Now, I don’t have a mancrush on Trump. It remains to be seen how he will govern. But I think it is POSSIBLE he will consistently do the right things. I did not feel that about McCain or Romney, Cruz, Rubio, or any of the others (except Rand Paul, who never really had a chance).
Here is a, to me, interesting heuristic: put different candidates in Yankee Stadium, surrounded by working class schlubs. Look at Hillary, saying to her advisor “What do I SAY to these people? Do I shake hands? How does one act”?
Look at Ted Cruz. He is gaming in his mind. He is calculating. He is trying to figure out what angle he needs to hit to get their votes.
Bernie Sanders belongs there. I will grant him that. But even he is sitting there, thinking: “I can save all these people from their Capitalistic enslavement.”
George W. Bush is in a private booth, coming out from time to time to wave to everyone. He has no real interest in sitting with working class folks.
Obama is sitting there, acting like he belongs, but he and everyone else there knows he doesn’t. He is socially clumsy. His persona is a facade. He is deeply uncomfortable, even as he tries to mimic their dialect.
Trump is having the time of his life. He’s the center of attention. There is beer (which he doesn’t drink, as I believe he doesn’t drink at all), there are hot dogs, it’s a good game. Did you see that hit? WOW, what a catch!!! Man, check out the knockers on her–nudge, nudge, don’t tell Melania I said that. He belongs there. He is the only one.
Edit: I can’t resist adding to this. John Kerry won’t touch the idea at all. No interest.
Al Gore soon finds himself sitting alone. Nobody likes him. He is wooden, disingenuous, and belongs in a library somewhere reading something dull and useless.
George H.W. Bush largely makes no impact. It is obvious he likes the game, but he is only a hit with the aging veterans. Everybody else acknowledges he is there, and focuses on the game. He doesn’t stand out in any way.
Reagan, of course is a big hit. He has everybody laughing almost continually.
Clinton belongs. He is not really working class, and not really a good human being–in my considered view he is awful and nasty–but he is a world class actor, and knows his part extremely well. This is the big difference between him, and Obama and Hillary. Honesty is the difference between him, and Trump and Reagan.