It may be clear by now that I'm not particularly fond of politicians.  The reasons for this, though complex and originating deeply in my history of observing the world since becoming an adult, are nevertheless simple: I don't like it when people talk around the truth, when someone avoids answering a question using a variety of practiced verbal tactics.  Cable news journalists often get exasperated trying to get a politician to say "yes" or "no" to a question the politician doesn't want to answer because he or she is reluctant to alienate ordinary constituents and especially the behind the scenes people who fund their campaigns quid pro quo style. 
     Thus, I understand why most politicians can't speak plainly, unless they're mouthing clichés and slogans, but I also grasp the meaning behind their lies and dodges.  They're looking out for the interests of the rich patrons and lobbies keeping them alive in the political arena.  Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin never mentions his benefactors, the Koch Brothers, or how those Kansas multi-billionaires changed a Democratic-leaning state into a right wing playground.  If you've seen The Wizard of Oz, you'll probably recall the fearsome projected green visage of Oz "the great and terrible," scaring the shit out of Dorothy and her companions.  This is the politician, what we look at instead of the "man behind the curtain," revealed when the plucky little dog Toto pulls it aside with his teeth, showing that the "wizard" is a manipulator, a con man screwing with people's minds, ruling by fear.  The Koch Brothers and other men like them behind the curtain are the real enemy, their politicians and lobbyists merely their slaves, but loyal servants given powers beyond ordinary citizens' capabilities.
     This makes me wonder about a likely presidential candidate named Donald Trump.  Trump is rich, no doubt about it.  When he's in a big cityscape he can fly in his personal helicopter from rooftop to rooftop and never touch shoe bottoms to the pavement walked on by the people he claims to care about.  His flamboyance, massive ego, and idiotic provocative statements gain him attention every time he broadcasts the steam from his reptile brain.  I remember several years ago his feud with comedian, talk show hostess, and actress Rosie O'Donnell, who had criticized "the Donald" on TV.  Trump went after her every chance he got.  He even called MSNBC one morning to fulminate against O'Donnell.  The anchor carried on a conversation with him as he rode in his helicopter, never betraying to the camera how totally fucking weird it was that Trump bothered to bitch about O'Donnell while speeding above over New York.
     I'm Donald Trump and I've got something to say!
     The head of MSNBC had every right to also say, We don't care.  Go fuck yourself.
     It's possible Trump believes his own crap.  All the years I've seen this guy, watched his mouth moving, listened to his convictions, I've grown more convinced he's genuinely in love with himself.  I don't doubt his business acumen--after all, he's far more successful at the money-making racket than I am.  He's a capitalist, he's what Americans should be proud of, right?  His ability, though, to handle a far more difficult job--the presidency--should be questioned by any sane American not a friend of Donald Trump's.  His relatively low financial worth, too, compared to the Koch Brothers and other politician-buyers, means that Trump will require a benefactor or benefactors.  The idea that a self-absorbed asshole in the habit of putting his name on his buildings could suppress his ego for the sake of much richer benefactors is both funny and unthinkable.  The pond he rules works well for him; the bigger stage of the presidency would include many unknowns, making him very uncomfortable and prone to stupid decisions. 
     Does Trump know he can never handle the presidency, or the ascent sponsored by men who could buy him and everything he owns?  Let's assume now he knows he can't be president.  Why will he run, if he runs?  It's an attention-getter for one thing.  Even Carly Fiorina enjoyed some attention when the number of Republican money-and-power-slaves for 2016 was few.  Declaring a presidential run gets the candidate airtime, for a little while.  Even if Trump declares he isn't running, it'll bring him the attention he requires, news media vampire that he is. 
     When asked about world issues, about ISIS, about Obama's actions or inactions, and other "stories" trivial and not, Donald Trump makes direct statements.  He seems to be the opposite of the kind of bullshitting politician I complain about above.  He's vague, of course, about how he would deal with ISIS, but his answers are forceful, like the boom of artillery, though he indirectly reveals how little he knows about the Middle East.  His simplistic answers remind me of George W. Bush's dumbest-kid-in-kindergarten moments. 
     Thus, Donald Trump also talks around answers, and it's a problem when journalists don't ask him, "Why do you want to be president?  What is declaring a run really all about for you?  If you win, are you willing to kill lots of people?"
     So far, Trump is just a boor.  Give a boor the authority and means to slaughter people with impunity, and, unlike Barack Obama--an intellectual who slaughters people with impunity--we'll have a callous jackass doing it, reminiscent of when brainy Bill Clinton was succeeded by George W. Bush.

                                                                        Vic Neptune