Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The political landscape has changed a lot from when a populist like a Jimmy Carter could win with comparatively limited funds and little in the way of name recognition.
I didn't start paying too much attention until Ronald Reagan. My memory is of a nation that largely adored and respected the man. Then we had Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama, and now we have the Trumpster.
My understanding of history was that Eisenhower and Kennedy both enjoyed widespread popularity. Then we had Johnson and Nixon and Ford.
What has changed if anything? That is the great debate - well sort of anyway. Here are reasons for feeling that the days of a truly popular president may be over:
1) We evolved into a major surveillance state with an incarceration rate seven times that of the 70's. That is well documented, a quick Google search provides ample sources. It is harder to love a leader who embraces widespread spying of citizens.
2) Never ending wars and occupations. We are still in Afghanistan for example. Iran is being cued up and will likely be far more "troublesome" than the weakened Iraq that was invaded in 2003. People are tired of war and there is no end in sight.
3) The debt is, well, unbelievable. 21 trillion and Trump just went all in. Cutting income, increasing spending, and pounding the expensive drums of war. Has not started the war but his picks certainly guarantee a very strong degree of military machismo. As shown by calling those who shy away from torture "p^^^^^s". Oh my. Bolton - one of the biggest war mongers in Eviltown DC. Haspel - the queen of torture. Quickly dismissing the only dove in the cabinet.
4) The rich get much richer while the numbers of newly poor have simply exploded into the tens of millions. California has close to a majority in poverty. People may say that we are wealthier than ever. If you plop a billionaire into a ghetto, the average income suddenly looks much better.
5) The internet. It is more difficult to have secrets now. I wonder if the highly promiscuous Clinton could have survived the age of the internet. Trump may also feel the wrath in the future. The odds of that are good.
6) The divide between "liberals" and "conservatives" is much worse than it has been in our lifetimes. It is simply vile.
Location: 3.5 sq mile island ant nest next to Canada
3,036 posts, read 5,887,882 times
Reputation: 2171
Oh Lord, no. This nation, and other as well, love to insult and belittle anyone and everyone. With the anonymity of the internet (social media, newspapers, etc.) it's easy to do. For example, a false story or meme gets posted on facebook and is shared thousands of time without anyone checking if it's true. As they say, tell a lie often enough and it becomes the truth. With cellphone videos and mass media just to name a few things, secrets are becoming non-existent and skeletons almost burst out of any closet. And no one seems to be happy (just a slight exaggeration, I know). It doesn't take very much to upset or offend anyone. Louis CK had it right in his "Everything's great, nobodies happy" routine I'm afraid. But life goes on. Adjust and move on.
The political landscape has changed a lot from when a populist like a Jimmy Carter could win with comparatively limited funds and little in the way of name recognition.
I didn't start paying too much attention until Ronald Reagan. My memory is of a nation that largely adored and respected the man. Then we had Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama, and now we have the Trumpster.
My understanding of history was that Eisenhower and Kennedy both enjoyed widespread popularity. Then we had Johnson and Nixon and Ford.
What has changed if anything? That is the great debate - well sort of anyway. Here are reasons for feeling that the days of a truly popular president may be over:
1) We evolved into a major surveillance state with an incarceration rate seven times that of the 70's. That is well documented, a quick Google search provides ample sources. It is harder to love a leader who embraces widespread spying of citizens.
2) Never ending wars and occupations. We are still in Afghanistan for example. Iran is being cued up and will likely be far more "troublesome" than the weakened Iraq that was invaded in 2003. People are tired of war and there is no end in sight.
3) The debt is, well, unbelievable. 21 trillion and Trump just went all in. Cutting income, increasing spending, and pounding the expensive drums of war. Has not started the war but his picks certainly guarantee a very strong degree of military machismo. As shown by calling those who shy away from torture "p^^^^^s". Oh my. Bolton - one of the biggest war mongers in Eviltown DC. Haspel - the queen of torture. Quickly dismissing the only dove in the cabinet.
4) The rich get much richer while the numbers of newly poor have simply exploded into the tens of millions. California has close to a majority in poverty. People may say that we are wealthier than ever. If you plop a billionaire into a ghetto, the average income suddenly looks much better.
5) The internet. It is more difficult to have secrets now. I wonder if the highly promiscuous Clinton could have survived the age of the internet. Trump may also feel the wrath in the future. The odds of that are good.
6) The divide between "liberals" and "conservatives" is much worse than it has been in our lifetimes. It is simply vile.
I agree with much (not all) of this.
Unfortunately I also think not too many people who have good will and integrity (on either side of the aisle) would actually run. So we are often left with exactly what we have. An egomaniacal buffoon who loves to stir the pot and governs as if the U.S. Presidency was a reality TV show. It saddens me greatly.
The political landscape has changed a lot from when a populist like a Jimmy Carter could win with comparatively limited funds and little in the way of name recognition.
I didn't start paying too much attention until Ronald Reagan. My memory is of a nation that largely adored and respected the man. Then we had Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama, and now we have the Trumpster.
My understanding of history was that Eisenhower and Kennedy both enjoyed widespread popularity. Then we had Johnson and Nixon and Ford.
What has changed if anything? That is the great debate - well sort of anyway. Here are reasons for feeling that the days of a truly popular president may be over:
1) We evolved into a major surveillance state with an incarceration rate seven times that of the 70's. That is well documented, a quick Google search provides ample sources. It is harder to love a leader who embraces widespread spying of citizens.
