tarlhawk wrote:Your points for disliking Mr. Trumps character/demeanor is spot on...narcissism is a strong by-product of wealth and power sadly and his responses paled in presidential decorum. I really think Mr. Trump was just as surprised at winning the white house. He is a wealthy man who doesn't shrink from enjoying the limelight so he had name recognition...no political background...and the wealth to reach the results. He was not a true Republican but his "business acumen" allowed him to realize that instead of running as a doomed 3rd party...he would get better opportunity running as a Republican.
As far as being delayed/prompted to implementing wartime production...it happened and lives were saved because of it. The deaths attributed to his responsibility as our president are numbered by tragic deaths...the number saved? ...unable to attribute real numbers to vaccine streamlining or wartime production act use. A president bears the burden of losing citizens/saving others equally... which is why entering a war that puts troops on the ground or quickly removing them should never be done hastily.
One thing that I will point out about Trump's wealth is that in 2016, Hillary spent almost twice as much as Trump, $1.19 billion to Trump's $647 million. 2020 was a lot closer, with Trump out spending Biden by about 17%. But you're right, it was unquestionably Trump's wealth, and nothing else, that put him in position to run for the presidency.
I'm not suggesting that Trump. or any other POTUS, is directly and criminally responsible for human deaths and you're right, it's impossible to quantify just how many lives could have been saved had he acted differently. But I think it's pretty clear that his failure to act early on in the crisis and his subsequent behavior resulted in an avoidable loss of life. If I were grading him on his response to the pandemic, I'd give him a D, the vaccine development and inital roll-out being about his only saving grace. We have to remember that he once characterized the virus as a Democratic hoax meant to embarrass him. It's his outlandish, off the cuff remarks, tweets, et al that, in my opinion, was the genesis of the misinformation campaigns that has been the biggest hurdle we've had to clear in getting the pandemic under control. His response to the pandemic is arguably the biggest reason why he got voted out of office.
You raised election security as an issue, and I think we're pretty close to agreeing on the subject. IMO there should be more regulation on voter registration, although it needs to be done in a manner so that doesn't create an unreasonable obstacle. So long as no one has to spend a dime for it, I would like to see a government photo ID be established as a requirement to register and vote. I don't agree with sending out unrequested absentee ballots/vote by mail, and I think that all voters should have to identify themselves at the polls. It used to be that I didn't like vote by mail, but I've moved a bit on the subject, especially during the pandemic. I'd like to get the USPS out of the loop, at least as far as returning completed ballots. Don't let the fox guard the chicken coop.
It's these flaws in our voting system that has made it possible for Trump to make these fraudulent claims stick with so many people. They need to re-establish confidence in the process.