Who is the real Donald Trump?

[PaleoMan]

And you see Rand Paul doing that? Chris Christie? I agree with what you worte (for the 2012-'16 elections) but those two ain't it, not by a long shot.

Rand Paul can do it, if he's not betrayed by the GOP elders. A HUGE IF. Everyone but the neocon wing thinks he is the future star of the party. He has crossover appeal among Tea Party, Libertarians, Religious Right and Reagan democrats. He has his pulse on what plagues the GOP and is adept at maintaining message discipline on policy & rising above the Lee Atwater distractions. In fact, the Iowa GOP was raving about him a month or two ago, after a speech he gave.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/04/rand-paul-2012-iowa-run-white-house_n_844649.html

In meetings with state GOP figures, they said, the freshman senator showed a level of knowledge and interest in policy and in the political process that wowed the other attendees.

“It was more centered on policy than any of the other meetings between the governor and other would-be 2012 prospects,” said a source with knowledge of Paul’s meeting with Gov. Terry Branstad (R).

“I didn't get a sense of posturing by Rand like maybe any of the others,” the source said. “It was a high quality meeting. Interesting, since he's been the ‘rookie’ of the 2012-ers. He handled himself surprisingly well.”

Now Christie is an interesting case, but the South is so suspicious of Northeastern politicians. I'm not a huge fan, but I do admire his courage in tackling tough issues.

[OaklandA's]

Paul is very far from a serious contender, imo.

I agree. Did anyone catch Ron Paul on the Colbert Report last night? He started by talking about closing the Federal Reserve, and finished up by talking about abolishing Federal Income Tax. It seemed that no one was taking him seriously at all.

[Lucky]

Jindal is a lightweight. They talk about running him, just like they used to talk about running Colin Powell.

Rand Paul isn't smart enough or tough enough. You can't run for President without talking to someone besides Fox News, and anyone else will grind him up.

I think Huckabee is a real wild card. I'm telling you, he has some of the same charisma that Bill Clinton had. People a drawn to like him, even when they disagree with every single thing he says. On the tough questions where hacks like Cantor and Boehner bail out with a talking point, Huckabee will tackle the issue head on, even if his answer is not the Party line.

I'm not saying Huckabee will win or even be nominated...I'm just saying that in a field like the GOP has now, where everyone is either personally unlikeable or bland as oatmeal, he has a puncher's chance.

But back to Trump...is there anyone here who thinks he will run? If so, what are his liabilities/strengths? Would he spend a billion of his own money?

[nots]

And you see Rand Paul doing that? Chris Christie? I agree with what you worte (for the 2012-'16 elections) but those two ain't it, not by a long shot.

If I were a democratic operative, the two guys I'd be worried about are Chris Christie and Scott Brown--probably too 'liberal' for the primaries, but if they ever got nominated, they could be problematic--especially in 2016.
Rand Paul is a much weaker version of his weak father.

[Bob Kohm]

If I were a democratic operative, the two guys I'd be worried about are Chris Christie and Scott Brown--probably too 'liberal' for the primaries, but if they ever got nominated, they could be problematic--especially in 2016.
Rand Paul is a much weaker version of his weak father.

Scott Brown in '16 I can see if he proves to have substance between now and 2014 or so and firms up his very weak right flank (although this will make him a bit less appealing to indies). Christie will flame out long before then in my opinion-- too volatile, too likely to succumb to Jersey corruption, visually unappealing (sorry, but it counts) and from New Jersey, which makes him a tough sell to the rest of America.I just have a hard time seeing it, although I can see where on paper he looks appealing right now.

[Bob Kohm]

But back to Trump...is there anyone here who thinks he will run? If so, what are his liabilities/strengths? Would he spend a billion of his own money?

Does he have a billion dollars? There's no real run in Trump, imo-- it's all PT Barnum, no Ringling Brothers.

[Wonderboy]

Underestimate Rand Paul at your peril. He has every single shortcoming you guys list and then some. But he is a simplistic man with simplistic solutions that appeal to the all-too-many simplistic voting public.

[Bob Kohm]

Underestimate Rand Paul at your peril. He has every single shortcoming you guys list and then some. But he is a simplistic man with simplistic solutions that appeal to the all-too-many simplistic voting public.

Nope, he'll simply be chewed alive and simply deposited int he crapper when he goes on a national stage in front of a neutral media.

[Lucky]

Nope, he'll simply be chewed alive and simply deposited int he crapper when he goes on a national stage in front of a neutral media.

Yep. We've already experimented with picking our leader from the middle of the bell curve.

[PaleoMan]

Underestimate Rand Paul at your peril. He has every single shortcoming you guys list and then some. But he is a simplistic man with simplistic solutions that appeal to the all-too-many simplistic voting public.

