[Genuine Realist]

120,000 dead, GR, and you're still defending him.  

Not much of a realist, are you.

I'm a pretty firm opponent of Trump the Man - a narcissistic nativist, whose deliberately divisive style has definitely furthered the polarization of American politics. I didn't vote for him in 2016, will vote for Biden in 2020, regardless of VP choice, and contributed to Andrew Yang's campaign for reasons BC can guess.

Trump the Demon? The monster possessed of every imaginable vice, no discernible virtue, who revels in human misery and works ceaselessly for the triumph of evil? No, I do not believe in that person. In fact, the caricature and its perpetration are very helpful to the cause of Trump the Man, because it leads the opposition into absurdity. I lived through a full-scale demonization once before in my lifetime (Lyndon Johnson) and a minor league one (George Bush) two decades ago. They don't work. Frenzied hysteria does no one any good.

Like it or not, Trump the Man did not refer to the virus as a hoax. His opposition, relying on the complete suspension of critical faculties of so many opponents, misquoted him deliberately. They are mendacious, not Trump. That doesn't make Trump the Man any less an unworthy President. It does make them liars.

Attributing the 120,000 dead to Trump personally reminds me so much of Vietnam War propaganda that just led nowhere. Yes, burger - if only the nation had elected HRC, there'd be no dead and everyone would be enjoying cakes and ale. I posted a line that caused an uproar, to the effect that the US response wasn't all that different from most Western nations, including the much hallowed Germany. I doubt it would have been all that different with HRC.

Attributing a measure of reality and common sense to Trump does not make him any less a lousy President. It's really not that hard.

I used to believe in witches and hobgoblins, burger. But then I turned seven and I stopped.

(BTW, BC is right that the GR tag goes back to 1998, and exasperation with the poster known as Long Winded on The Bootleg, who knew little or nothing about college football recruiting at that time. I like it, though, and have stayed with it. I don't mean it to show any superior political wisdom. However, bringing a political opponent to ordinary human dimensions seems to me the essence of wisdom. Those of you who want to continue to believe in Trump the Demon are going to continue to do so, and not much I do. But it is not useful. Statements with negative truth value - i.e., 'Trump called Covid-19 a hoax ' - almost never are.)

[Genuine Realist]

120,000 dead, GR, and you're still defending him.  

Not much of a realist, are you.

I'm a pretty firm opponent of Trump the Man - a narcissistic nativist, whose deliberately divisive style has definitely furthered the polarization of American politics. I didn't vote for him in 2016, will vote for Biden in 2020, regardless of VP choice, and contributed to Andrew Yang's campaign for reasons BC can guess.

Trump the Demon? The monster possessed of every imaginable vice, no discernible virtue, who revels in human misery and works ceaselessly for the triumph of evil? No, I do not believe in that person. In fact, the caricature and its perpetration are very helpful to the cause of Trump the Man, because it leads the opposition into absurdity. I lived through a full-scale demonization once before in my lifetime (Lyndon Johnson) and a minor league one (George Bush) two decades ago. They don't work. Frenzied hysteria does no one any good.

Like it or not, Trump the Man did not refer to the virus as a hoax. His opposition, relying on the complete suspension of critical faculties of so many opponents, misquoted him deliberately. They are mendacious, not Trump. That doesn't make Trump the Man any less an unworthy President. It does make them liars.

Attributing the 120,000 dead to Trump personally reminds me so much of Vietnam War propaganda that just led nowhere. Yes, burger - if only the nation had elected HRC, there'd be no dead and everyone would be enjoying cakes and ale. I posted a line that caused an uproar, to the effect that the US response wasn't all that different from most Western nations, including the much hallowed Germany. I doubt it would have been all that different with HRC.

Attributing a measure of reality and common sense to Trump does not make him any less a lousy President. It's really not that hard.

I used to believe in witches and hobgoblins, burger. But then I turned seven and I stopped.

(BTW, BC is right that the GR tag goes back to 1998, and exasperation with the poster known as Long Winded on The Bootleg, who knew little or nothing about college football recruiting at that time. I like it, though, and have stayed with it. I don't mean it to show any superior political wisdom. However, bringing a political opponent to ordinary human dimensions seems to me the essence of wisdom. Those of you who want to continue to believe in Trump the Demon are going to continue to do so, and not much I do. But it is not useful. Statements with negative truth value - i.e., 'Trump called Covid-19 a hoax ' - almost never are.)