Has he not though? He hasn't really mistepped lately. There was the flap with the gold star father and mother, but that didn't seem to hurt him. His trip to Mexico has already been largely forgotten.

He can gaffe all he wants and it won't matter. Clinton gets a fairly common sickness and it makes news for days.

He's been on a roll.

9/14/2016 10:27:37 AM

you visit Drudge regularly

9/14/2016 10:33:16 AM

Was that a question or a statement? I check it out about twice a week I guess. Along with Salon, CNN, Watshington Post, etc.

9/14/2016 10:37:47 AM

He's said and done plenty of things that would cause any other candidate major headaches, like praising Putin so much, straight up lied about his opposition to the Iraq war multiple times, claimed he could read the body language at the security briefing from people trained not to give that stuff away, blah blah blah.

Though most of this stuff isn't as terrible as the stuff he's said and done earlier in the campaign, and due to this perceived softening of not being so nearly despicable a person as he's been before he's been gaining in polls. Overall his level of mistakes has gone down from "Are you intentionally trying to lose?" to "Wow, you are a liar and clearly don't care if people know it". In that regard, yeah, I guess he's on a roll

[Edited on September 14, 2016 at 10:48 AM. Reason : asdf]

9/14/2016 10:45:31 AM

Don't mistake us when we say "he's on a roll." We don't mean that it is a good thing. It's just that he's currently perceived as doing better than Hillary.

9/14/2016 10:49:58 AM

Just so we are clear everyone of the things he has said and done and there would be dozens of articles, stories and statements of disqualification had Clinton (or Obama or Romney before her) did it.

It's not even a question that there is a massive double-standard for him. If he doesn't shit himself on stage people say he's acting presidential.

[Edited on September 14, 2016 at 10:51 AM. Reason : X]

9/14/2016 10:50:34 AM

and he says those things on a daily basis

same as he has this entire campaign

9/14/2016 10:53:35 AM

Man, this Eichenwald article is pretty weak given how much it was touted.

Donald Trump having ties to foreign business is not news. He's been open about that from the jump and has already said he'd be hands off and unattached if he's president. There really isn't much he can do outside of divest himself of any operations of the business and turn it over to someone else. I guess you could make the argument that he should be forced to sell off all his holdings, but isn't there a clearer risk of corruption and quid pro quo from something like that than in having it run by a trust?

[Edited on September 14, 2016 at 11:29 AM. Reason : Dndnsm]

9/14/2016 11:27:48 AM

Is that your take on the Clinton Foundation as well? I honestly don't remember if you've posted on it before, so I'm genuinely curious.

Do you think the investigative journalism has focused on each in an equal manner? Should they have? Do you agree with The NY Times editorial boards assessment that the Clinton Foundation be shut down?

(Again, not trolling or trying to lead -- genuinely curious about your take if you think the Trump ties are a non-story).

9/14/2016 11:37:51 AM

I don't think it needs to be shut down, I think she needs to avoid having any contact with it. No one holding public office should sit on a board for a charity, Corp, etc. if it presents a conflict of interest.

Some degree of influence and/or corruption is almost unavoidable based k perceived influence or indirect personal ties. That's sort of the problem with the Clinton foundation while she was Secretary of State, there were people like Huma who was doing double duty as a state dept. official and a Clinton foundation employee. Even if Hillary wasnt directly involved or on the board it seems likely that donations were received in hopes of garnering influence. If it could be verified that there was some quid pro quo with Clinton foundation donations and say, ambassadorships or landing government contracts that's a real problem.

The Clinton foundation seems to do a lot of very good work, it gets good marks from Charity watch, but it's something she can't be involved in as President. Honestly Bill probably shouldn't either as "first dude" if she wins.

I mean, there's some small difference because she's been a public servant for almost the entire duration of the foundations existence, Trump has been a private citizen. Obviously that changes if he's elected.

I hope that clarifies. The demonization of the Clinton foundation is a bit overblown.

[Edited on September 14, 2016 at 12:05 PM. Reason : Djdjs]

9/14/2016 12:02:28 PM

Sigh. So Donna Shalala just said Chelsea would be staying on the board of the foundation. That basically puts them in a position where they can't be critical of Trump if he just hands the reigns over to Ivanka.

