SUNSHINE HILLARY AND HER CONVENTION SMASH THE GLASS CEILING

The Party Conventions have concluded to a background of a revolution of societal attitudes and where already one major Party has almost completely changed its identity. This makes it increasingly difficult to predict the outcome in a fluid and evolving scenario. While attempting to adjust the analysis to meet these circumstances, for the large part, the commentary still is framed in terms of the existing political paradigm.

THE CONVENTION GESTALT

It was in stark contrast to Trump’s dark, chaotic Convention, with its boring procession of nonentities, that Clinton’s rousing, optimistic and professionally managed spectacle, with its star studded cast of politicians and entertainers, witnessed her shattering the glass ceiling. While Trump cheerfully midwifed even greater cleavages in the Republican Party in Cleveland simultaneously shutting the dissenters up, Clinton gave the Berners one whole day to let off steam and never stopped acknowledging the contribution of Sanders. The DNC emerged as unified as could be reasonably expected while the Republican Party were split into at least three factions - Trump, Kasich, (who was hosting events in the key swing state, Ohio, in which he is the Governor) and of course Cruz.  

The metaphor for the tale of the two conventions was told by the balloons that traditionally joyfully come tumbling down signaling the end of a convention and the beginning of the campaign. In Cleveland the Republican Presidential and Vice Presidential party stood awkwardly awaiting their descent as some or other malfunction was addressed. In Philadelphia they came cascading down on cue in the colors of red, white and blue interspersed with giant blue spheres that were festooned with stars. The latter to chants of patriotic “USA USA” as opposed to lynch mob “Lock her up” incantations that dominated the Republic Party’s convention.  

THE KEY SPEAKERS

Clinton’s embarrassment of riches, ranging from Sanders to the Obamas and Biden, with her husband in-between, took the pressure of her dominating the media scene but it was the bit players that too played a crucial role. The significance of this roster will be realized over the next 100 days on the campaign trail. Obama’s approval rate is at its highest and there is no - one, but no-one, better than him on the stump. Michelle Obama has a nearly eighty percent approval rating and has her own constituencies. Husband Bill has the unique skill of reframing events and simplifying complex issues giving him the ability to connect with audiences as no - one else can. Hillary thus is transformed from an Establishment hack to a life long "change - maker".  Biden is most popular in the Rust Belt States with blue collared workers where Trump hopes to make his breakthrough. Elizabeth Warren and possibly Bernie himself will look after the DNC revolutionaries while Kaine will connect in fluent Spanish with the Hispanics in case the latter need any encouragement to vote against Trump.

But back to some of the bit players. 

THE DNC BENCH  - Mr. KHIZR KHAN

Among the few dozen warm up acts at the Convention were a few that will have a lasting impact on this race. Besides electrifying the stadium they had to have influenced the vast home audience. First and foremost was the tribute by Mr. Khizr Khan to his brave deceased son, an American hero, who died defending his charge in Iraq. (The principle reason for the impact of Mr. Khan’s intervention is that the Republican candidate Donald Trump chose, to the embarrassment of the old Republican Party members, to attack him after the convention - The gift to the Democrats that keeps on giving..). Mr. Khan, his wife by his side, by eloquently and poignantly juxtaposing his son’s bravery and patriotism and the family’s sacrifice for America with Trump’s anti - Muslim barrage stirred up the crowd and beyond. He argued that had it been up to Mr. Trump his son would never been able to emigrate to America -  “.… he wants to build walls and ban us from this country..”. The most dramatic moment of the speech came when the bereaved father, capitalizing on the fact that Trump’s ignorance of the contents of the American Constitution had already been on display, exclaimed, “..have you even read the Constitution…”, Then theatrically pulling a miniature Constitution out of his inside pocket, he dramatically offered to lend Trump his copy.

As is Trump’s modus operandi it didn’t take long for him to launch the vitriol. In an interview with George Stephanopoulos he maintained that he would have liked to have seen Khan’s wife say something. He added that Mr. Khan’s cry that he,Trump, had "sacrificed nothing and no -one" was his cue for him to inappropriately spout off his resume stating that, “he worked very very hard and created tens of thousands of jobs”. He claimed too that he had made a lot of sacrifices. Then the saga went on and on. 

Trump claimed, inter alia, that he had been attacked viciously. He asked whether there was an awareness of 9/11 and Islamic terrorism. He issued a statement which finally acknowledged Captain Khan as a hero, assailed Mr. Khan for maintaining that he had not read the constitution and then blamed Hillary Clinton for destabilizing the Middle East, Benghazi and the rest. The Khan pater familias had the final word arguing that Trump had no moral compass, empathy and was unfit to be President. To Trump’s taunt that Mrs Ghazal Khan had nothing to say, she gave him chapter and verse in an op - ed piece in the Washington Post. Her opening statement must have wrankled, “Without saying a thing all the world felt my pain.”

After all this the Republican Party leaders finally weighed in - Kasich, Ryan and McConnell, all at least saying something. The cause celebre lasting well into the next week past the Convention. 

