Name:   copperline - Subject:   Greatest Political Victory in History Date:   6/16/2016 11:30:41 AM

I have to admit I am not up to speed on Clinton’s approach to college debt, but I would say this:   we had better figure out a way to assist people with the rising costs of higher education or our national work force will not be able to keep up with the rest of the world.  Plus, the indebtedness of so many consumers (related to education costs) is so high that it keeps these graduates from participating in the economy by making a huge chunk of their earnings go to servicing this debt instead of using it to purchase goods & services.   Creating ways for people to reorganize or reduce student loan debt in the future seems to me to be a good idea for the long term growth of the economy.   So does trying to make a good education available to as many people as possible.

I am really happy that Flyfisher’s kids are aiming so high, he must be really proud of them.   I wonder if they and their friends think that all government efforts to lower the costs of education is such a bad idea though.     I wonder why parents of those kids think this is such a bad idea, too. 

I am trying to understand what you say about people being ‘fed up with politics as usual’.   I have long standing objections to the way government operates myself, objections to the nature of politics, and to the increased animosity (is it hatred?) within the electorate.   What gets me really puzzled though is how you can be so cavalier that you would say things like “I’m ready to take the risk of electing Trump”.  

I don’t think I have ever heard of trying to elect a President who was described by his own supporters as a risky & unpredictable man.  It’s as if people are ignoring his personality, his history, and his statements while clinging to some vague hope that he can’t make things worse.   He can.     It’s like you are throwing up your hands and saying ‘I don’t know what we can do, so let’s try electing a wild card and see what happens”.   

If we all agree that the world is becoming a more dangerous place, that the risks & consequences we see are really serious… then being so incautious seems completely contradictory to reason.

I would just as soon board a plane, and randomly select one of the passengers to sit in the pilot’s seat.  Audacity is not the same as leadership.    Confidence in oneself is not good judgement.   The notion that he can simply transform himself from reality TV personality into world leader is beyond magical thinking in my opinion.   The astounding thing is that it appears his supporters aren’t really expecting him to rise above his stage persona, they are ‘willing to take the risk with Trump’.    They are saying they are so discouraged by ‘politics as usual’ that they admit they don’t have confidence in him but will vote for him anyway.   To me “It couldn’t get any worse” doesn’t sound like a good way to choose who you vote for.

If you have a hand full of bad cards, you should be careful about doubling down on your bets.  There is too much at stake.