Trump Wins 2nd Presidential Debate

I know how the pollsters and news media are trying to slant the 2nd presidential debate. They are slanting it the way one would fully expect.

That Hillary Clinton won.

But, and I say this despite any admitted bias I may have with regard to Donald Trump's candidacy, I think it is clear and undeniable that Trump came out of this debate as the clear winner. Hands down. Look, I try to be fair in any analysis I make—on both sides for that matter. I thought Trump also clearly lost the first debate, and for a variety of reasons. That is, to my mind, a fair and honest judgement.

One thing that stood out for me in this second round was that Trump appeared way more prepared than usual to discuss the issues, and to lay out in more detail exactly what he wants to do, and more importantly, how he intends to do it. He was also considerably more contained than is his usual modus operandi as well. Something that I think is exactly what he needed to do in order to sway some on-the-fence voters, and perhaps to also solidify any voters in his base who may have been considering, for whatever reason, to jump ship.

Forget any establishment republicans who may have already jumped that ship. They are jumping for other reasons—of course.

The truth is that Donald Trump was on message, and frankly on-target. The one thing that few in the liberal media will give him credit for is how he effectively managed to shut down the discussion of the leaked tape. Both the moderators and Hillary Clinton, I think, quickly drew the conclusion that if they were to further discuss the issue, Trump would have effectively unloaded myriad talking points with regard to Bill Clinton's infidelities and misdeeds—and Clinton would have been in a very uncomfortable and difficult situation defending that. It took only a few strong words and a suggestion to allow the moderators, and even Clinton, to move on to the next issue. Had Trump not been so effective in his response to this issue, it may well have been the entire focus of the evening and he would have lost.

And of course, winner of the best line of the night also goes to Donald Trump when he suggested that had Trump been in charge of the law, Clinton would have been in jail. Despite obvious gasps from some in the audience at that remark—but I suspect many of those gasps came from Clinton supporters—I think the audience at least understood more clearly the seriousness of the issue of her emails as a whole. In preceding and following remarks I think Trump was able to convey two key issues with regard to the emails.

• Hillary Clinton has stated over and over again that she is best equipped to handle classified information, yet clearly her handling of the emails sent and received while she was Secretary of State via an unsecured server clearly breach that assertion—Trump also reminded voters that she lied to the FBI, and even reminded Clinton herself of her statement that she did not know what the letter "C" meant.
• It is impossible to know who may or may not have had access to her server and who may have gotten hold of any of the emails she sent or received—missing or not. This is potentially a serious threat to national security.

There is one more thought on the question of whether or not anyone who may be our enemy may have potentially gotten hold of classified information. How do we know that someone may not be holding on to that information to use it much later against us in some way? The server was not secured, no one really knows whether or not it was in fact compromised, and if it were, it would be difficult to know who was responsible for it.

Trump was very right to point out that only the media has seen this issue of her emails as "one to sweep aside as not that big of a deal." And I think he did so brilliantly.

And of course Trump also, I think, won the argument about taxes when he pointed out that even had he not paid taxes, he was still operating within the law—unlike what she had done with her emails—and that he was simply using the tax code as it was written by lawmakers. And he was very good to point out as well that singling him out for using the tax code as it was intended was foolish since every single rich person, armed with accountants and lawyers, would use the tax code in exactly the same way regardless of their party affiliations. His comments regarding this issue were much more effective, I think, than simply saying he was "smart." This laid out a more detailed rationale. And I think the audience got it when Trump also effectively pointed out two key things about taxes.

• Trump was not in a position to CHANGE tax laws. He was only in a position to FOLLOW tax laws, and to USE provisions in the tax laws as they were written by lawmakers. Clinton, on the other hand, was clearly better positioned in her former roles to make changes or push for changes if that is what she had wanted to do. She did say she was always against this or that item in the tax code—but while touting 400 pieces of legislation with her name on it, she did not single out a single piece of legislation with her name on it that addressed changes to the tax code. 
• He clearly stated an area of the tax code he wanted to change, and that would be carried interest. He said he used it like anyone would because, under the current tax code, it's what you do. But if he had his way, he would change it.

I think all in all Donald Trump explained most of his positions well. Be it his position on Syrian refugees, illegal immigration, the corporate tax rate and how lowering it would help businesses to better compete, and put more money in the pockets of the middle class, to explaining effectively why it can be harmful to let our enemies know what our intentions or timelines happen to be in any action we may take.

