Senate votes 98-0...

[idhawkman]

A better analogy would be a king or autocratic ruler. It doesn't matter whether it's a public company or a privately held one. It's simply a good management practice to engage your subordinates and solicit their opinions before making a decision. Trump does just that prior to his Supreme Court nominations, and as a result has IMO made two very solid selections. I don't know why he can't apply that style to his other decision making situations. All of the past POTUS's have utilized that practice and very seldom have they gone rouge and made decisions without at least soliciting opinions. That doesn't mean that they've always accepted the consensus opinion, but they've never been on complete opposite pages like Trump has with his defense secretary and his AG.

This is what created Trump. Indecision and non performance on promises to the voters. Consensus is another word for stagnation and do nothing. This is why Trump has accomplished so much in the time he's been there and other presidents can only seem to accomplish one or two things in a full 4 year term.

I am very suspicious of Trump's motivations. He's so untrustworthy that I cannot believe him when he goes into a private meeting with a head of state without so much as a scribe to take notes and believe that he's acting in our nation's best interests or whether he's trying to advance his own personal agenda.

I think that says it all. Either you trust this guy or you don't, and if you don't, you'll always think the worst.

[RiverDog]

Consensus is another word for stagnation and do nothing.

If these were strictly decisions by consensus, or rather a decision by committee, then I'd agree. But that's not how a good manager operates. Sometimes they'll go with a consensus, sometimes not. Sometimes there's just one person in the group of whom they'll heed advice. And they'll always make their decisions crystal clear to all of their subordinates. None of this defense secretary saying one thing and the POTUS saying the opposite.

I think that says it all. Either you trust this guy or you don't, and if you don't, you'll always think the worst.

Truth. I can't trust a single word out of his mouth and cannot give him the benefit of the doubt unless there's some corroborating evidence to support his words. It's the major reason why I'll never vote for him. I used to think Nixon and Slick Willy were untrustworty, but this guy takes the cake.

[burrrton]

Hey, ID- I'm curious: what did you think of Trump's "I said would but meant to say wouldn't" excuse?

For the record, I finally listened to the press conference, and while I definitely think it was terrible form, I can't figure out why the press (and left) lost their marbles over it.

I think the excuse he gave (would vs wouldn't) was worse than whatever he said/implied in the press conference (which he shouldn't have held in the first place IMO).

[RiverDog]

Hey, ID- I'm curious: what did you think of Trump's "I said would but meant to say wouldn't" excuse?

For the record, I finally listened to the press conference, and while I definitely think it was terrible form, I can't figure out why the press (and left) lost their marbles over it.

I think the excuse he gave (would vs wouldn't) was worse than whatever he said/implied in the press conference (which he shouldn't have held in the first place IMO).

I realize that you addressed your question to Idahawk, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents worth.

I could have given Trump a pass if that was the only contradictory statement he made regarding the topic. He seems all too eager to wrap his arms around Putin and his day after damage control, as is most of his administrative doings, was uncoordinated. And of course, if you'll read my above post, I have a hard time believing anything Trump says, so I think it's just as likely that he's lying as it is that he's telling the truth about what he meant.

[idhawkman]

Burrton,

I'll try and answer you this way. I would not have made the correction but I understand why he did. He did it to stop the frenzy the media was whipping up on it. His party abandoned him which you never see the left do regardless of how aggregious the offense is.

That said, I have another question for the entire forum or anyone who wants to answer it. "Who wants to go to war with Russia?"

I think Americans are tired of war after the last 17 years in Afgahnistan and Iraq and now Syria. I definitely don't want war with Russia. Reagan brought down the iron curtain by out spending the Russians. They are much weaker now than they were then. I have also asked another important question on the forums regarding what people wanted to see him say or do. No one wants to answer that because either way he went, it was going to be whipped up in the press. e.g. He said he didn't want war and now he is attacking Putin on a global stage. Or.... He could do what he did. Be civil with him in public but lay the wood across the back of Putin's head with sanctions, attacking their financial base of energy, etc.

Many people don't understand Trump but if you read his book you know exactly what he's up to. Take an overly tough stance up front and then negotiate from the posiition of power. He also does a two step that the press still hasn't caught on to yet. He'll do a tweet that will tie up 48 hours of the press' time while he's quietly putting other things in place. Simple distraction and for the life of me, I can't figure out why they haven't caught onto that yet. Oh well....

[RiverDog]

That said, I have another question for the entire forum or anyone who wants to answer it. "Who wants to go to war with Russia?"

Probably about the same number of people that want to go to war with China, that want to go to war with North Korea, or want to go to war with Iran.


It might help if you were to re-phrase your question.

[Aseahawkfan]

I have no interest in going to war with anyone at this point. We're at the point where if anyone truly messes with us, they end even if they might be able to end us like China or Russia or hurt us like some tiny nation. It is suicide to attack America and no one wants to commit suicide at the moment for their entire nation and people.

The only annoying nation out there is North Korea and a few other dictatorships that it would be nice to clean up. I don't even worry about Iran. I've read up on Iran. They are oppressive to a degree and fund the Shia movements and resistance in other nations. Their agenda is mostly a religious one against the Sunni power. I'm tired of siding with the Sunni powers like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar, and the like. We're caught up in their BS power struggles to no benefit. I still fail to see why the outcry against Saudi Arabia isn't stronger. 15 of the 19 terrorists on 9/11 were Saudi. Osama was a Saudi. Their religious school system teaches tons of anti-American rhetoric. Wahhabism is the form of Islam they practice and promote around the world with all that oil money, some of it we give them. One of the worst allies we've ever had as far as national security goes and being counter to any objectives other than gas prices and securing Israel. They are one of the worst terrorist supporting nations out there, worse than Iran. Not a damn peep against them by the American people. Just shows me that Americans are concerned about nations they are told to be concerned about by our government and the media without doing any research themselves on how bad some of these allied nations are. It's a damn shame.

Russia is pretty low on my list of nations I worry about. Their power has been waning for years. Their population is in negative growth. They have no real philosophy to sell any longer. Their economy isn't great. They have all types of internal problems that would not even allow them to spend time bothering nations outside their region. Russia is a nuclear threat and that is it. It is taking everything they have just to maintain their single ally in the Middle East known as Syria. Russia is not even close to an economic power we need to care about. They pale in comparison to China. No idea why we have this sudden return to the Cold War and this snakeoil salesman's story of Trump as a Russian puppet. It's why I believe this whole fabrication is payback for Trump pushing the birther BS with Obama. Trump deserves it no doubt as he built his presidential run attacking Obama and Hilary. They are paying him back in spades for his attacks. Unfortunately for the American people it's an embarrassment of epic proportions by all parties involved.