Donald Trump scares me.
And I've never been scared of a presidential candidate before, not once in my 50-some years of closely f0llowing national politics.
I supported Al Gore for President. But I never thought that George W. Bush would be an unmitigated disaster for the United States. I just correctly thought that he'd be a bad Commander in Chief and a bad leader of this country.
Ditto for John McCain and Mitt Romney. I could see them as functioning as president -- just not in a way that would be positive for the United States.
Trump, though, is a whole different political animal. In fact, he isn't part of the same species other Republican presidential candidates have belonged to. He's his own unique beast.
And in no way is that a compliment.
Trump lies. Then he lies some more. When he is caught in a lie, he doesn't admit the truth. He keeps on lying. This is utterly unlike what any presidential candidate has done before.
Most importantly, it shows how utterly unqualified Trump is to be president.
The President of the United States has to be firmly in touch with reality. He or she naturally is free to interpret facts from a particular perspective. However, facts themselves must be respected, or effective policies are impossible.
Trump's latest lie-fest shows what a dangerous candidate he is. In the course of finally admitting that Barack Obama was born in the United States -- debunking Trump's own "birther" lies that he's been spreading for years -- he lied about Hillary Clinton's campaign being the source of birtherism.
This is a fact. What Trump said is false: "Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy." PolitiFact, along with many others, has made this clear.
A New York Times piece, "Donald Trump's Anything-Goes Campaign Sets an Alarming Political Precedent," warns of the danger Trumpism poses to this country.
Routine falsehoods, unfounded claims and inflammatory language have long been staples of Mr. Trump’s anything-goes campaign. But as the polls tighten and November nears, his behavior, and the implications for the country should he become president, are alarming veteran political observers — and leaving them deeply worried about the precedent being set, regardless of who wins the White House.
“It’s frightening,” said Vin Weber, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota. “Our politics, because of him, is descending to the level of a third-world country. There’s just nothing beneath him. And I don’t know why we would think he would change if he became president. That’s what’s really scary.”
Stephen Hess, who served in the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations, could not even contemplate the prospect of Mr. Trump as commander in chief.
“It’s incredibly depressing,” Mr. Hess said of Mr. Trump. “He’s the most profoundly ignorant man I’ve ever seen at this level in terms of understanding the American presidency, and, even more troubling, he makes no effort to learn anything.”
...His critics fear that his norm-breaking campaign portends a political future in which candidates pay no penalty for unabashedly telling untruths, disregarding the public’s right to know, and lobbing racially charged accusations.
“I worry that if those of us in politics and the media don’t do a lot of soul-searching after this election, a slightly smarter Trump will succeed in the future,” said Jon Favreau, Mr. Obama’s former chief speechwriter. “For some politicians and consultants, the takeaway from this election will be that they can get away with almost anything.”
I don't understand how anybody could vote for Donald Trump. But obviously many millions of Americans are planning to do this. Which worries me almost as much as Trump himself.
Please, Trump supporters, ponder carefully what a Trump presidency would mean for the United States. Trump isn't a conservative. He isn't a liberal. Nor is he a moderate.
Trump doesn't have any coherent political philosophy. In his life he hasn't demonstrated any serious commitment to bettering anyone's life other than his own. He lies incessantly. When caught in a lie, he doesn't embrace the truth.
These qualities aren't drawbacks for a potential president. They disqualify him to be president.
If you don't believe me, believe Doonesbury.
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