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG

Michael Bloomberg, three time mayor of New York, delivered a devastating attack on Trump which had the potential to have major political consequences. Bloomberg, a fellow New Yorker, is an even more successful businessman than The Donald and is considered the spokesperson of the Independents. In this regard his credentials are impeccable. He contemplated a run at the Oval Office this time round but deferred. He declared Trump to be “A dangerous demagogue who must be stopped”. He savaged The Donald’s business career and responded to Trump’s claim that he would run the government like he ran his business by stating, “God help us”. He said he recognized a con when he saw one. Trump was risky, reckless and radical. 

He gave a credible heave to Hillary’s competence as he had worked with her on 9/11 and other New York projects when she was a Senator. Although she had her failings she was the candidate for the job. “Elect someone sane and competent with international experience” he exhorted the delegates.  As might have been expected Bloomberg was on the receiving end of Trump’s bile. The latter had already threatened that he was so angry at some of the speakers at the Conference that he would like to hit them so hard that their heads would spin. He called Bloomberg “little” prophesying that he wouldn’t get 10% of the vote if he ran again for Mayor.

Bloomberg together with the “Republicans for Hillary” speakers had the potential of going a long way to persuading the Republicans, orphaned with the death of their party, to pull the lever for Clinton. Obama had already laid the seeds. While the Khan uproar almost monopolized the media post convention Bloomberg and the "Republicans for Hillary" may well be the most substantial outcome of the gathering. 

RETIRED GENERAL JOHN ALLEN

As no one from the armed forces or security operations has endorsed Trump, General Allen’s forceful support of Clinton assumes a disproportionate significance as Trump continues to make National Security a key issue in his platform. Allen was a former Deputy Commander of US Central Command. He was accompanied on the stage by several military veterans and in the beginning of his address maintained that he, “Was joined by his fellow Generals and Admirals”. He contended that with Hillary at the helm, “International relations would not be reduced to business transactions nor would the military be instruments of torture, engage in murder and carry out other illegal activities”.  He exclaimed that the stakes were enormous and Hillary Clinton could be trusted with the task and to keep the nation together. 

Trump’s follow up was that Allen had made a poor job of fighting ISIS resulting in Allen responding that a Trump Presidency would cause a civil military crisis, “The likes of which we have not seen”. This statement was a fleshing out of the consequences of Trump’s oft repeated illegal injunctions that he would instruct the military to carry out.

REVEREND WILLIAM BARBER - HEAD OF THE NAACP

In rhetoric and delivery similar to that of Martin Luther King, Reverend Barber galvanized the riveted delegates with a sweeping overview of the issues facing the nation which he framed morally rather than politically. He touched on the concerns which he felt were at the heart of America’s democracy. These included voting rights, minimum wage, health care, public education, taxes and wealth distribution immigrant and LGBT rights. What might read like a laundry list of all the ills and societal challenges was delivered with a passion, eloquence and honesty that had to have resonated beyond the walls of the stadium. Apparently, according to The Nation, he rarely endorses candidates so his statement that, “… but when I hear Hillary’s voice and positions, I hear and I know she is working to embrace our deepest moral values and we should embrace her”. Used judiciously he would inspire and add strength to the Clinton bench. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY

The impact of the Convention, if any, is yet to be seen. It achieved all its objectives both in substance and style in the hall and for the electorate transfixed to the media covering it all. Major issues such as guns and climate control were also featured. Families and representatives of victims as well as the police were all given a chance to air their pain and views in a manner that was persuasive that this was not a choice between supporting the police or Black Lifes Matter, but rather a problem that needed to be resolved with communication, empathy and good will. The immediate knee jerk responses of Trump could not have helped him and had to have reinforced the Clinton campaign message that he has not the temperament to be President. Her observation that he looses his cool at the slightest provocation making it dangerous to entrust him with nuclear weapons was bolstered by The Donald's intemperate responses and has to be considered another plus in the outcome for the Democrats. 

The thousand pound gorilla in the room was the angry electorate which was reorganizing itself into new alliances, where the new Republicans were laying claim to the blue collar Union workers and are toting an isolationist nationalist policy and the Democrats are a coaliton of all but with an increasing attraction to surburban Republicans and a commitment to inclusiveness at home and abroad. So who can accurately forecast the outcome?

Finally, what is going to be the overriding factor in this election - fear or hope, walls or bridges, togetherness or divisiveness, or isolationism or American involvement in the world honoring its international obligations and treaties? The next 100 days will tell. The irrestible conclusion is that it will be Hillary, the demographics make it so hard for Trump to turn back the clock to when America was ostensibly great and white. Yet no pundit has got it right yet and therein lies the uncertainty. 

TRUMP, DEMOCRACY, THE MEDIA AND THE WASHINGTON POST

It is common cause that this Presidential election campaign is regarded like none before. This is largely as a result of the dominating presence and the behavior of the Republican nominee for the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. His emergence and the prominent role the media has played in his triumph needs examination especially the interrelation between Trump’s ascendency and the ideal of  American democracy. The thesis of this blog is that the checks and balances of society, including the media, (Fourth Estate), have thus far failed to block Mr. Trump’s candidature which in and of itself is felt to be a threat to that democracy. 

AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, THE GOP AND TRUMP

 It is the American style democracy with it’s accent on individualism that has allowed Trump to emerge triumphant as the leader of a Party in which he shares very little in common .This could never have happened in any of the other traditional democracies where the Party leader is invariably steeped in the movement’s value system and culture and is usually elected by the Party infrastructure or by the Party’s elected Representatives. Trump has used the democratic Primary process to effect a bloodless coup of a political party. While the GOP has no formal mechanism to expel members it merely required the will of the Party Establishment to convene a meeting and do so. They didn’t so the issue is irrelevant but the GOP by not exercising its prerogative to utilize democracy’s checks and balances has allowed Trump free reign to challenge American democracy itself. 

Democracy is a fragile institution. To quote Winston Churchill, “ Democracy is the worst form of government till you have tried all the others”. It is dependent on a host of factors both by law and convention. There are those behaviors that are upheld by convention such as you don’t call your opponent’s wife a whore. It is also assumed that you will uphold the constitution should you be elected such as not violating the first amendment by threatening the Press. To put it at its kindest, Donald J. Trump does not inspire any confidence that he gives two hoots about democracy. He is more at home with mob rule and the lynch mob.

THE MEDIA’S TRADITIONAL ROLE OF RESPONSIBILITY - THE FOURTH ESTATE

The media has always been recognized as the Fourth Estate. The latter, is loosely translated in the United States as the fourth branch of democracy . It exists outside of the three branches of government and functions as and independent check on them. 

The Fourth Estate has changed its role dramatically over the past few decades. For generations the overwhelming majority of society placed its faith in the integrity, for example, in the three television networks. Now with the advent of Cable TV among other mediums there is intense competition for viewership. More and more the emphasis has been placed on entertainment but even more on profit. 

In 2005 Tom Fenton, a CBS international correspondent, in his book “Bad News” spelled out what this all meant in the day to day information provided to society through the lens of the nightly news cast. Without laboring his point he documents the commercialization of news and politics. The news program became “cost centers”. They now had to pay for themselves rather than be subsidized by the rest of the programming.  He maintained that the code of public responsibility had been exchanged for ratings. 

More and more media operations including the networks laid off particularly oversea reporters. Fenton flat out blames  the rise of Al Qaeda as a result of this approach. His stories on the growth and activities of the organization were spiked as boring and depressing. As the news anchor informed him if he mentioned a name such as Osama Bin Laden the viewers would pick up their remotes and change the channel. There were minute by minute ratings. In addition CBS turned down interviews with Bin Laden in the nineties. The changed role of the media, Fenton argues, resulted in a lack of public awareness of, for example, the danger of Osama and his Al Qaeda. Had there been an exposure to the threat they posed there may well have not been 9/11 as law makers would have been forced to take note. 

THE MEDIA AND THE EMERGENCE OF TRUMP

A theme of Jay H. Ell’s assessment of American society has been the negative impact of the changing role of the Fourth Estate. It has to bear a large share of the blame that democracy now faces its largest threat since World War 11 in the figure of Donald J. Trump. There is nothing about Trump’s candidacy that fits in with the way democracy is understood to mean in America. Democracy is brittle and can be so abused so as to have a Hitler elected. (Trump has already been called Hitler by one of the major GOP donors, Meg Whitman.) Other examples of the misuse of democracy occurred in Africa where the “one man once vote" mantra turned into becoming "one man one vote once”, while dictatorship by the proletariat became just plain old fashioned dictatorship accompanied by fascism and mass murder. 

The media have irresponsibly covered Trump's every word and action and disproportionately focused on him from the word go affording him billions of dollars of free publicity. The Presidential election race is now one great big reality show with free actors and script and is just ripe for high ratings and advertisement revenue. No challenging and holding The Donald's feet to the fire - just move on and report the next lie or outrageous statement. There was always the fear that he would drop you like he did with a Fox debate holding his own meeting which was dutifully covered by every other channel. 

In spite of this his bizarre policy positions, which change every other day, none seriously challenge them. His serial lying is ignored and the argument is accepted that there is an equivalency between his grotesque positions and Hillary even accepting, for arguments sake, that she lied over her e mails and she is responsible for Benghazi. The problem is that the media kept pretending that Trump was a real candidate and ignored his incongruities so as not to be throwing away their biggest money spinner since the advent of Cable TV. 

So together with the Republican Party, the Fourth Estate has to bear a large part of the responsibility of this threat to America’s freedom. 

THE WASHINGTON POST 

The Washington Post, (WP), is the quintessential example of the Fourth Estate and is famous for the most gutsy revelations of the corruption and deceit of Nixon and his administration in their investigative reporting entitled Watergate. The latter was immortalized in the Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman film, the multiple award winning “All the Presidents’ Men”. The editorial and reporting team were able to effect this as a result of the backing of the owner of the WP, Katherine Graham, who was threatened by Nixon and refused to back down. 