9/14/2016 12:47:52 PM

Thank you. Though you still didn't answer the question about the disparity of coverage between the two.

It was fine when he was a joke candidate but as each new disaster of a poll comes it he becomes more real. And make no mistake each new poll is a disaster for Clinton. Just saw a Monmouth poll having Nevada Trump +2.

It's not full on panic yet but there is no doubt this will be a 50/50 race real soon.

9/14/2016 1:04:38 PM

And then the debates will happen. Stop bed wetting

9/14/2016 1:09:41 PM

Honest question, what evidence in there that debates will change minds? If he doesn't urinate on himself or start a fight with the moderator he will pass most expectations.

I still think Clinton wins but you're deluding yourself if you don't think there is at least a moderate chance Trump wins.

9/14/2016 1:12:42 PM

Goalie...honestly, do you think there are that many people on the fence between these two candidates that would change their opinion after watching a debate?

Like ^ said, unless he wets himself, the debates aren't going to change thing. I think at this point, the majority of voters have already made up their minds.

9/14/2016 1:19:26 PM

She doesn't need Nevada though, she doesn't even need Iowa. Until I see a poll showing Virginia or Pennsylvania anywhere close to flipping red, then literally nothing has changed in this race. If you are really concerned that Trump is going to win Nevada, Iowa, Florida, Ohio, NC and one of Pennsylvania/Virginia/New Hampshire, while also playing defense in traditionally safe red state like Georgia and Arizona, then I don't know what to tell you. Get some anxiety meds or something.

9/14/2016 1:21:19 PM

he could easily be himself to her face and lose people who aren't excited to vote for him anyways

there's a sizeable enough group of Republicans who haven't decided if they're ok with taking the poison pill yet

[Edited on September 14, 2016 at 1:32 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2016 1:22:55 PM

Quote :

" there's a sizeable enough group of Republicans who haven't decided if they're ok with taking the poison pill yet "

Not really, not anymore. Most recent polling has shown Trump pulling the same level of support among Republicans as both Romney and McCain. Election day margins comes down to how much of the Obama coalition turns out for Hillary, Trump voters are irrelevant.

9/14/2016 1:36:52 PM

For Kurtis

Quote :

"Bill Clinton, Chelsea, Bruce Lindsey, Ira Magaziner, Maggie Williams will all step down from board of CHAI, largest Clinton Foundation unit"

9/14/2016 1:42:49 PM

I'm curious where that came from and when. Donna Shalala literally said about 2 hours ago that Chelsea was staying on the board.

She should step down, I hope that she does.

9/14/2016 1:45:50 PM

Sorry it was from the NYT and Politico

9/14/2016 1:49:21 PM

Quote :

"It's not even a question that there is a massive double-standard for him."

It's true, and the way the expectations game has played out is the inevitable bastard child of a shitty primary system and a shittier incarnation of the GOP, midwifed by a shittastic media. The insane shit he said got him his media attention and won his base during the primaries. That ensured that he got the nomination while at the same time setting the bar so low even James Cameron can't find it.

SO MANY MIXED METAPHORS

[Edited on September 14, 2016 at 6:25 PM. Reason : i can't even]

9/14/2016 6:25:03 PM

And now that she is resting at home while she recovers from dehydration/overheating/pneumonia/the flu/choose your own illness, he is rolling out all of these policies, which is exactly what the Clinton campaign has feared (that is, they were assuming he would go crazy Trump and lambast her health). He's doing what a presidential candidate should be doing, while she is bed-ridden.

He's playing it smart and letting the media do what they hate doing, reporting on her weaknesses (political and physical).

9/14/2016 6:34:46 PM

can you name a single one of these 'policies' that is actually feasible?

9/14/2016 7:55:36 PM

Quote :

"Like ^ said, unless he wets himself, the debates aren't going to change thing. I think at this point, the majority of voters have already made up their minds. "

If voters have already made up their minds than Clinton has already won.

9/14/2016 8:11:10 PM

The policies don't have to be reasonable, was the wall ever? Was banning Muslims? We're way past rationality.