I have always advocated that nations need some secrets in order to ensure national security. 

Clinton, on the other hand, and for the first time for me, looked a bit frazzled—even surprised—by what was going down. I think Clinton was thoroughly convinced that this debate would go entirely a different direction. I can just hear the discussions before the debate, "With this tape out there, Trump will have nothing else to talk about...and we finish him." But that of course did not happen, and Clinton did not see any of what Trump delivered coming. The fact that he delivered with mostly tact and only once really raised his voice, and was well versed in the issues—all of this put Clinton clearly off kilter, and if anyone looked unprepared for this debate it was Hillary Clinton.

To be honest, despite my misgivings regarding the moderators which still leaned obviously left, I did find myself a bit surprised by some of the audience questions which put Clinton a bit in the hot seat. But, it was a town hall style. And even staunch Clinton cohorts will readily admit that when it comes to town hall's, Clinton always fares poorly. 

My thinking is because she has trouble actually talking about issues that aren't rehearsed, has trouble with questions she does not expect, and does not resonate well with the American people in general. 

As I said in an earlier post, the media and the polls that follow will all do their best to tell a story about a Clinton victory. They will do their best to suggest that the entire election is tilted in Clinton's favor. They will continue to flaunt any gains she may make in polls as "huge support gains" even though we all know that the steepest gains during this entire election has come from Donald Trump. 11 point swings are huge support gains in polls. Not 1 or 2 percentage point swings, But that's not how the media likes to tell the story.

In a nutshell, Trump won. Nuff said. Will he go on to win the final debate? Who knows? It depends on whether or not Trump can continue in the way he did with this last debate, and it depends on how well he can defend or deflect from any other garbage the left may try to pull out of the woodwork to shift the discussion from the issues, to what Donald Trump says or does.

Why Diplomacy Won't Work With Terrorists

"Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up in the morning when the day is new, and after having spent the day together, hold each other close the whole night through"

Of course that's a lyric from a popular Beach Boy's love song. But it is also the mindset of the touchy-feely crowd who think that all you have to do to stop the terrorists is talk about it. Reach out your hand and as Mandy Patinkin said, give them opportunity so they don't feel so cheated. Diplomacy. Boy, that's a word. But when it comes to terrorism, while you'd love to see it work, it never will. The one thing about diplomacy that makes any of it work—and it does sometimes work—is that on both sides of the table you have to have both sides willing to reason. Willing to listen. And to a large extent willing to concede a bit, and compromise on how to proceed.

Thinking you can talk a terrorist down is like thinking you will be able to talk a serial killer out of killing you and chopping you into pieces before tossing your body parts into the river. It is like trying to reason with an armed masked robber in your store about why he should think twice about taking your money, or killing your clerk. It is like thinking an armed burglar will sit down with a cup of coffee with you when you confront him to chat about life, consequences, and choosing a better path.

These are driven, crazed, and mindless individuals. And you cannot reason with these kinds of people no matter how hard you try. Their minds are made up.

I would love to live in a world where everyone could at least relate to me in terms of the value of life, the pursuit of happiness, and the need to be driven to beat the odds despite the odds. But that's not the world we live in, and as it applies to these things, not everyone is going to understand why I come down on these things as I do.

To think otherwise is as mindless and crazy as the terrorists. Or the serial killers. Or the armed robbers and burglars of the world.

The only way to stop a serial killer is to kill him or lock him up. Same goes for the robbers and burglars—and if you'll allow me go there, the severely mentally ill who pose a threat to the rest of us. Therefore, the only action you can take against these people is really to kill them since locking them up is not practical. And talking to them is impossible.

But going back to what I said about loving to live in a world where everyone could relate to me on certain terms. There have been many times I have read news stories about grown men molesting children where I have thought, "I just don't get it." Only to follow up with, "Thankfully I don't get it, because I have a sane mind that is able to understand how wrong it is, and what effect it has on the victim."

I don't get it because I am not supposed to get it.

But as for the touchy-feely crowd, what they don't get is that they are ever certain that the rest of the world does think like them. When Mandy Patinkin says bomb the terrorists with opportunity, he is thinking that they think like him. He is making the wrong assumption that their minds work like his does. That their ability to rationalize and reason and comprehend the world is the same as his ability.

People in the touchy-feely crowd are simply not able to imagine that the dark side of the world is a real place, with real actors, and that on the dark side no matter how much light is shed within its parameters, those on the dark side will simply seek out whatever shadows they can find. They are not interested in the light.

