Editorial

A bit of good news

In this, the silliest of seasons

Yes, Gentle Reader, there is a bit of good news this week coming out of the world of national politics. The man who allows his yes-people to call him by his first name, as long as they put a The before it, is backing away, ever so slightly, from some unfortunate comments.

What, The Donald back off? Apparently it can happen.

No, he's still on the birther thing, these days raising questions about a rival on the campaign trail. These days it's Ted Cruz's birthplace that Donald Trump questions. At a rally in Nevada the other day, The Donald asked the crowd about Senator Cruz, and wasn't exactly subtle about it: "Is he a natural-born citizen?" (The crowd yells "No!") "I don't know. Honestly, we don't know. Who the hell knows?"

He's not backing away from the multiple bankruptcies his businesses went through, either. The Wall Street Journal ran a large piece on Page One earlier this month about the way The Donald does business. The paper reported one detail from 1992, when another one of his casinos was going through bankruptcy court: The casino still paid Donald Trump $1.5 million that year for "guiding it through the process." Nice work if you can get it.

And, of course, we have yet to hear him apologize to any number of people he's insulted in the last six months alone.

So what is Donald Trump backing away from? Thankfully, he's taken a half-step, or maybe a quarter-step, back from his promise to slap a trade tariff on mainland China. Last week he told the New York Times: "I would tax China on products coming in. I would do a tariff, yes--and they do it to us."

He said he's all for free trade, to a point:

"I would do a tax, and the tax, let me tell you what the tax should be. The tax should be 45 percent."

Sweet baby trade war. Can you imagine all the things you buy that are made in China? Think of what this would do to your cost of living. And that's before Beijing retaliates. Which it most assuredly would. Right about now is no time for a trade war between the world's two biggest economies. Enough Americans are hurting in this economy as it is.

One of The Donald's yes-people must've taken a chance with the boss and whispered something to that effect. Because now he's telling various media types that he wouldn't have to impose a tariff at all, because just the threat of it will make Red China reform its ways. It's the famous The Donald Effect--the force of his personality will bend the world to his will, from Moscow to Beijing to Mexico City to points beyond. If only the rest of us were winners enough to elect him.

But when it comes to understanding public policy, let's just say The Donald is . . . shallow. Maybe he only says these things because he thinks The People want to hear it. Either way--whether he says such things because of political calculations or out of economic ignorance--he proves time and again he's not presidential material.

Editorial on 01/12/2016

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