The video of lewd remarks that surfaced yesterday serves as another reminder that Donald Trump is an orange, unrestrained ball of id. He is America's Tyler Durden. An unrestrained ball of Tyler Durden has no business in the Oval Office. Make no mistake this kind of "guy" talk is what leads to an expectant, entitled culture among young men. Even if it is common, this talk is not harmless. It can not be dismissed as mere locker room banter. Fathers, use this video as a teachable moment with your sons. Use this as an example of what's is important - always make sure your mic is turned off. Kidding, of course. The real lesson is make sure you pop a few Tic-Tacs before you head out to grab some p%*$y. Or maybe we could just settle for teaching our young men to treat women with respect and teaching our young women to expect to be treated with respect.
Predictably, I have seen comments excusing Trump's boorish behavior. Oh, this video is ten years old. Oh, it's just boys being boys. Oh, you know, Bill Clinton was a bad guy, too. His supporters hold their nose because there are real problems in this world and he can fix them! As if Trump has provided any evidence of a plan to do so. I've been accused of being distracted by the media, of buying into their phony outrage. I'm not outraged, phony or otherwise. I'm embarrassed that the GOP, for which I have voted often, could select no better candidate than this media-whoring, women-insulting, self-congratulating blowhard. If the Democrats had chosen nearly any other candidate to run, he or she would be wiping the floor with Trump. If they nominated a poodle, we would be reviewing applications for Official White House Pooper Scooper right now. That the Republicans couldn't nominate a candidate that could wrest the moral high ground from the Clintons(!) is as laughable as it is unthinkable. Hillary Clinton's Wall Street speeches and Donald Trump's limelight- driven, reality star power tripping ("when you're a star.. you can do anything") show exactly how out of touch these two clowns are with a large chunk of the people they claim to want to lead. We are left with two candidates hungry to ascend to the highest office, while scraping the bottom of the barrel.
I'll vote for neither, but at least with Clinton we have someone polished enough to actually resemble a president. Donald Trump is a an oaf, a pig that not only slings mud, but enjoys rolling around in it. We can argue all day about the role of a president in our government. Is the president an executor with real power to govern or more a figurehead? You make the call. If even only a figurehead, though, our president should be someone who represents us well to the world. A President's speech should be respectful of all citizens, bestowing dignity on all Americans. A President's voice should be inspirational, aspirational, lofty. Our President should desire to raise us up, not tear us down. A President Trump (shudder) wallowing in the muck is not the face I want to show the world. How about you?