It is the biggest problem when it comes to the thinking of the left in particular, that they simply cannot acknowledge the fact that they are not supposed to understand why terrorists do what they do. And that the terrorists are never going to see the world in the same way that they do. If you ask me, that puts us on a very dangerous path. And since Obama has been in office, we've been slowly moving toward a very grave potential outcome as a result. We're trying to be nice. We're trying to talk. We're trying to rationalize, and we are envisioning that they (the terrorists) will concede our point. That they will wake up tomorrow morning and have an aha moment that allows them to lay down their guns and shake hands and have a party laughing, "What the hell were we thinking Ahmed? How silly of us!"

The problem of terrorism is a problem of madness. Of serialism. It is a problem of twisted thinking and firmly placed ideology which cannot be softly uprooted. You'll never get into the mind of a terrorist because you are not supposed to. The aha moment cannot be on the part of the sane, on the part of rational, on a part of the normal. In fact, the moment you do manage to get in the minds of anyone who doesn't think like you do, there is nothing stopping you from not becoming like them. And rationalizing why it is important to stop them becomes impossible.

Bombs first. Chats later. When the smoke clears we'll see who is left and see if there is anyone worth talking to.

 

This Issue of Terrorism Is Not A Jobs Issue

On CBS This Morning actor Mandy Patinkin suggested that, in regard to the Middle East, if we give them the best roads, the best medical technology, agriculture, and infrastructure they would not feel cheated. The crux of his argument is that if they (the Middle East) have all of these amenities afforded them, they won't be so inclined to go after Western civilization. The argument is reminiscent of many on the left who have made the suggestion that jobs are the key to ending terrorism.

Let's just leave it at, Mandy Patinkin is a great actor.

If there is one thing that stands out for me when it comes to this region, it's oil. One can easily argue that oil is one of the most valuable resources in the world, and if you have it, there's a lot of money there to go around. The problem is not the money. The problem is how that money gets filtered down to the little people, and the lack of any real defined government bodies—or when there are government bodies they are nothing more than terrorist regimes of their own, oppressing the people with unbending power and control, and a mindset that everything in the West is simply evil and must be eradicated. The people in power have one intent and that is to create an army of angry citizens, and they do this by holding them down. The people of these countries are essentially prisoners in their own country. And to a large extent they are driven as well by the luxuries promised to them by their religion after death. They seek paradise not through hard work and thoughtful engineering of their own futures, but through death. For them, it is the only way out of the hell in which they are currently living. And doing the bidding of their God is akin to an instant key to the gates of heaven, and that paradise they so long for.

The truth is that with such a valuable resource at their very feet, any of these countries could be using the dollars that resource generates to create their own infrastructure. They could build great roads. They could have great medical technology in their grasp. They could build irrigation systems and feed their people with agricultural products. And they could build the foundations of other areas of business which could help them to develop trade relations with other developed countries—affording their people a better life and a better future for their children that is not fraught with violence and hatred and endless wars.

But in order for that to happen, the people and those in power have to want that to happen. They need to foster and encourage that. Instead of building massive multiple mansions in the desert for the so-called leaders, money could be funneled into doing these very things. But it is about power. It is about control. And of course, I don't think one can readily discount that it isn't about their religion to a large extent as well. Despite the claims of many Muslims who preach that their faith is one of calm and peace, there are many facets of the Koran and of the Islamic faith that suggests otherwise. Death to all infidels is not just a mantra, it is a teaching of the leaders of the Islamic faith and is a primary tenet of Middle Eastern culture as a whole. How do you get past that? When it comes to faith, it's hard to break that. In fact, it is virtually impossible. Just ask any Christian how important their faith is to their way of life? Their faith is so strong that many, or most, would not think twice about denouncing their God or their faith just to avoid being killed for it. A man holds a machete to your neck and says that if you are Christian you will be beheaded—and you go ahead and proclaim your faith anyway.

That is profoundly powerful.

What is the key to ending terrorism? I really don't know. I do know that we should make every effort, however, to stop them in the meantime. We should do anything we can to unseat those in power, and strategize ways to help them to build stronger governments that are intended to create policy that fosters growth as opposed to oppression, and allows for decisions to be made to build their cities and towns and empower their citizens using the resources they already have.

But to simply give that to them? That's ludicrous!