The WP hard hit by the introduction of internet competition fell on hard times and was bailed out in 2013 by Amazon owner, Jeff Bezos, who paid $250 million. In no time he set about revamping the newspaper in a new building, buying new technology and generally moving it into the digital age. He employed a 100 new reporters and the morale was once again restored. The online edition has even exceeded the circulation of the New York Times on occasion. In 2013 Pulitzer Prize winning Martin Baron from the Boston Globe was appointed Editor of the WP. He had been responsible for the investigative reporting of the sexual abuses in the Catholic Church which has been graphically presented in the Academy Award winning movie “Spotlight”. 

AND ALONG CAME TRUMP

Baron as one might expect has complete editorial independence and since his appointment has won 4 Pulitzer prizes for the paper with his investigative reporting style. The 2016 election with the bursting onto the scene of demagog Donald J. Trump with his serial lies and his boastful claims prompted him to appoint 20 reporters to investigate his history. Much of what has broken about Trump’s sordid past has emanated from the WP. Pieces such as “Donald Trump’s Ignorance Laid Bare” and “How a Trump Presidency Could Destabilize Europe” crammed their pages. Their separate feature entitled, Fact Checker, has been a daily rebuttal to almost anything and every thing “The Donald” claims and does.

It didn’t take too long for The Donald to hit back. He withdrew the credentials of the WP reporters to cover his campaign. In typical Trump style he created a bizarre conspiracy theory to explain it all - "Jeff Bezos bought the WP and was using the investigations into him in order to avoid paying taxes for his Amazon company. He uses the WP to protect him". Most of his rant against Bezos was vented via Fox News. He issued a threat to Bezos, who recently overtook Warren Buffet as the richest man in the world. He argued that his was the type of behavior he would crack down on as President. 

WP’S BEZOS DEFIANT  

Bezos was questioned at the Code Conference on his dispute with Trump. (The Code conference is an invitational gathering of the leaders in the field of digital technology). He response was “We live in this amazing democracy with amazing freedom of speech.… It is critical that we should be able to examine our leaders….And a Presidential candidate should embrace that.”  Bezos defended WP against Trump comparing America’s free speech constitution to the dictates in some parts of world where they lock up journalists who disagree with the leaders. 

Bezos made no bones as to how he saw the role of the WP that he had resuscitated. He argued that leaders, including him, should expect to be scrutinized as that was a “cultural norm”. Getting to the very nub of what the American democracy stood for, he contended “…that without cultural norms the Constitution was just a piece of paper”. Alluding to the role that the then owner, Katherine Graham, played when threatened by Richard Nixon he attested, “With Kay Graham as my role model I am ready to let my body parts go through a ringer if need be”. He won't be dissapointed because The Donald style has no subtlety to just let it go and he will not let up in his effort to best Bezos.

POST THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION THE WASHINTON POST CRYSTALLISES AMERICA’S CHOICE.

In an unprecedented journalistic move, in a front page editorial the WP concluded that Trump was “A Unique Threat to American Democracy”. The lead article detailed chapter and verse their rationale, including his continuing lying, regular changes in policy, lack of experience, his dubious success as a businessman, failure to produce his taxes which is a bipartisan norm, his racism, his exploitation of the unemployed and his failure to show how he will alleviate their plight, his reckless foreign policy where he threatens to abandon NATO, his “cozying” up to dictators and his encouragement of certain nations to obtain nuclear weapons, his total ignorance of the constitution, his threats on the press and a judge who ruled against him, his encouragement of violence at his rallies and his insults and denigrations of individuals and candidates. The historic piece concluded by sadly noting that most of the Republican leaders have lost the courage to take him on. 

This WP lead article that created a stir even in the overcrowded media market and was preceded by a devastating expose in WP Fact Checker feature of Trump’s demagogic Congress rant. The twenty - five key themes that The Donald raised in his Convention speech were found to be untrue, a manipulation of data and or misleading. This is serious as Trump’s message of doom and gloom is predicated on being fact. 

Added to this demolition of Trump as a candidate was the expose by his ghost writer of his center piece of his success, the blockbuster, “The Art of the Deal”. In spite of the usual threats that accompany any criticism of the “blue collar billionaire”, Schwartz detailed what a megalomaniacal fraud and sociopath he was. Schwartz in spite of the risks to himself explained that this matter was to important and the risk to great to have this man's finger on the nuclear trigger. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY

America faces a crisis and the time has come for the majority of the media to stop playing inane games and focus on the alternatives. 

It is not to late for the Republican Party to wash their hands off Trump. They might remember that dumping Goldwater in 1964 did not stop a Nixon Presidency in1968 nor did joining in the bipartisan condemnation of Nixon, forcing him to resign,  prevent twenty - two years of Republic Presidency out of the next thirty four. However if Trump continues unhindered then whatever happens the GOP loses. If he loses the Party will be smashed. If he wins then America loses as well. It is no use hanging around waiting for Godot and for Trump to become Presidential. A hallmark of sociopathy is an inability to learn from one’s mistakes as we have seen this past thirteen months. 

