What Have You Got To Lose?

Donald Trump & Mike Pence in flood ravaged Louisiana (AP) 

This must be the "pivot" many pundits have called for.   After months of making the most polarizing and overwhelmingly false claims, Donald Trump presented a vague scripted apology of sorts about regretting some "comments that may have caused personal pain."   There are Hillary haters that are so anxious for a Trump Presidency that may actually believe this statement now makes everything OK.   After all, as Trump said to the African American community before a white audience, "What have you got to lose by trying something new?"  He then labelled Clinton a "bigot."   You could make a case for a lot of things about the Democratic nominee, but "bigot" is not one of them.   And "new"?   What Trump spews is very old..

One thing I notice among the most ardent Trump supporters is the attitude that things can't get any worse.   The media, Democrat, intellectual, Hollywood and even Republican elites are all rigging the system and bowing to "political correctness" that have killed this nation.   Tear it down and start all over, or more likely bring it back to when "guys like us, we had it made."   Is there some validity in these feelings?   The post-industrial age has taken away most of those blue collar manufacturing jobs that used to guarantee lifelong employment as big corporations have stepped in and are beholden only to shareholders.   Screw the employees; screw the community.

Can we blame this all on Obama or even the last few Presidents?   This shift is bigger than even the most powerful man (or woman) in the world.   The challenge is to get realistic about international trade deals without isolating what remains the globe's biggest economy from everyone else on the planet.   The simple narratives that Trump offers up are classic appeals of demagogues throughout history.   Most are based on zero facts; just go to fact checkers who still do actual journalism like politico.com or snopes.com.   No wonder Trump backers blame the media for their guy's slide in the polls, which seem to be giving the Donald a sudden need to display previously unheard of humility.  

I'll grant you two things: Hillary is not saint.   The angst among older working class white voters (and they do vote as well as call right wing talk shows) has to be taken seriously and not looked down upon.   Bernie Sanders tapped into some of this fear and frustration in a more positive way.  Trump may lose, but the desire to bring things back to the type of good old days that never existed remains strong and can be exploited by the con artists of the world because yes, it CAN get worse... MUCH worse.