It's more about saying and doing things to feed cognitive dissonance about trumps racism and generally abhorrent behavior about women, veterans and the disabled. The next big thing for trump is the trump U court case, not sure if the status now but this could be the last opportunity to put a nail in the coffin.

Latest polls have trump needing 1 small state (new hampshire is close to flipping) to win.

Saw the first Facebook share from a white supremacist group by a trump supporter today. They weren't even aware they were sharing neonazi propaganda.

9/14/2016 8:15:24 PM

Quote :

"he policies don't have to be reasonable, was the wall ever? Was banning Muslims? We're way past rationality. "

I just meant feasible. As in, even if it's bat shit crazy, would it actually be able to implemented?

[Edited on September 14, 2016 at 8:22 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2016 8:19:06 PM

I haven't dived into it, but the maternity leave idea is feasible. I think it's wrong to make it exclusively maternity ad opposed to parental leave (or for adoptive parents) but it's a realistic and achievable idea. On the surface it's at least a step in the right direction if you believe parental leave is something the government should get into.

It's interesting that it's being attacked by some on the left as being insulting, based on outdated gender norms, etc. but the people saying that would have attacked any plan he put out.

9/14/2016 8:37:50 PM

OK, so a maternity leave plan that doesn't go far enough. Any others?

[Edited on September 14, 2016 at 8:50 PM. Reason : iPhone is on fire today...]

9/14/2016 8:46:54 PM

http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-child-care-maternity-leave-plans-2016-9

It's weird that Clinton has had a plan for months now, and has been talking about maternity leave since the 80s, its been one of the bigger issues she's always stood for, but we're only talking about it now because trump puts out a half assed plan. This is partially clintons fault, but when it takes a fire to get the media to show up, it makes it seem like the candidates are more equivalent.

But at least now if Hillary wins, the republicans have no good excuse to thwart more progressive paternal leave programs.

9/14/2016 8:53:58 PM

So she's had a plan for 30 years, has been in politics all that time and has done what exactly?

#accomplishments

9/14/2016 9:57:36 PM

the media loves a horse race for ratings so they will pretend thats its close until people get bored then they will pretend hillary has a small lead so they can make it seem close again for one last ratings boost. they have to milk this election for all its worth before they have to move on to finding a new OMGOMGOMGFLASHLIGHTS story to focus in on and continue to ignore all of the real news.

[Edited on September 14, 2016 at 10:11 PM. Reason : trump has no chance and its not close at all]

9/14/2016 10:11:15 PM

If the news actually reported the news the people would never stop being outraged at what is being done in their name.

Most of media is just distraction. Some outlets really let you in on what is happening in the world, but you have to want to know and then you have to dig.

9/14/2016 11:20:45 PM

^^ Here in the real world where we use empirical evidence to make judgments (I know Stein supporters don't know what this is) this is a 50/50 race. Clinton might and probably will win but anybody saying it's a foregone conclusion is fooling themselves.

^ do you think the optics of the Clinton Foundation even though nothing illegal has been done in any way, shape or form are worse than Trump breaking the law twice with his foundation? (contributing to Bondi through his foundation and buying things for himself through his foundation)

[Edited on September 15, 2016 at 8:01 AM. Reason : Again, just curious]

9/15/2016 7:58:07 AM

Trump has to win all 5 coin flip states AND peel away a Clinton lean. The odds are much worse than 50/50

[Edited on September 15, 2016 at 9:46 AM. Reason : .]

9/15/2016 9:42:00 AM

So, you've got those Ohio and Florida polls showing Trump with a lead, but then you've got a couple Texas polls showing Hillary cutting Romney's margin over Obama there in half or better. Those first two are fairly consistent with a close national race similar to 2012, but the latter suggests a blowout. In other words, people need to stop freaking out over day to day volatility in polling, especially when the fundamentals haven't changed one bit.

Look, we all kinda got caught up with the idea of a landslide after the Dem convention/Khan controversy, but Presidential elections just don't work that way. There's a reason Hillary has been building up a huge ground game in places like Florida, NC and even Wisconsin. Just like 2012, where polling suggested a coin flip race right up to election day, it's her campaign's presence on the ground that will turn into a snoozer.