And to those left wingers that are protesting against Hillary you are taking your freedoms for granted. As The Berne has finally reminded them, “This is the Real World”. Regardless of the DNC Committee’s preferences Bernie lost convincingly. As for Trump his favoring of Putin over NATO seems to be paying dividends as Russia through Wikileaks is delivering for him against Hillary. (What a patriot The Donald really is!). 

Even though the demographics point to a Clinton Presidency anything can happen in a two horse race. America’s brittle democracy is on the line.

All this as a backdrop to the Democratic Congress.

TRUMP FLIES SOLO INTO HIS DARK WORLD

The Donald, the greatest salesman and showman ever, has delivered his pitch and the customers have a 100 days to decide on the veracity of his claims and whether to make the purchase. Buyer beware. The goods come with no guarantee and are nonreturnable for four years.

"Trumps doomsday stats fall apart under close scrutiny... 25 key claims differ from reality..." Washington Post Fact Checker"

DONALD - THE REAL DEAL 

Donald J. Trump shocked the Republican Political Establishment by his unconventional  campaign where he smashed the powerful, influential and talented opposition which represented the leadership of various factions of the party. He achieved this remarkable feat by his charismatic influential personality and his iconic status in American entertainment and business. He projected his invincibility and power and the Republican electorate bought into his mantra that everything he touches turns to gold and that he never loses. He showed incredible insight by identifying with the agenda of fears, disillusionment and anger of the Grand Old Party’s voters and carved out a set of actions that were in contrast to Party policy, that resonated. He painted a picture of America degenerated into chaos at home that was the laughing stock of the world. He maintained that he knew “The Art of The Deal”, the title of his smash hit tome on how he does it, so that he could fix a degenerated America and a world beset with anarchy and terror with the same skills. 

In the process he took over the Party as Jay H. Ell blogged, in December of 2015, (Trump’s Hostile Takeover of the Republican Party). Enough of the Establishment took the practical blinkered view that not much had changed and if they grinned and bore it at least the Party’s hard won legislative majorities would not be lost. By doing this the party lost its soul and standard bearers as their last four leaders, including two Presidents begged off the Trump train. They were accompanied by shoals of no - shows at the Convention and the abandoning by other life long intellects such as George Will, Jennifer Rubin and Billy Kristol. The Donald believed he was better off without them. He would find others to join his new retreaded Republican Party.

So it was off to the Convention. 

THE AMERICAN WAY

The unique way things work in America is that the political party’s Presidential nomination Convention provides a national stage with a humongous audience with wall to wall coverage on three Cable Channels assisted by blanket exposure in every other media medium. In the past decade the doings have been even more magnified by social media utilized by everyone including the campaigns and participants. So the few hours of TV Prime Time are subject to endless examination, interpretation, debate and comment. Whether the Convention makes any difference to the electoral outcome depends on two variables - the state of the race and the success or failure of the four day proceedings.

WHO RUNS THE CONVENTION AND ITS PURPOSE

The Convention is under the total control of the presumptive nominee. Whether the nominee agrees or not everything that happens will be either be his or her responsibility and or evaluated as to its impact on his or her character and or chances in the election. Nothing is neutral. There are time honored formats and objectives to these spectacles some which even the Donald cannot escape.  

There is an overall purpose of a USA Party Convention and that is to provide the platform for the election of their Presidential candidate.There are a hierarchy of constituencies that need to be addressed in this venture. There are the delegates who make up the bulk of the participants, as well as the body politic at home. The delegates are a highly rarefied group being the local leaders and worker bees and it is obvious that their very presence distinguishes them from those who are not spending money and time to be at the jamboree. Those not there will obviously span a spectrum of interest and involvement in the hoopla. For practical purposes there are three groups - the base group who are committed to the cause, those that are independent and are yet to make up their mind and a small number on both sides who can be persuaded to change and leave the fold. The traditional objective is to unify the Party and then win the potential audience at home.

THE CHOIR AT THE CONVENTION

Through the audience participants’ responses it is hoped to that they will persuade those that didn’t come. From the word go the over 2000 delegates were participating in the most divided GOP convention with more floor votes registered against the presumptive nominee than ever.  Those State delegations that supported The Donald in the election were placed in the front of the house and those that didn’t were humiliated again and again and they did their best to sabotage the proceedings. It is fair to say, however, that the delegates, in general, were just looking for an opportunity to unite behind the nominee. They hadn’t come all this way to see the party and Party end in tatters.

For the first few days they were fed with hatred and bile against Hillary and they began to resemble more of a lynch mob than the machine engine of the party. They lustilly unified in their vilification of Hillary and divided into two groups - those that wanted to lock her up and those that wanted to kill her. This got them all on the same page but the impact to the Independents and the Democratic fence setters at home could not have been too positive.

