Iowa 2016

Michael L.

The Donald 

Trump blew it... primarily because he is something of a scowling asshole.

I enjoyed his campaign for the same reason that I occasionally watched The Apprentice. I read an article a few days ago - G-d only knows from where - which compared the Trump campaign with Sanders and Rubio that I thought was very interesting. The writer suggested that Trump and Sanders had more in common than might appear on the surface.

Both are backward-looking guys.

Trump wants to return to the American "greatness" of the 1950s. He wants international American dominance and prosperity without the Jim Crow laws. He wants the America of his childhood back, without the down side, as do many millions of others.

He is not out of the running, but I think he blew his golden opportunity. Trump shot from the hip and many people applauded him for it because, even though they may have disagreed with him, they appreciated his apparent honesty and courage to call things as he sees them. The problem is that he can also be remarkably obnoxious in ways that cross the sexism and racism lines.

I agree with him that the United States government should put a near halt to immigration from the Arab-Muslim world - given their general tendency toward anti-Semitism, misogyny, and authoritarian al-Sharia, not to mention the probable infiltration of Jihadis - but he really lost me when he disparaged Fiorina's looks.

It made me want to punch him in the nose.

Cruz

It is a little hard to imagine, but Dershowitz once claimed that Ted Cruz was the most intelligent student that he ever had. Really? Even more intelligent than Barack Obama? 

That is very impressive.

I barely even heard of the guy before this election cycle and just figured him for yet another Texas redneck, more or less in the mold of George W. The truth, obviously, is that Cruz is turning out to be far more formidable than many of us assumed at the start of the race. He has a sort-of hang-dog look to him that many people from my New York and New Englandy neck-of-the-woods will generally not find appealing. 

But I am willing to give the guy a chance. I am going to oppose whoever the Democrats put up this year, even Uncle Bernie, and may just sit this one out. But I am still enough of a political junkie to want to hear what candidates, including Cruz, have to say.

The real problem, from my point of view, is the Jewish / Evangelical divide. Cruz is a Tea Party kind of a guy and although the Tea Party folk are friendly with Israel - and thereby generally friendly with the Jewish people - they are not very friendly toward Gay people and often hold retrograde viewpoints on the roles of women in the world.

Whether this view of the Tea Party is accurate, or not, it is what puts a screeching halt to American Jewish support for that political movement and, thus, for Cruz.

Besides, most Jews would rather rip their left arm from its socket and beat themselves silly with it before they would pull the lever for a Republican.

Rubio

He is such a handsome and intelligent young guy. He could almost be a Latino JFK. 

Rubio is still in the race because he exceeded expectations with 23 percent of the Republican vote.

This makes it a three-way race on the Republican end and I suspect that Rubio may be the candidate best able to knock Hillary off of her high horse.

Of all the viable candidates in the field Rubio, along with Cruz, would probably be a good friend to Israel. Nonetheless, I see the guy as primarily Vice Presidential material. I wish him well, but we shall see. New Hampshire might shake things out a little.

If he gets the nomination, however, I suspect that he will get my support.

Uncle Bernie and Hillary

Yes, I think of him as "Uncle Bernie."

What can I tell you? My father is from Brooklyn and my mother is from the Bronx. This definitely makes him Uncle Bernie.

That accent is the accent of the adults of my youth. I can easily see him - or Larry David - sitting around our dining room table, eating my mother's ruggelach, and kvetching about whatever.

Nonetheless, if Trump wants to return to 1954, Uncle Bernie wants to go back to the fun-filled days of 1968.

I have to say, part of me is proud to see a Jewish American take a shot at the Presidency. G-d knows that if by some miracle Sanders were to actually get there the anti-Semites would go entirely out of control. I mainly concern myself with progressive-left racism but under the circumstances of a Sanders presidency the right-leaning variety would definitely stand up in the United States and make themselves heard.

Who knows? Maybe we'd even see the fourth incarnation of the Klan.

My assumption from the beginning - just like all of yours - was that Hillary would be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 2016. In the beginning almost no one saw Uncle Bernie ride his Jewish Socialist horse into the ring. 

As of the figuring at this moment, Hillary took 49.9 percent of the Democratic vote in Iowa and Sanders took 49.6 percent. Good for Sanders. I cannot imagine that he could win the general election, but it gives me deep joy to see him annoy Hillary Clinton.

Will he take New Hampshire?

I haven't even looked at those polls, but one need not be a magician to predict that he will.