Admitting for the first time before he speaks to the Democratic National Convention tonight in Philadelphia that a Trump presidency is a real possibility, President Barack Obama hopes the American people get it right. When they voted for him against Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) in 2008, the public now questions whether they got it right. On the domestic front, voters now question whether or not race relations have gotten worse over the last eight years. Witnessing the recent spate racial tensions of cop-killings in Dallas and Baton Rouge, it’s difficult to figure out the White House messaging. Obama’s stated publicly that he sees too much white police-on-black violence, drawing public comments about “racial disparities” and “a broken criminal system.” Militant African American groups, supported by Black Lives Matter, have lashed out at police.
Despite the rosy picture painted at the DNC convention, voters also see more Mideast terrorism in Europe and the U.S. Recent terror attacks in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino, Ca., Orlando, Fl., and, more recently, in Nice, France leaves voters worried about Obama’s counter-terrorism strategy that doesn’t seem to contain the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] and other Islamic terror groups. “Anything is possible,” Barack told NBC’s Today Show, regarding who’ll occupy the White House January 20, 2017. “It is the nature of democracy that until those votes are cast and the American people have their say, we don’t know,” said Barack, reacting to recent polls showing GOP nominee real estate mogul Donald Trump with a slight lead nationally and in key battleground states. While ripping him at the DNC convention, Trump’s message seems resonating with voters.
Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last week presents the polar opposite picture to Democrats in Philadelphia. Warning about a sputtering economy, racial unrest, domestic violence and runaway Mideast terrorism, Trump’s contrast with Democrats couldn’t be starker. Democratic speakers all praised domestic and foreign relations, not matching reality, or, more importantly, Obama’s own words in the dark days of racial violence on American streets. “As somebody who has now been in elected office, at various levels, for about 20 years, I’ve seen all kinds of crazy stuff happen,” said Barack, expressing the first doubts about the 2016 election. While backing Democratic Nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton, voters are weighing carefully diametrically opposed views of reality presented at both conventions: One based in reality, the other in pure fantasy.
Voters listened Monday night to Sen. Elizabeth Warren call Trump a phony, huckster and fraud, citing minor cases involving disgruntled customers unhappy with certain Trump businesses, like Trump University. Warren, a former Harvard economics professor who insists she’s part Cherokee Indian, blasted Trump for using the nation’s bankruptcy laws to manage business losses in sour real estate deals. Warren cites Trump’s 2014 bankruptcy at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ. She mentions nothing about 2012 Hurricane Sandy that destroyed Atlantic City. While Warren savaged Trump, she simultaneously complained about the Obama economy, eroding the Middle Class and expanding poverty. Hillary runs on Obama’s economic policy, offering no economic plan other than raising taxes on the wealthy. With a likely Republican House and Senate, Hillary won’t get her tax plan passed.
Last night’s speech by former President Bill Clinton tried to sell Hillary as the real “change agent,” despite being a career politician. While Bill touts her experience running the State Department, the GOP has itemized her mistakes, especially toppling Libyan strongman Col. Muammar Gaddafi. On her watch, Hillary backed the “democratic” actions that toppled longstanding U.S. ally former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarack, leaving Egypt in a terrorist insurgency. Libya’s now an ISIS haven, spreading death, destruction and anarchy in North Africa. Hillary’s current position on opposing Russian and Iran, backing the Saudi proxy war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad promises more chaos in the Middle East. Obama and Hillary’s regime change policy in Syria mirrors the same policy of ISIS and al-Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusra Front, something inconceivable in today’s war on terror.
Looking at Trump take a slight lead in national and battleground state polls ups the stakes at Obama’s convention speech tonight. Talking about Trump’s inexperience reminds voters of the exact same tactic Hillary took on Barack in 2008. When Obama says Trump has no specific plans in foreign or domestic policy, he’s not paying attention to key differences between his policies and Hillary. Whether liked or not, Trump plans to renegotiate bad trade deals to bring back more domestic manufacturing jobs. Obama may not like building a new wall to seal U.S. borders but it’s a different policy than Hillary who talks of building “bridges.” Trump’s been clear he’ll take a very different approach on fighting ISIS, saying it’s ill-advised to telegraph plans to the enemy. “Well for one thing, he doesn’t seem to have any plans or policies or proposals or specific solutions,” said Barack, hinting at his speech tonight.