Finally late on day three the gathered were presented with the leader who probably had the most support among their number - the eloquent Ted Cruz. The initial reception was rapturous but Cruz extending his allotted time by nearly fifteen minutes refused to endorse the nominee. This obstinacy resulted in floor chaos as the chants from the forewarned New York delegation led an ”Endorse Trump” war cry. Trump, the great negotiator had willingly allowed another wide rent in the Party to occur for the world to see. Trump was highly satisfied with the outcome as he had to win this one as most of the floor delegates had got it by now that they had to be behind the candidate to defeat Hillary Clinton. Cruz was unrelenting making many feel uncomfortable that he was not going to be a servile puppy to someone who he had called a sociopath. Cruz referenced two issues that prompted his “payback” intervention, Trump’s smearing of his wife Heidi and claiming that Cruz’s father was involved in the Kennedy assassination. Trump did not need this resuscitation of his unashamed free flowing, off the wall, uncorroborated tripe that he liberally dished out throughout the Primaries. He had won the fight against Cruz, which to him is that is all that counts. But there were casualties both on the floor and obviously at home in spite of the fact that the issue, according to Trump, united the party.

TRUMP MANAGEMENT STYLE

While The Donald spent the best part of three days vilifying Hillary his mismanagement of his wife’s plagiarism of Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic Convention Speech dominated the media cycles. First there were denials that it was plagiarism. Then it was blamed on Hillary. Melania thought she was being thrown under the bus. Finally, a speech writer who worked for the Trump Organization fessed up that she was responsible for the speech. Uncharacteristically Trump forgave her raising more questions as to what really happened. Crisis management 101 will tell you in the first lecture you admit a mistake immediately, apologize and then move on. 

Sharing the media focus with Melania were the procedural issues that the Stop The Trump Movement brought up. The unconditional invite to Cruz which lead to him stealing the thunder from Vice President Pence’s acceptance speech was considered a major blunder by all and sundry. Trump’s management style was characterized by Pulitzer Prize winner, Eugene Robertson, opining that the Convention Management under Trump as well as the chaos in his campaign, including the circus relating to his nomination of his Vice President, indicates that he couldn’t organize a funeral procession with two cars!

All this led to Republican Morning Joe’s frustratingly prophesying that if Trump did not bring in the professionals he had no chance. 

SUPPORTING CAST

There were four main surrogates who are objectively the bottom of the political barrel of what is left of the Republican Party. Chris Christie, who Trump so much wanted as his Vice President, and a bully of class, is in the middle of an ongoing legal crisis, BridgeGate. While not indicted himself his chief aides are about to go on trial for punishing the mayor of a town, who wouldn’t support him in the Gubernatorial election. Christie’s current approval rate in New Jersey is twenty - four percent. Then there is Newt Gingrich who left the Speakership in disgrace and Rudi Giuliani who was a hopelessly failed presidential candidate and is sadly mimicking the Trump racism by proudly boasting that he treated all Muslims as criminal suspects! In addition to the three has beens is the Vice Presidential nominee Governor Mike Pence who faced an uphill reelection battle in the State of Indiana. Till his nomination as Trump’s Vice President choice there wasn’t a major policy position that he agreed on with the Republican frontrunner. In fact he endorsed Ted Cruz for President. That is the cast and the mediocrity stood out.

The only effective surrogates Trump has had thus far are his wife and his children. They are polished, intelligent and articulate. They have forced everyone who regard him as a narcissist opportunistic sociopath who cares for no - one but himself, to think again. The picture they paint of him is unrecognizable as the pubic persona of The Donald.  The policies enunciated by the family differ vastly from the Trump agenda and Melania sounded literally like Michelle Obama while Ivanka aped Hillary Clinton’s female agenda. The two sons spouted traditional Conservative Republican Policy rather than their father’s individualistic xenophobic populism. So between all the Trumps you had something for everyone and family values chucked in as a bonus.

TRUMP TRUMPETS HIS SUCCESS AND REPLAYS HIS NATIONALIST, ISOLATIONIST AND LAW AND ORDER AGENDA

Trump delivered his oration with his usual aplomb, confidence and clarity. Historically party conventions give candidates a bump and there is no reason to believe that this won’t apply here. He reminded candidates that he had received more votes in the Primary than any other Republican had. However in his acceptance speech there was absolutely nothing new. He relied heavily on his perception that America was in total chaos with murder and crime on the ascendancy especially perpetrated by illegal immigrants, that its citizenry were unemployed and suicidal, trade deficits were growing and foreign policy was in tatters, And it was all Hillary’s fault as he repeated the litany of disasters across the world that she was responsible for and that every other speaker had outlined again and again. She was corrupt and was bailed out by the Head of the FBI. She is a criminal he repeated. 

His plan would put America first - Americanism not globalism. The time had come to discard the rigged system. He would defeat ISIS at home and abroad, single handed. He would provide a better life for those forgotten and ignored. He was the voice of the suffering and those who could not defend themselves. He reinforced his opposition to trade deals and the export of jobs by American companies - all incidentally contrary to the policies of the current GOP as are most of his populist positions.

