You know what...it gets down to this.

..."If words are all they have to steal our heart away"...; then those words are unbelievable from whatever side of politics.
This is the whole point. Nobody believes in the truth of those words, spoken by a politician.

Take for example the words from Shortens mouth. No words from his mouth would be equated with the truth ever again, following the exposure at the royal commission into union corruption, of dodgy deals and straight out ripp-offs of the working class he pretends to represent.

As those with a modicum of experience in life learned very early-on, a good lier will mix fifty fifty, the lie he tells with some truth. It's that mix of paint that glosses the dividing fence between a politician and the public.

So of course Trump is a lier and a cheat. So why are Democrats any more trustworthy.
Of course there not. And there is the rub.

So why does Trump succeed where Democrats suggest he shouldn't? Charisma, pure and simple.

A very good snake oil salesmen.

Dan.

Hell will freeze over before we see Donald Trump "cowering", bless him. That's a word for lily-livered left fantasists who have wild dreams about putting down a real man so unlike themselves.

How about that silly old bat ripping up the speech, though!

Aw come on Binoy, you had to have gotten some enjoyment out of the showmanship. The bloke laid it on so thick it was a scream.

"As the world bears witness tonight, America is a land of heroes. This is the place where greatness is born, where destinies are forged, and where legends come to life. This is the home of Thomas Edison and Teddy Roosevelt, of many great Generals, including Washington, Pershing, Patton, and MacArthur. This is the home of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, the Wright Brothers, Neil Armstrong, and so many more. This is the country where children learn names like Wyatt Earp, Davy Crockett, and Annie Oakley. This is the place where the pilgrims landed at Plymouth and where Texas patriots made their last stand at the Alamo."

What isn't there to enjoy. Trump is basically showing how all politicians use platitudes but when he does it he is unashamedly going to try to be the best.

I will admit to chuckling with wonder at the pure unadulterated jingoism that dripped from the page;

"The American Nation was carved out of the vast frontier by the toughest, strongest, fiercest, and most determined men and women ever to walk the face of the Earth."

"We are Americans. We are the pioneers. We are the pathfinders. We settled the new world, we built the modern world, and we changed history forever by embracing the eternal truth that everyone is made equal by the hand of Almighty God."

I know it is all as hollow as hell, just as he is, but enjoyed the ride none the less.

I've seen this film before as a used car salesman extolling the virtues of the death trap rust bucket to a trusting kid. There was an "impeachment"t where witnesses were prevented from giving testimony and document withheld!

Nancy was very nearly as silly and could have withheld his day in court until all the relevant testimony, witnesses and essential documents were made available or able to testify. Just didn't have the ticker and given that is so can probably kiss the rest of her political career goodbye!?

The state of the nation address, seemed an exercise in self-congratulatory BS and shovelled by the shipload. There may be some sort of perceived economic improvement, but at what cost and bought with even greater levels of debt? And contraction around the globe?

Few of the republicans covered themselves with glory. Only Mitt Romney, remained true to his moral convictions and crossed the floor at the foregone conclusion of the "TRIAL"

The founding fathers and Benedict Arnold would have turned in their graves, if for entirely different reasons.

One thing is still true and proven here. you can fool some of the people all of the time! Another, the much revered alleged
constitution is damaged for all time!
Alan B.

ttbn: There is a place called hell in northern Norway and it does regularly freeze over every northern winter, i.e., about now?

Cheers, Alan B.

Mitt sour grapes Romney did what all rejects do. Nothing surprising there !

Dear individual,

What? Respect his country's constitution, the rule of law and the checks and balances? Rather than being a partisan hack?

Naw, he isn't a loser at all.

The question isn't whether Trump did it or not, it is whether this was enough to see him thrown out. There will always be differing standards shown by politicians which is fine, that is why they are there, to judge these things as peers.

There is little doubt those standards have dropped considerably under Trump. But I do find him great entertainment.

Yep, the speech certainly was full of all sorts of boosterism and calls as to why the American people ought to be proud of their nation and its past and present. It reminded me somewhat of Pericles'/Thukydides' Funeral Oration; reminding a people battered by the recent past why they ought to have hope for the future.

Certainly a far-cry from the previous administration's constant apologies for the US's past. Perhaps that's why its so jarring for those of a certain bent.

But apart from the rhetoric there was a lot of fact to explain why optimism is justified....

"In just over two years since the election, we have launched an unprecedented economic boom, a boom that has rarely been seen before. There has been nothing like it. We have created 5.3 million new jobs, and importantly, added 600,000 new manufacturing jobs, something which almost everyone said was impossible to do, but the fact is, we are just getting started.
Wages are rising at the fastest pace in decades, and growing for blue-collar workers, who I promise to fight for. They are growing faster than anyone else. Nearly 5 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps. The US economy is growing almost twice as fast today as when I took office, and we are considered far and away the hottest economy anywhere in the world. Not even close. Unemployment has reached the lowest rate in over half a century. African-American, Hispanic-American, and Asian-American unemployment have all reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

Unemployment for Americans with disabilities has also reached an all-time low."

