A Little Election Fun

Having a bit of mental fun with the Clinton loss. It’s a situation rife with irony and contradiction. The Electoral College has now voted and the results are a step closer to being official. It has to be admitted that Trump’s victory was not the “landslide” that he has claimed. A point not lost on Bill Clinton, or Barack 0bama who truly did have landslide victories. But given the expectations, given the fact that the Clinton campaign outspent the Trump campaign by a factor of two, given the perceived existence of the Big Blue Electoral Wall across the rust belt, given the 240 Electoral vote starting advantage that Clinton supposedly had, and given the fact that Clinton campaign staff were opening celebratory Champagne early in the afternoon of the election it is understandable why someone might call it a “landslide” victory. The seemingly solid foundation that Clinton was resting on did liquefy and quickly moved downhill. That’s a pretty good description of what actually happens in a geographical landslide so I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch.

And now the cleanup and post mortem. But it’s hardly necessary. Everyone knows already why Hillary Clinton lost. She lost because she wasn’t Barack 0bama and it’s just about as simple as that. Nearly 57% of Americans polled will tell you that the country is on the “wrong track” and all Hillary had to offer was more of the same only with more taxes, more regulation, more free stuff, more national debt, more corruption, and more economic stagnation.

An irony here is that during the mess that has been this election cycle, Barack 0bama has been able to keep his job approval ratings so high while support for his policies has been so low. It’s as if people are unable to actually make the connection between the smooth, black guy hurling awesome snark at his detractors and their opposition to the policies that vex them. The ever increasing insurance costs in the place of that two hundred and forty dollar per month savings they were promised. The Constant stories out of the executive agencies; the tragedy of the VA; the snarling disrespect and contempt from the IRS commissioner; the menacingly smooth demeanor of the EPA director as she promises and justifies increased regulation while dodging any responsibility for Gold King; the bald faced lies coming from the Director of National Intelligence; the relentless pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iran regardless of the cost or result, and the obvious corruption of the former Secretary of State. All of these things may help to explain why during his eight years as president Barack 0balma has presided over the loss by his party of eleven Senate seats, 63 seats in the House of Representatives, 12 state Governorships, and over 800 state legislative seats leaving republicans in a dominant governing position not seen since the nineteen twenties. Apparently America LUVs it some Barack 0bama, but not enough to vote in support of any of his policies.

Maybe America loves Barack 0bama for the glam parties he throws at the white house, for the avant guarde way he decked out the White House in an all-inclusive rainbow, for the edgy way he supported all comers against the “stupid” police, the endearing way he mocks the traditions of his office, the easy way the 77% of women, or the 97% of scientists lies flow from his lips. Maybe it’s the easy way he lays down a red line, or issues an ultimatum, or the clever way he spent $11.2 Billion in taxpayer money to “save” GM without actually helping the company in the long term, or the seemingly coincidental way the unemployment numbers seem to go down at about the same rate as the Labor Participation Rate. Or perhaps it’s the sum of all of those things.

Whatever it was, at least three things will be true come January 20th; 1) Hillary Clinton will never be President Of The United States; 2) Barack 0bama will never again be President Of The United States, 3) Bill Clinton has tapped his last piece of strange in the White House and one has to expect that’s what’s eating him.

But that’s just what an average guy thinks.