All in all short on specifics but long on generalities. A rambling speech not nearly as well received as his stadium rants that centered mainly on building walls, the murderous Mexican immigrants, and excluding Muslims from America. Incidentally when these lines were mentioned they received the largest cheers of the evening. He certainly got the crowd going at the end with when echoing the Republican mantra on issues such as Obama Care, Supreme Court nominees, and guns.

WHERE TRUMP’S TACTICS MAY BE WRONG 

Assuming that Trump is the major success he claims, which of course is contested up the ying yang, why can’t his skill set work as a politician? Why can’t Trump’s Primary success translate into the Presidential race? Trump’s art of the deal is about winning. There are only winners and losers. There is no such a concept as a win - win situation in his playbook. His objective, illustrated at this Convention, was to crush his internal opposition and not to unite the Party. It was not his aim in the Primary to find common cause with his opponents and he has not changed his m. o. Politics to a lesser or greater extent is about coalition and compromise and that is distinct from being the center of attraction or winning every argument and humiliating every opponent. 

In order to mount a successful campaign you need a coalition at least of your party. He does not give a hoot at what normally is considered central to any campaign. This belief is epitomized by his excitement at the boos ending the divisive Cruz intervention and his response to the Melania Trump’s public relations disaster that dominated the waves for three of the four Convention days maintaining that any publicity is good publicity! Contrast this with the efforts of Hillary Clinton to get the irascible Bernie Sanders onsides. The latter kept on running for President even after Hillary had won the nomination to the frustration of Clinton supporters. Throughout Hillary, in the teeth of his obstinacy, acknowledged the contribution of The Berne, because she knew that she needed to unite the party. 

Trump had a choice, on the one hand it was his way or the high way and hope that his Primary success would translate into an avalanche of citizens jumping on the bandwagon or on the other trying to be more inclusive by healing the wounds he has inflicted. There are the Bushes, Kasich the Governor of Ohio and all those legislators and state officials that stayed away, that he could need, that he made no effort  to connect with. Jay H. Ell believes he did nothing to broaden his constituencies let alone unite his own party. He has obviously given up on the African and Latino minorities. He followed up his first night’s disregard for the sensitivities of the African American community, (Blog: Trump Flames a Racial War) by ignoring the Latinos and giving their most hated symbol Sheriff Arpaio a key speaking slot on acceptance night. The question really is can he attract enough white independents and Democrats to make up for his Republican losses and the no shows from the minorities. He really believes that those who voted for Bernie Sanders will back him! 

Finally, it is scary that the Presidential candidate of one of the two major Parties maintained, in a New York Times interview, in response to the question as to what he hoped that people would take away from this Convention, “The fact that I am very well liked”.

TRUMP FLAMES A RACIAL WAR

Day one of the Republican Convention has come and gone and the dye that has been cast by Trump in the Primaries has shown no indication of being dislodged. The deaths of the two African American youths at the hands of the police, and captured on video for the world to see, juxtaposed with the brutal assassination of police by two black activists in Dallas and Baton Rouge were the text for the Trump message. 

Donald Trump, “Take it from me I am the law and order candidate”, is set to exploit the recent atrocities involving police deaths. The unstated choice is either you support the police or the protestors’ movement Black Lives Matter from whom the police assassins allegedly emanate. You cannot advocate for both. The Republican nominee has a dupla running as he couples these tragedies with international terror in his manifesto to be President. He tweets, “Our country is completely divided and our enemies are looking..… We are not looking tough” and “President Obama doesn’t have a clue”. Trump has just added the African Americans to the Muslims and Hispanics he is at war with in America.  This rhetoric serves three objectives it rallies his base and provokes further anger and possible violence. And by extension he links this violence to the internal terrorist activities of Orlando and San Bernardino and the international ISIS inspired carnage of Paris, Istanbul and Nice. 

TRUMP’S RACIAL LOGIC

The mantra is simple and the logic “unchallengeable “- the violence between police and African Americans and vice versa has increased with the Obama administration and his two African American Attorney’s General and race relations are at their “worst ever”. That fact, he believes, proves that the fault lies with Obama. Trump has taken this all a bit further implying that there is something amiss with Obama’s response to terrorism. He questions the POTUS’S allegiances and hints that he may be in cahoots with the “Islamic Muslim Terrorists”. 

 And if you don’t believe Trump on what is holding America back from being great just ask his family, Giuliani and Newt and of course Christie. Next step in the equation is that Hillary equals Obama’s third term so if you vote for her not only do you get a crook but someone who has the formula to continue increasing this violence. And to round the square of The Donald’s infallible dialectic Hillary is also responsible for the increase of ISIS because like Benghazi it all started when she was Secretary of State. The Donald has the answers to all this racial tension and violence. To stop ISIS he will keep all the Muslims out of America. To sort out the local scene he will build a wall and make Mexico pay for it in addition to sending eleven million Hispanics packing. His solution to the age old tension between the black electorate and the fact that they believe that racial profiling is at the core of the undisputed facts that they are stopped, arrested and shot statistically far more than whites, is to back law and order! The selection of speakers indicate that the war is against Black Lives Matter.