9/15/2016 10:39:47 AM

what empirical evidence? polls are landlines based and have trended to favor gop the last few elections. they only poll likely votersee and not the people who haven't started paying attention yet. he's never going to win a state like Pennsylvania and people dont care what comes out on hillary. face it he has no shot. the election is 70/30 at best on 538.

I played around on 270to win and even if all of the toss ups go to trump, he still loses. he has to take a state where she has a big leads like Virginia AND all of the toss ups.

9/15/2016 10:49:19 AM

It's actually around 62% to 38% right now in 538. 62% is far from a sure thing.

9/15/2016 11:00:01 AM

Latest Virginia poll is within the MoE.

Again, I still think Clinton wins but it's close. Why have your head in the sand?

You can't pick and choose when to listen to the poll aggregators like 538.

9/15/2016 11:36:06 AM

^^ that 62% is with Clinton only leading by half of new Hampshires electoral vote.

I wouldn't be surprised if the polling flipped even briefly in the coming weeks, it's a dead heat now.

If there ever was a time to reach out to your trump supporting friends it's now.

9/15/2016 11:55:20 AM

Remember when Romney briefly led Obama after the first debate? How'd that turn out again?

9/15/2016 12:05:20 PM

I bet Romney wishes his binders full of women gaff came this election no one would have even flinched probably haha

9/15/2016 12:09:46 PM

^^ trump isn't romney, the downside here is vastly different.

http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-election-forecast/?ex_cid=rrpromo#now&stateorder

If you can't admit this is a close race right now, and the month-long trend has favored trump, you're being delusional.

Nothing wrong with admitting this, the response should be trying to change it.

9/15/2016 12:13:45 PM

Look, if people want to freak out about a possible Trump victory and start berating all their idiot friends who say they support Gary Johnson or Jill Stein, that's fine with me. I'll continue listening to the likes of political professionals who've actually headed winning campaigns, like David Plouffe,

Quote :

"David Plouffe ?@davidplouffe Sep 10 Trump's path to 270 electoral votes remains a basketful of improbabilities - if not impossibilities. Until that changes it's all noise."

[Edited on September 15, 2016 at 12:21 PM. Reason : .]

9/15/2016 12:20:36 PM

5 days is a long time in polling world. Things have definitely changed.

No one's saying freak out either, this is the reality of democracy. If an impending outcome isn't what you want, you try to change it.

[Edited on September 15, 2016 at 12:24 PM. Reason : ]

9/15/2016 12:23:32 PM

I think barring Clinton having anymore health issues or just doing something completely dumb in the debates she should be able to put Trump away after a debate or two where Trump still can't tell you anything he is actually going to do that isn't completely unrealistic.

9/15/2016 12:29:05 PM

I don't know. My twitter feed (media) is going nuts over his speech today.

Saying it's much better than Romney's plan and will play great in rust belt.

I haven't seen it myself yet, so can't judge.

9/15/2016 12:47:47 PM

I like posting old articles that accurately predicted the future,

https://theringer.com/what-to-remember-when-the-trump-comeback-begins-1db1c4698eef#.71nww2cl3

Quote :

"Still, even if none of this occurs, the media will eventually grow tired of the “Trump’s finished” story line and move on to the much more clickable “Trump’s comeback” narrative. Any day now, some Quinnipiac poll that shows a tied race in Pennsylvania will force Democrats to lose control of their bladders. A Trump surge in a stray tracking poll will result in a CNN Breaking News Countdown Clock that will tick down the seconds to an emergency panel of 37 pundits. The sheer hysteria of the “How Could She Blow This?” pieces will dwarf the collective freak-out that followed President Obama’s first debate loss in 2012. It won’t be pretty."

-August 9th

9/15/2016 3:35:35 PM

morons posts provide great insight as to why liberals wanr to pretend the race is close. they want to rally blind emergency voters so they can take asome many seats as possible and crush any dissent within the party.

9/15/2016 4:18:33 PM

If, after watching that, Trump is still leading in the polls next week this country is beyond repair.

I don't care if you don't vote for Clinton (go Johnson or sit it out) but if you vote for Trump you are admitting you are a fucking idiot who got conned.

9/16/2016 11:41:47 AM