Little wonder that confidence in the economy is at levels not seen this century or that a clear majority favour Trump's handling of the economy.

Dear mhaze,

Oh come on, are you really going to contend it's all fair dinkum? We both know that has never been Trump's style.

Trump said; "I am thrilled to report to you tonight that our economy is the best it has ever been."

He has seen GDP figures between 2 and 3%.

Obama peaked at 5.5% and had 6 quarters above the best that Trump has managed in his 10 so far. Bill Clinton was also reeling off over 4% numbers quite regularly.

Most of it is crap, smoke and mirrors for the gullible. I enjoy the showmanship of it and the bluff and bravado but I'm not about to drink the cool-aid. Neither should you.

SR,

You never disappoint. Standard BS there. SOP from SR.

Take on throw-away line, interpret in a self-serving way and declare Trump a fraud.

"Best" could refer to any number of things - best stock-market, best for minority workers, best for manufacturing workers, best as compared to the major rivals, best for....

But SR decides it means this one thing and then runs off to find figures to dispute it. (Or does he find some figures, any figures, where things aren't 'the best' and then declare that to be THE interpretation).

But address the exceptional employment data? Nup, pass on that, eh, SR?

"but I'm not about to drink the cool-aid."

Well I recall how you fell hook line and sinker for the whole Russian collusion hoax, and the Ukraine hoax and the Trump as a warmonger idiocy. So I guess you've had your fill of cool-aid, n'est pas?

I think part of the Trump Derangement Syndrome is that he and his success keeps reminding those of a certain persuasion how very wrong they were about him and his policies. And that's an unforgivable sin.

Dear mhaze,

Well I admit that got a laugh.

So when Trump said “best economy” you are trying to make the case this means a whole bunch of other things. except how the rest of the world interprets it.

'Best against major rivals'? Lol. Nah.

Mate, defending your president is one thing, but mis-characterising his words is tantamount to blasphemy and you should think about your life choices. Runner will get you if you aren't careful.

As to collusion you got your arse repeatedly handed to you on that one. It was good fun tying you in knots. Perhaps we could do it again some time.

Trump Derangement Syndrome is such projection from the Trump cultists.

derangement n. 1. disturbance in the regular order or normal functioning of something. 2. loosely, mental illness or mental disturbance.

The mhaze of old wouldn't have had a bar of Trump. There certainly is a disturbance in the regular order of things and it is only going to get even more fun.

Thankfully when you lot are busily disavowing yourselves of him we will still have the public record.

Ah, good times indeed.

we know those deplorable women , blacks and hipsanics who are increasingly turning to Trump. You could certainly say that any decent person would not consider voting for the the nasty baby killing socialist who have had a 3 year temper tantrum. Lovely indeed to see the lying liberal media and hollywood deviants with egg all over their faces and yet they dig in more. Russia, Ukraine, what next?

Obviously SR is still dreaming of a US with the criminal Hillary in the white house.

The US has a stock market based on (1) the profits from lower labor costs by producing offshore the goods and services corporations sell to Americans, destroying American middle class and the tax base of cities and states, (2) the use of corporate profits for buying back the corporations’ stock, and by borrowing to buy back stock, thus decapitalizing the corporations in order to support stock prices, managerial bonuses and shareholder capital gains, and (3) Quantitative Easing (QE) which pumped trillions of dollars into US financial markets, thus pushing up the prices of financial assets.

The increase in inequality of incomes in the US is the consequence of economic policy to support the New York Banks, which has meant supporting the prices of the bad assets on their balance sheets.

The 3.5% unemployment rate results from not counting unemployment. If you are unemployed, but have not searched for a job in the last 4 weeks, your unemployment is not considered counted. If you have looked for a job for a year without success and have become long-term discouraged, you are not even counted as being a member of the work force. So how can you be unemployed?

Job growth is a fiction. Increasingly jobs are not jobs. American companies hire through agencies and cycle people in and out as needed. The jobs at which a person worked for decades with medical coverage and a retirement pension are gone.

What America has is an economy stagnating in debt with a growing amount of consumer income diverted to the service of debt. It is the fault of corporations moving middle class jobs offshore and filling many that remain in the US with lower paid foreigners on work visas. It is the fault of the Fed policy of saving the banks rather than the economy.  It is the fault of the policy of supporting aggregate demand by substituting consumer debt for the missing growth in consumer income.  This is a huge problem, and a president alone cannot correct it.

US unemployment is really 23%, stunning really when you consider the implications.

Now let's get this straight SR:

"the rest of the world" agrees with you that the ONLY way to evaluate an economy is via GDP

AND

even though your assertions about Russian collusion were shown to be utterly wrong and mine utterly correct you were victorious in that discussion!!

