so there is nothing to distinguish them except an explanation that ultimate says they are birds of a feather. yes!

"that of an autocrat, who expects people to obey his dictates" .... IS trump

& "skilled diplomat, adept at bringing together conflicting elements for the best possible outcome." is NOT trump

--giggles-- thanks!!

(I feel like a certain politician from decades past... "Let me make one thing perfectly clear...")

It's simple. If you vote for who, in your best research, is the best candidate, regardless of who someone else tells you to vote for, then your vote is NOT wasted. If EVERYONE did this, rather than fall for the "lesser of 2 evils" or "you're wasting your vote" coercive lines, then even IF "my" candidate didn't win, it would still be the choice of "we the people".

Where I was going with that was I need to determine, for myself, who I felt was the best presidential candidate (or write in) for the position, and THAT'S who would get my support, my vote, and my backing. Someone who would blatantly lie, change positions (eg Flip-Flop), or do something against a certain document they swore (or will swear) to protect and defend... are instant disqualifiers for me. If you say something - I expect you to stand behind it, whether you're a political figure, an employee (or employer), a friend, a business, whatever.

Head in the stars? Maybe. But I prefer these things (especially in a leader) called Honesty and Integrity. That is NOT for sale to the highest liar, er, bidder. If you ain't got it, then you ain't got my back... and I won't have yours.

I'm not entirely sure if the Larkin comparison is entirely accurate. I've known people, contractors, who have worked for Trump and his people. I've been told he's a very shrewd business man who hires exceptionally competent people to lead and that he is dedicated, first and foremost, to making a healthy profit for himself and his investors. For better or for worse, I'd say Trump is 100% committed to his principals.

If Trump sincerely subscribes to a "rising tide lifts all boats" he could be a very good thing for this country at a time when it needs it.

Easy, one party still puts on the show that they are for America, its people, and its Constitution and then does whatever the hell it wants. The other, brazenly has clear disdain and resentment for everything related to America, her people, and her Constitution and doesn't care to hide it.

The better side of the Trump appeal is that people are tired of a President who has the mistaken idea that his role is that of an autocrat, who expects people to obey his dictates (part of the reason he's dumbfounded that Putin isn't listening to him). We expect our national leader to be a skilled diplomat, adept at bringing together conflicting elements for the best possible outcome. Making a successful business deal requires skilled diplomacy and an awareness of when to exercise power, and Trump has been very successful in that arena, and that appears to be part of his appeal.

Susanne, seriously, could you make your point clearer. To me, your comments are internally conflicting, which is an indication I don't understand them ;^) Thanks.

I would like someone to tell me what distinguishes the difference between the two parties?

Donald Trump can be explained by the phrase, "They're rolling out the drums..."
They rolled out the drums for Napoleon, they rolled out the drums for Hitler, for Mao, for Stalin. It means, "We are tired of being the fall guy, we are not getting a good deal, we are being screwed, our so-called leaders are not on our side." Along comes a charismatic figure, and he promises to fix all that. He is believable, he is on our side, he'll make us be winners. We want to win, for a change." And that is how Napoleon, and Hitler and all the rest convinced even some of the brightest, to follow them. The failure of the current leaders have given birth to Donald Trump.

There ARE companies that provide 'Crowds' for these creatures.
As to what motivates TP's (if true, there are serious doubts) toward trump...anger, frustration, lack of critical thinking and have fallen for the ole Heligan Dialectic trick...create a problem, appeal to our baser needs, get you to yell about it...then, out of the blue, comes someone that claims to be able to fix it all. Can you say?...GOTCHA? that's exactly what they intended. Remember...trump is related to hiltery. Aside form that, he wants to make America a great COMPANY, not a great Country.

I don't have a clue who I WILL vote for at this point. Right now I am enjoying what Trump is dredging up from the bowels. So far in this discussion every adjective used to describe Trump, negative and positive, can also be assigned to all of the others with the single exception of Successful Businessman. Most of the politicians are only successful in blowing smoke up our rears! I don't expect Trump or any of the others to be our savior because they have a gigantic hurdle in front of them called Congress and a Supreme Court acting far above their pay grade.
I am perfectly fine after we have allowed a Community DIS organizer to hold the reins for 8 years to try and see what a successful businessman can do. At this point, 14 months out from the election, all I will say is "Any one but Hillary or some other left wing lunatic". I will totally support which ever one gets the nod to go up against the democrat nominee and it might be a good idea for others here to adopt a similar posture.

Which evil is better to vote for? Who is the ordained presidential runners that it is a "waste" not to vote for, even if they're both dishonest, looting, lying schemers would make the fictional Mr. Thompson seethe in envy that he wasn't as slimy as they?