They said the same about Reagan. You're a keen observer of historical trends . Another thing is that country will be dying to elect a republican in 2016. Remember that an incredibly unpopular Bush produced Obama. Obama will give birth to.......? The entire Overton window needs to snap back to a state of equilibrium with a new face. We could see the first conservative president since Silent Cal, assuming the country is still intact.

[Lucky]

Please. The country will still be intact. You just won't like it as much.

[PaleoMan]

Nope, he'll simply be chewed alive and simply deposited int he crapper when he goes on a national stage in front of a neutral media.

Did you see him tangle with Spitzer and Amanpour earlier this year on away turf? The boy is learning fast. Imagine a more policy oriented Ron Paul without the baggage of Crazy Town. Of course, he holds all his dad's positions but plays the game like an artisan. Dear old dad has never been a good politician, I'm afraid to say.

I'm not going to lie, when I backed him way back in 2009, I never though he would grow into this rebellious statesman this quickly. He trashed McConnell's hand-picked successor after being down close to 20 points at the beginning of the primary. Cheney, Kristol and the the old lions of the Republican Senate sent alot of money down there to take him out. Next up was the handsome, confident attorney general with the full backing of the DNC and mainstream media. Paul disposed of Conway as well, despite running in an almost national campaign environment. Sky's the limit for old Rand, since his stature grows more and more each day, when both parties continue to abdicate their responsibilities. I think he and Rubio are going to tear each other's eyes out for control of the Republican party. Aspen Institute vs. Bowling Green Eye Doctor. Two contrasting styles.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53640_Page3.html#ixzz1KgkkV5Is

“Ron Paul is the pioneer but Rand Paul is the really the future,” said Dave Carney, a veteran GOP consultant who worked for George H.W. Bush and is now Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s top political adviser. “Rand Paul is a serious national figure and could be a big-time player.

[Wonderboy]

Nope, he'll simply be chewed alive and simply deposited int he crapper when he goes on a national stage in front of a neutral media.

I hope you are right. And if the economy picks up between now and 2012, I suspect you are. But unfortunately, being chewed up by the national media is no longer a dis-qualifier to many voters. In fact, quite the opposite. He really resonates with a large portion of the population that is getting larger in these bad economic times.

Rand Paul is smooth and getting smoother. As ST pointed out, he's already defied the odds. In bad times, simplistic answers sound better than they really are. Now, if unemployment gets down to 8% and housing picks up, then Paul is nothing but a curiosity in 2016. But if not, you're looking at the next President of the United States after Obama.

And never in my entire life have I typed out a sentence that I hoped was more wrong.

[Lucky]

Did you see him tangle with Spitzer and Amanpour earlier this year on away turf? The boy is learning fast. Imagine a more policy oriented Ron Paul without the baggage of Crazy Town. Of course, he holds all his dad's positions but plays the game like an artisan. Dear old dad has never been a good politician, I'm afraid to say.

I'm not going to lie, when I backed him way back in 2009, I never though he would grow into this rebellious statesman this quickly. He trashed McConnell's hand-picked successor after being down close to 20 points at the beginning of the primary. Cheney, Kristol and the the old lions of the Republican Senate sent alot of money down there to take him out. Next up was the handsome, confident attorney general with the full backing of the DNC and mainstream media. Paul disposed of Conway as well, despite running in an almost national campaign environment. Sky's the limit for old Rand, since his stature grows more and more each day, when both parties continue to abdicate their responsibilities. I think he and Rubio are going to tear each other's eyes out for control of the Republican party. Aspen Institute vs. Bowling Green Eye Doctor. Two contrasting styles.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz1KgkkV5Is

Calling Rand Paul a statesman is an insult to statesmen everywhere.

Getting elected to the Senate from Kentucky is not a spectacular trick. In the last 50 years there have been only two Democratic Senators from Kentucky. The incumbent Paul replaced was a repub. And Kentucky is not exactly a microcosm of American culture. Tea Party nuttiness spread there like Ebola.

Deep down, this guy is very shallow. He has no true sense of American history and tradition, just this idealized and wildly inaccurate Tea Party notion that our founding fathers were some type of demigods with foresight centuries into the future.

He's not well educated in any area other than medicine. He doesn't have a college degree. So far as I can tell, his entire political life has consisted of some campaigning for his father and being involved in various tax protest organizations. He may be one of the least qualified persons, by education and experience, I ever elected to the Senate. And this is who you want as your candidate?

Maybe he'll shed that repub skin and run under the banner of the Party of Lowered Expectations.

[cardboardbox]

Now, if unemployment gets down to 8% and housing picks up, then Paul is nothing but a curiosity in 2016. But if not, you're looking at the next President of the United States after Obama.

I think you're going to need a little better than 8%. Maybe 7.5? Which is entirely likely, imho.