives aren't very bright -- I know that is not true. I am not saying Trump isn't very bright. Nor am I saying that I myself  have never been an emotionally biased fool -- all of us have been. But whoever will be programmed by cheap verbal tricks while making an important voting decision -- well... I hope this doesn't apply to most Americans.