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "WASTED VOTE". Maybe in the old Soviet Union or China, but not here. Unless you buy into that lie, an allow yourself to be told who to vote for, so the annointed will (once again) win. And the whole "vote for evil" - well, that's good propoganda, but he may be the best candidate to pick from. Or... he may really be the best choice, when push comes to shove.

If I feel Trump - or Fiorina, or Paul, or even (galt forbid) Looney Tunes is the best candidate running, then that's who gets my vote. Because if enough people have the guts and integrity not to vote as others tell them to, but vote for who THEY feel is the best presidential candidate, based on their research, we may get out of the "pre-ordained presidency" which is literally destroying this country.

AJAshinoff is right on with a number of parts of his response.

1. Trump is an opportunist. Without question! He has been polishing this message for a very long time, and he knows exactly what he needs to say to rile people in the face of white washed politicians who have been focus grouped, groomed, and over rehearsed to sound like all of the other whitewashed, focus grouped, groomed, and over rehearsed politicians.

Right or wrong, it is the same source of appeal that Bernie Sanders is enjoying from the other side of the political spectrum.

At the end of the day, the people are told who they are "ALLOWED" to vote for, by the establishment, and we will have white wash A vs white wash B... When it was Bush Vs Gore, the first time, both sides screamed about how evil the other was.... When the rubber hit the road, Bush did EXACTLY what Gore said he would do in the first 100 days, and likely, Gore would have done exactly what Bush did during his tenure.

The point is that there are no real differences among the major party candidates, EXCEPT for Trump and Sanders.

On a short side note, it would not surprise me to learn, some day, in a decade or two, that Trump did what he did in order to get the masses to watch the Republicans, because I am positive that if he were not in the debate, NOBODY would have watched it.

Ciao, CZ

"Frustration" is the first word that popped into my head before I clicked on to come here.

Trump's popularity is quite intriguing. I am intrigued by him, and yet I don’t think that it is just his performance and entertainment value that got me interested. So, I tried to analyze myself and this is what I see in Trump – he is essentially an Obama for those that hate Obama. He promises the ability to shake up the establishment, which is totally corrupted, by his style, forcefulness and unpredictability. I doubt it that he can be bought money-wise; he will not be shackled by promises of riches after 8 years. The establishment, used to long term alliances to keep influence and power will be shaken up. These alliances are perhaps America’s greatest enemy. He is not a Constitutionalist; he is a quasi-capitalist and, yes, an opportunist (who isn’t on that stage?). Are there other people with whom my values align better – Yes; but Trump may be the most effective personality to shake up and break up the statist establishment.

And he's not a Rearden-type businessman. More like Paul Larkin.

Wasn't this a subject on yesterday's Hannity show? I recall this being one of the show's topics...

It was a fluke (had to borrow a truck to get to a jobsite, and they left the radio on the local "talking heads" station), as I usually don't listen to him. But that made it jump out all the more.

There may be a few who claim to be TP's, but in general I do not believe the TP be backing Trump. Good L-rd the man is a progress and still states his progressive attitudes and yet so called conservatives are sticking with him.

Watching the Trump phenomenon reminded me of the movie "Idiocracy," where the President was the winner of the WWF pro wrestling championship. I agree that part of the fan attraction is very sports-like, with simple themes and lots of banners. However, there's another element outside of the reality-TV audience that is more sober, and deserves attention rather than dismissal.

I don't want to call Trump's persona honest, because he's just as slippery as the rest of the political crowd. I do think that he's an open book, unashamed of his well-recorded history. He admits to cozying up to any political figure of any stripe when it served his purposes, and readily admits that he's one of those wealthy figures who routinely buy politicians. He does whatever is necessary to get the job done, and isn't so tied to rigid ideology that he can't walk away from a bad deal.

While highly principled men and women with rock-solid principles may be admirable, there is the element of tyranny in their role as leaders. Americans have traditionally been problem solvers, willing to be flexible in how to address a problem, and have been frustrated in political figures fixated on rigid principle, preventing common-sense solutions. Most Americans support limited-case abortion, but up to now their only political choice has been between absolutists, who either claim to stand for no abortion under any circumstances, or abortion on-demand up to the day of birth. Trump's outcome-focused, get the job done attitude appeals to those frustrated with absolutists on both sides.

William, a vote for Trump is a vote for evil. Don't waste your vote. Don't compromise your principles.
Lack of ethics and integrity is the main reason we are staring into the abyss with the GOP and Democrats pushing us into it.

Trump is no more an R than he is a D. Bottom line he's a businessman and an opportunist. He's exemplified that numerous times as he explained how he buys politicians and why he befriends everyone. I think that is his appeal simply because no one, not even the RNC, see's him as a politician.

Frustration toward the established party's. Neither has represented the American people and both seem hell bent on pissing away everything the Founding Fathers provided as the bedrock for our country.

My 2 bits.