 THE TRUMP CONGRESS’S ANSWER

Besides the family and a few employees the key note speakers’ roster is a list of who isn’t who in America. Everyone who should be there, isn’t. Then to look at the themes for each night - “Make America Safe Again”, “Make America Work Again”, “Make America First Again” and “Make America One Again” are a continuation of the hype rather than designed to create a coherent policy.  Apparently the theme for the campaign, “Make America Great Again” didn’t make the cut. Third wife, Melania, was scheduled to “Make America Safe Again” even though she hasn’t been here very long. She delivered a highly polished address confirming what Donald J Snr has been saying all along that he is the best thing since toast. Donald J. Jnr is scheduled to get America working again while Eric has the responsibility to make America first again. On the final night The Donald will be accompanied by favorite daughter Ivanka to help him make America one again. The preview blurb blames Obama and Hillary and states that Donald will pursue a policy that will make America safe again and all the rest.  

On its face the Convention promises to be at best a food fest for the converted. It has to fail in its two objectives to get all those within the Party to kumbaya and then win over Independents and Hillary supporters. Nothing as yet has changed.  Governor Kasich was trashed and all the delegations of the States, regardless of their importance in the election, were seated according to their support of the Donald. So California and New York where Trump has no chance of winning in November were given place of honor in the front and the key State in the rust belt Ohio, which Trump must win was seated at the back. Also the Stop Trump Movement were not even thrown a bone and unceremoniously just mowed down.  Nothing new was scheduled to be added - no attempt to include anyone else or broaden the message.

The argument is that the Convention is “different” by intent is like everything else Trump says or does, “truthful hyperbole”. The latter Trump has defined as “innocent exaggeration” which he contrasts with “guilty exaggeration”. But as Mika the co host of Morning Joe exclaimed, as the panel was discussing the Emperor’s new clothes, the reason for the composition of the keynote speaker list was that no one else would come.

It is fair to say that none of what is scheduled will really address the racial tensions, between the police and the African American community, that have rocked America. These events are central to Trump’s most recent rave and attack on Hillary and Obama. As the Fox “Halftime Report” announced, Donald Trump and the Republican Party are going to work hard at convincing the body politic that Hillary is against law and order. 

If the first night is anything to go by no solutions are offered.

THE REAL SITUATION

President Obama has really struck the right notes in this delicate situation where the danger is to choose one side or the other - the police or the black community. This is the implicit covert message of the Trump campaign. They will concentrate on the murder of the policeman by the two African American murderers. They will ignore Obama’s nuanced messages where he has emphasized again and again that violence is condemned while empathizing with the police and the black community as to their situations. He could not ignore the fears articulated by black parents as to what might happen to their children in a confrontation with the police. He could not wish away the anger that this years 500 African American deaths at the hands of police have evinced.

The statement that race relations in America are at their worst is patent nonsense. Firstly, there is an African American President of America. The Chief of police in Dallas, the Mayor of Baton Rouge and one of the cops assassinated in Baton Rouge, who had just posted a touching and heart rending exposition of the death at the hands of the police of a young Black who had been pulled over by the police for a broken taillight, are all African American. This is a challenge to  change attitudes and a four hundred year culture and involves all Americans. 

The reason why the issue has reached such a fever pitch is that deaths at the hands of the police are now often recorded on phone videos and become viral almost instantaneously so the problem can no longer be swept under the rug. The anger and pain is then exacerbated by the fact that legislation is such that that it is rare for a police member to become convicted of anything when to the layman the cinematic evidence is conclusive. 

Then the cold blooded police killings are added to the mix that were perpetrated by two individuals where the initial perception is that that there were mental problems. All this in a milieu were it is almost as easy to buy an assault weapon as it is to purchase liquor. 

All in all a deep and complex problem that requires sensitivity, empathy and an incredible amount of discussion, negotiation and goodwill to resolve. Trump and his cohorts are doing the country a great disservice by exploiting racial biases in their Nuremberg style rallies.

TRUMP’S OBJECTIVE

However, the intent of Trump’s rhetoric is to whip up enough  fear and anger to push up his share of the white vote. He has no hope of registering more than a few percent of the minorities who are thirty percent of the electorate, so he may as well declare war on them. This is nothing new he has done this since day one. Announcing his candidature with the promise that he is going to build a wall to keep out the Mexicans he has continued on this note with variations. His central theme is thus we are in a racial war in the USA and the whites need to coalesce behind him to fight to “Make America Great Again”. Unless his share of the white electorate hits about seventy five percent he cannot add the Presidency of the United States to that of the Presidency of the Trump organization, which position he still holds. In the event that he loses the man has something to fall back on. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY, (ONE). 

To sum up Day One of Trump’s Republican Convention lived up to expectation with the exception of Melania who gave a polished and balanced presentation totally out of sync with her husband’s message.