I said before that the people have to want it. The leaders have to want it. Perhaps it is a ridiculous analogy, but how many times have we tossed people into forced rehab only to have them come out and go right back to their lives they way they were before? Who gets off the dope? Those who have hit rock bottom and who have finally decided for themselves they no longer want to be dope heads. We give housing and cell phones and food to the poor in our own country to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars a year. How many poverty stricken communities have been rebuilt as a result? How many people have gotten off the dole and used the opportunity to create better lives for themselves? They are few and far between because those who want it and who are willing to do the hard work for it are, well...few and far between. Giving things away doesn't help to solve any problem.

And that is the reason Mandy Patinkin's fundamental thought is flawed, as well as the entire left's view that there is such a simple solution to what happens to be a very complicated problem. As one has often told me, "If it were so easy, someone would already have done it."

For me the heart of the question of how you end terrorism is how do you get terrorists to no longer want to be terrorists? How do you get them to decide for themselves that enough is enough, and make choices to change it? If they are not ready or willing to make changes that alter the future for themselves, and of their own desire and making, nothing we do to try to force that issue with jobs and opportunity thrusted at them is going to make that change for them anymore than having a job guarantees you won't be poor—or handing someone a welfare check ensures that someone will be afforded an automatic opportunity.

On The Border, We're Missing The Point

There is a very good reason we erect barbed wire fences around our nation's prisons. If we did not, then very dangerous people would be free to roam into the land of law abiding citizens where they would rape, pilfer, and kill innocent people. Every time we talk about our porous borders we seem to be focused on Mexicans, and simply people in a corrupt land seeking better lives for themselves and for their families. I, and countless others who get it, have been talking about the real dangers of porous borders for years. But the truth is that still, most people are missing the point.

It's not just about immigration. It's not just about illegal aliens. There are real and present dangers when anyone can enter our country.

Since that fateful day on September 11, 2001 I would say that we have been safe in part due to the efforts of the FBI and the CIA and other agencies within our government charged with gathering intelligence regarding the aims of terrorists. But I think it is also safe to say that perhaps, so far, we have simply been lucky. The attacks on 9/11 came swiftly, and in some ways you could say it was like the first leg of a hurricane. The damage was done, and then there was a calm. But every hurricane has an eye where the winds die down and the sun shines through, and all seems well. Until the other leg of the storm comes back through to finish what it started.

The fact is that so long as our borders are not secure, the terrorists have a very easy pathway into our country. And the fact that they could well have been spending the last 14 years making their way in, building cells, gathering funding, and planning an offensive should scare the hell out of us. We have had our eyes closed. We have been naïve and out of focus. The terrorists, more than anyone, is all too well aware of this. And they will use it against us.

President Obama has spent his entire presidency defending the rights of illegal aliens, arguing for amnesty, and has attacked anyone or any state that has called for active policing and the securing of the American/Mexican border. The democrats currently running to take his place are not changing their stance at all on the border, and so it is clear that if any democrat takes the White House after Obama's term is over, an attack may be just around the corner. For the terrorists it will confirm what they already suspected.

Americans are asleep at the wheel. They can attack at will. No one will see them coming. No one knows they are already here.

It is true that while the GOP contenders are all mostly calling for some form of securing our borders, and that if that one of them wins the White House, with a republican controlled House and Senate, we may actually finally be able to get something done here. There is no guarantee that an attack still may not be imminent since it will take years to fully secure the border, ramp up border patrol, and figure out who has entered our country. If the terrorists are already here, there is a still a real and present danger we face. And one that we have allowed through political correctness, a dangerous form of empathy, and simply not paying attention—and so easily forgetting how easy it was for the 9/11 attackers to plan their attack and complete it while all were none the wiser.

Still, it must be done. And I think that if anyone is going to be focused on this real threat it will be the republicans. Not the democrats. If anyone is going to take the steps to acknowledge the threat of terrorism to our nation it is going to be the republicans. If anyone is going to be actively looking into who is here already it will be the republicans. If anyone is going to ramp up the offensive against ISIS and ISIL, it will be the republicans.

We are in a very dangerous time, and the recent events in France should be just one other reminder that we have to be diligent in our pursuit against terrorism, and we need to be vigilant about knowing who enters our country, and making it harder to get in in the first place.

The sad truth is that Americans often become too involved in their personal pursuits that reality only hits them square in the face when bodies fall, buildings collapse, bullets fly, and bombs drop. As a society we need to be aware that in the dark corners there could be danger lurking. We can go about our lives, but we have to always keep it in the back of our minds that bad people exist, and that the fact that we are good people is not enough to keep us safe. France should serve as a final reminder that we can no longer ignore the border issue, that we can no longer ignore the real threat of terrorism, and that we need to be on our toes and ready to put up a strong fight to kill terrorists before they kill us.

