Last Gasp Efforts of Desperation

Two last gasp efforts are taking shape this week.

One is Donald Trump's plan to attract attention to himself. After Obama released his birth certificate, Trump moved on to ask for the release of other records, such as college grades and academic writings. Trump had implied that he had some very dicey revelations that turned out to be very little. His presidential campaign, such as it is or was, will probably dissipate as serious candidates ramp up their rhetoric.

While I don't see why Obama would have a problem with the release of grades, theses, or other materials, this just doesn't have the wow factor of the possibility of foreign birth. Franklin Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and Winston Churchill all did poorly in various phases of their schooling. If Obama was a C student, it is one of the few things he has done that would raise him into that sort of company. Perhaps there is some proto-Marxist expression in there, but that would not be as effective as hacking away at the poor decisions that he has already made. Most people care about Obama now, not Obama in college. College Obama did not attack Libya or shut off access to energy resources in a time of skyrocketing prices.

The other gasp of desperation comes from Obama supporters. This won't be a last gasp, but it is desperate. They want to shape the agenda for 2012 in terms of racism. In other words, you are a racist if you do not support or like Obama. An Associated Press story today pulled experts from Tufts University and elsewhere who confirmed over and over again that everyone who accused Obama of not being born in the United States of being racists. I suppose that included blacks who also asked those questions. They also tried to link racism to the Tea Party again, despite the fact that many Tea Partiers support either Allen West or Hermann Cain for president.

Obama supporters are definitely afraid. Their incumbent has had a difficult time and they have little positive record to run on. Incumbents cannot run on hope and change, either. So they will be pulling out the race card next year, just as Trump pulled the birth one in the past few months. Obama called Trump a carnival barker who pushed a non issue when there are many other problems to debate (does anyone REALLY think Trump is a racist?) Those who pull the race strategy are of the same ilk. They want to raise a distracting issue that is not even relevant to get us away from the real problems faced by America.

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Personally, I am tired of presidents who want to create a historical legacy. Since the 1920s, we have not had a president who simply let things work as they should and who had no interest in talking to anyone, or creating a historical legacy. I say dig him up, extract DNA, and clone him now. Then I'll campaign for Calvin Coolidge in 2012.

Issue Settled?

Barack Obama this morning finally released his certificate of live birth to satisfy those who have questioned his constitutional eligibility to serve.

Will this put a halt to the issue? Not likely. Many have started pointing out what they believe to be discrepancies between the released certificate and other certificates from the same era. It is an easy way to get under the skin of the president and his supporters, so some will continue to question the fact of his birth.

Democrats who cringe over the "birther" issue need to be honest with themselves. Had John McCain been elected, his birth in the Canal Zone would have spawned the same kind of movement on their side. They actually would have had better grounds for complaint, seeing as how Theodore Roosevelt's secretary of state flatly denied that the Canal Zone was United States territory. I am actually surprised that Republican contenders in 2008 did not make more of an issue of McCain's questionable eligibility.

The really interesting question here is why, after so long, did they finally release these records? It may indicate some fear that the Trump candidacy could start getting some traction, which is honestly a little laughable. Trump is a celebrity, not a candidate. He likes attention and this has garnered a lot for him. We are still in what political experts call "the silly season." Obama should be thinking in terms of Michael Corleone in the Godfather III when he said "Our true enemy has not yet revealed himself."

Obama is right when he says that we should focus on the issues at hand rather than the birth certificate. Ironically, the birth certificate issue is one of the few places where moderates tend to support Obama. Wiping it away does lead us back to $4 per gallon gas, near 10% unemployment, and a debt spiraling out of control. Thanks Obama! That was mighty helpful.

Trump has moved on, demanding release of Obama's college records. These could make him look bad, but it's not as if exemplary scholarship prevents one from becomign president. As the issue fades, so will Trump, until he finds a new way to get attention.

I have always maintained that Obama was likely born here. However, his ideas come from abroad. They are fundamentally non American. That is the problem.

The Donald

He's brash. He's aggressive. He is hurting Obama by once again bringing up the strange affair of the birth certificate. But is Donald Trump a serious presidential candidate?

I would say no. I'd go further and say that Trump is part of a brilliant master strategy either concocted by him, the RNC, or both.

Trump is not identified first as a Republican. He's identified first and foremost as who and what he is, a very wealthy, very successful, very public, and very brash individual. He says and does as he pleases and earns respect for that in some circles. His presidential exploration and constant media attacks do two things. They harm Obama and will likely and predictably draw the think skinned president out again. They also provide cover for the "real" candidates. So long as the mainstream media, also a study in predictability, gives the squeaky wheel the attention, it leaves alone the serious contenders. It's amazing that we have not heard many anti-Palin rants lately.

I do believe that, as of now, that Trump's job is to attract attacks and attention away from other GOP contenders. He will get the media scrutiny, then probably decide against running early next year. Then again, if he does get some traction, he might just decide to go for it himself, but even then, I doubt it. The primary goal is to get rid of Obama and Trump is on board with that plan. Trump is too controversial to beat Obama, though. I remember his court fights to try and get an old lady's beachfront house taken away from her so he could build yet another Atlantic City hotel and casino. That by itself shows him to not be a strong defender of the concept of property rights.

It's hard to tell what will happen next year. I do believe that our ultimate nominee has not yet made himself well-known and is hiding in the shadows. I also believe that it is still very possible that we will be seeing at least one, if not two female nominees from the major parties contending in 2012. The more I see of Palin, the more I am reminded of Reagan's push for the White House, except for the fact that Reagan had an ability to charm at least some segments of the press. She's not my number one pick, but she is definitely a factor. Trump's current media blitz helps her tremendously, whether it is intentional or not.