2) Never ending wars and occupations. We are still in Afghanistan for example. Iran is being cued up and will likely be far more "troublesome" than the weakened Iraq that was invaded in 2003. People are tired of war and there is no end in sight.
3) The debt is, well, unbelievable. 21 trillion and Trump just went all in. Cutting income, increasing spending, and pounding the expensive drums of war. Has not started the war but his picks certainly guarantee a very strong degree of military machismo. As shown by calling those who shy away from torture "p^^^^^s". Oh my. Bolton - one of the biggest war mongers in Eviltown DC. Haspel - the queen of torture. Quickly dismissing the only dove in the cabinet.
4) The rich get much richer while the numbers of newly poor have simply exploded into the tens of millions. California has close to a majority in poverty. People may say that we are wealthier than ever. If you plop a billionaire into a ghetto, the average income suddenly looks much better.
5) The internet. It is more difficult to have secrets now. I wonder if the highly promiscuous Clinton could have survived the age of the internet. Trump may also feel the wrath in the future. The odds of that are good.
6) The divide between "liberals" and "conservatives" is much worse than it has been in our lifetimes. It is simply vile.
Kennedy has been more popular after death than during his Presidency. Hindsight is 20/20, plus the "Camelot" propaganda that took root after he died and his widow moved on effectively bathed his Presidency in nostalgic sepia tones. During his tenure, he was criticized for nepotism (hiring his brother as Att'y Gen'l), among other things, by Republicans.
Jimmy Carter wasn't a populist. The only reason he won the election, was that he was running after Nixon was ousted, and the public was sick of "Tricky Dick" and corruption. Carter ran, basically, as a good, honest guy, and was swept into office. To a great extent (and Carter acknowledges this), it was Nixon who paved the way for relatively-unknown Carter.
Will we have a popular President? Well, both Parties have to do a much better job in identifying suitable leadership. And a certain Party needs to stop gutting the federal budget, to give away more money to the rich. True leadership (vs. following polls before deciding one's position) combined with the ability to relate to, and inspire, the public is a gift, a certain rare type of genius. But I think one step in the right direction would be for Presidents to stop dumbing-down and colloqualizing their speech patterns, and to stop trying to buy support by undermining the tax structure of an already hobbled economy.
I don't know what you are talking about, President Trump is LOVED my more than half the country. Just because you don't care for him, doesn't mean he doesn't have widespread support. Being in the middle class, I know plenty of hard core Democrats that love Trumps positions on economic growth, love his tax cut package which is saving them "big time" as Trump would say. They will never admit it in public, because they don't like Trumps style and position on non-economic issues. Every one of them was a Bernie Sanders supporter, and they all didn't vote because they couldn't stand Hillary.
Now if I change your question to this, will there ever be a Republican president that Democrats love, or vice versa, then the answer will be no. Politics have become a new religion. Republicans have long connected Christianity into their agenda, the Democrats never did. The new Democrat party has now changed tune, they are marketing themselves towards atheist, counter culture, social justice warrior types. Even if the Republicans had a minority, gay candidate, the Democrats would find some reason to protest against him.
The parties have gone too extreme and vitriolic for an president to be liked by more than about half the population while the other half hates him. It does not matter who the person is or what they are like. It is all about winning for either side and nothing else matters. Therefore if the other side's candidate wins, you must hate them with all your being no matter who they are or what they do, you must never admit there is one good thing about them or about anything they do. You must turn red and yell and spit on your friends when you discuss the vile oppose.
That is probably not going to change, and will probably get worse. However sometimes amazingly dramatic changes do come out of nowhere. It is just highly unlikely.
I don't know what you are talking about, President Trump is LOVED my more than half the country. Just because you don't care for him, doesn't mean he doesn't have widespread support. Being in the middle class, I know plenty of hard core Democrats that love Trumps positions on economic growth, love his tax cut package which is saving them "big time" as Trump would say. They will never admit it in public, because they don't like Trumps style and position on non-economic issues. Every one of them was a Bernie Sanders supporter, and they all didn't vote because they couldn't stand Hillary.
Now if I change your question to this, will there ever be a Republican president that Democrats love, or vice versa, then the answer will be no. Politics have become a new religion. Republicans have long connected Christianity into their agenda, the Democrats never did. The new Democrat party has now changed tune, they are marketing themselves towards atheist, counter culture, social justice warrior types. Even if the Republicans had a minority, gay candidate, the Democrats would find some reason to protest against him.
Whatever gave you such a crazy idea?
Trump's average approval rating is in the 41% range and 53% disapprove of the job he is doing.
BTW, I have no interested in hearing garbage like "the polls mean nothing". If that's your best reply, don't make it.
Back to the topic though:
We cannot have a truly great President until a consensus emerges about what policies a president ought to be pursuing. Frankly, there is simply too great a divide in this country between moderates and conservatives for that consensus to emerge. That may change at some point. However, until it does this country will be governed by fragmented coalitions in the presidency and the Congress that vary dramatically from one election to another.
Perhaps, what is even worse than this is that presidents no longer govern by trying to win people over. They govern by adopting a set of policies that deliberately polarizes the country and gets their base to come out and vote.
Frankly, I see little hope for anything, but a very divided America during the remaining years of my life.
I'm not counting on much for the future. We'll see though.
The presidency is overrated anyway. Anyone useful will come from outside politics.
Maybe we're past the point of the president being significant. It's foolish to elevate any one person so high, especially in today's circus atmosphere.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