Quite the fantasy world you've created for yourself there SR.

_________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile back in the real world, things just keep getting better for the US and Trump. New wage numbers show the lowest paid with out-sized increases, Jobless claims lowest in 50 years.
Meanwhile US rivals are in disarray. The world is waking up to China and no longer giving it a pass on human rights and trade cheating. And the virus is crippling their economy.
Russia is so stricken that they couldn't even afford to cut oil production to support oil prices through the virus crisis. Germany and therefore the EU are barely avoiding recession.

And as all this goes on the Democrats can't even hold a minor vote without corruption and cock-up

US unemployment is really 23%, stunning really when you consider the implications.
Galen,
How many of these are unemployable due to the affects of drug abuse & lack of discipline ?

When a Highly ranked Christian minister/conservative politician of our own Christian lobby comes out on last night's drum and in lockstep with the Christian lobby in the US and agrees with them that Trump is a pathological liar and a narcissist, Etc. And that most of the speech was more of the same? One is inclined to believe him.

The economy is a debt-funded house of cards! When the current President goes the true numbers will be known including how much tax Trump has avoided, which as you all know, is a criminal offence in the US!

But by then, a six-time bankrupt, Mr Trump will be in Russia and with the bulk of his ill-gotten gains! Russia has no extradition treaty with any nation who could arrest a no longer protected by the robes of office, Mr Trump and make him face the folk he has deceived so cruelly or for his other alleged offences?

As far as Christians go, runner, is like that private on a passing out parade whose mummy comments, look Jonny is the only one in step.
Alan B.

Al B

God Al. That's one I had a serious laugh at. Speken like a true Democrat ay!
Have you thought of "Tea for Two" with Hillary?

Dan

Individual, I have no idea but I am sure millions of them are looking for work.

Additionally, 25% of children in the US live below the poverty line, whether by their parents choice or not, this statistic clearly demonstrates the dire Economic and Social situation in the ‘worlds greatest country’. Hardly a glowing indicator of a ship heading toward that proverbial iceberg eh!

"US unemployment is really 23%, stunning really when you consider the implications."

Also complete BS.
Look, you can define unemployment any way you want and then come up with any number you want, but its all BS, especially when you do it in only one country. Use the same criteria in other countries and the numbers will come out even worse than this bogus number.

"Additionally, 25% of children in the US live below the poverty line"

Well again is a its how you define 'poverty'. In cases like this its all about getting the number and then creating a definition that sort-of kinda justifies that number. But bogus it remains.

Funny how there's all this unemployment and kids living in abject poverty yet half the planet wants to live there.

('half the planet' is a bogus number but when in Rome....)

http://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/upshot/election-year-economy-trump.html

Even the Trump hating NYT recognises that the US economy is going gangbusters.

Its seems its only the acute TDS suffers here who struggle with reality.

I am sure millions of them are looking for work.
Galen,
How many employers apart from the Public Service do you know that'd waste their money on paying people who can't offer productivity ?
And Paul1405 don't come back with one of your insipid quips about old age Pensioners, they've already paid up front unlike your mates who become pensioners at 30 for no valid reason other than some conned up disability !

OK, so Binoy is a representative of a side of politics that is left wing. And, he has personally profited very handsomely from being a high profile member of that left wing caste. His side of politics represents minorities of every conceivable stripe excepting white males. His side also represents illegal immigrants, foreign criminals, the young diplomaed elite, and almost every member of academia and the public service.

There are, therefore, certain expectations that are mandatory for Binoy to follow.

1. He hates Trump. Tick.
2. He will not give Trump any credit for anything, no matter how deserving. Tick.
3. He hates nationalism, as members of his caste regard themselves as Globalists, Internationalists, and "citizens of the world." People who are proud of their country are their social inferiors. Tick.
4. He advocates any program which gives free stuff to his own caste's electoratal supporters. Tick.
5. He sneers at Trump for defending the US borders from illegal immigrants. Of course he does. The more non whites illegal immigrants on the dole or in jail the better for the democratic (or Australian Labor) party. So he gets a big tick there too

LEGO,
This link explains everything you suspected.

https://independentaustralia.net/profile-on/binoy-kampmark,301

have any of those Hollywood deviants left the US in the last 3 years after claiming that the market was finished under Trump? The regressives just love to move from one lie to the next.

The whistleblowers were sacked and Mitt Romney is a socialist left-wing radical as I am Hahahaha.

It's always the same for folk with no argument or excuse be it criminal rorting or criminal tax evasion or collusion with the Russians, none of that matters and those who believe his BS will invariably plumb new depts or irrelevancies or just straight out, play the man!

Herr runner is convinced that it's a plot by Hollywood deviants Perhaps when this miserable excuse for a coward is prepared to put his real name to a document and name these alleged deviants, some of us might believe some of the garbage that flies willy nilly from the runner's pen?

Y'll have a nice day now y'hear.
Alan B.