President Obama Has the NCAA Covered, But the Rest of the World Is Screwed

Normally I would have no problem with the President of the United States taking a vacation, going to play golf, or picking the brackets for the NCAA. Let's face it. Being President of the United States is a tough job, and if anyone has followed presidents through the ages, one thing is definite.

These guys always look much older when they leave office than when they take office.

But with President Obama it has always been something done at the wrong time, in the wrong context, and it seems to me that his priorities are simply not in the right place. Ever. The man misses many of his daily intelligence briefings according to most reports, did not show up for a conference after France had one of its publishers attacked by extremist Muslim supporters, and left for a fundraiser in Las Vegas the day after an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi which left four Americans, including the ambassador, dead. He went to play golf the next day after journalist's heads were chopped off by ISIS. And he and his wife have taken extravagant vacations during the worst economic times in our history since the Great Depression. Some of that even on the taxpayers' dime.

Not to mention the fact that while the economy is improving, albeit slowly, and not due to any of his economic policies, it is still in the tank for the most part due to his lack of any sound economic policies, Israel remains under serious threat, Iran is close to obtaining nuclear weapons, and ISIS has grown in strength and numbers with no strategy to speak of from this president on really any of these issues. And quite frankly, no leadership.

The world has always looked to the United States, for better or for worse, for leadership and a firm handle on world issues. Despite a significant reduction in power the world over since Obama took office, we are still the superpower. And so the world looks to the President of the United States as sort of a leader of the free world by proxy. Obama is turning a blind eye to everything that is pertinent and important, and seems to always focus on what is trivial.

Like announcing his brackets for the NCAA.

Who cares? Who cares about the NCAA and who cares what President Obama thinks about that? Who should care? And with all of this turmoil and violence and angst the world over what message does this send again to the rest of the world about where his priorities are? And since he is the man who "leads" this country, what does it tell the rest of the world about where our (the United States') priorities are? Moreover, what does it tell our enemies?

Our president is asleep at the wheel. The people of the United States are also asleep at the wheel. No one is paying attention to the world. The people of the United States are paying attention to trivial stuff like the NCAA and are infatuated with a man who cares little about being president, and cares all too much about being the coolest guy in the room.

It seems to me like what sort of got us into a bit of trouble back during Pearl Harbor when the Japanese thought that we were an easy target, just sitting back and enjoying the American dream with little regard to everything else horrific happening around the world around us. Back then it was quipped that a sleeping giant had been awakened. These days I am not so sure that there is any sleeping giant at all. We are simply a country of people who have no idea where the country is, what the world is doing, and what the issues of the world are.

The fact that we are not calling our president out on these issues is very telling of the mindset of many Americans. Ask someone on the streets about Benghazi, for example, and the response you will get is something like, "Is that a band?" or "Ben who?"

The president can do all of the fun stuff when the times dictate that it is possible to do so. He can be a man with the people when it serves the times. But the fact is that we are not in a peaceful world, and the entire world (at least the free world) is under threat, ISIS is acting like the Nazi regime, we have real and present dangers before us, Netanyahu is left with virtually no U.S. support from serious threats, and more dangers become more and more apparent each and every day. The president should not have the time to focus on the fun stuff with the world in such a state. He should be focused on leading the country, and leading the free world, letting terrorists know that the United States will not stand idle, will support its allies to the full extent it can, and will hunker down and do the work that the president should be doing.

Like Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin often said regarding national politics when asked, he said he had to focus on his own state's affairs first and foremost. That was his focus. That was his priority. If the President of the United States is asked about his NCAA bracket picks, his response should be something akin to Jim Mora. "Playoffs?"

There are much bigger issues the world over to deal with, worry about, and focus on. And right now that is where President Obama needs to have his head. Not on basketball. If we want to know how sports will fare we can ask Mike & Mike or Boomer & Carton. The president needs to be focused on how the world will fare and how the United States will fare. And if the NCAA is the top of the news as it applies to the president, we should all be worried. Very worried.

It's great he's told us about his brackets. But we still don't know what his strategy is to defeat ISIS, nor what really happened with the IRS scandal, and most especially what happened in Benghazi...among the short list of course.

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© 2015 Jim Bauer