The professional political pundits are still in shock over last week's transition of the Trump candidacy to "presumptive nominee." It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Elections are not reality TV. But, they are. The real difference between the reality TV shows we all watch (okay some of us only secretly) and the current presidential campaign is that the TV shows get to re-shoot scenes a few times to make some director happy -- each episode in the Real Donald Becomes President is shot live.
What both reality TV and the Donald show share is the ability to keep altering the script according to current events while allowing the director/producer to insert "triggers" to help move those events along. We all keep forgetting that Trump is his own director and producer. It is he who keeps inserting the triggers. While the TV shows have to wait for audience reaction, the Donald show gets feedback 24/7 and in real time. Director Trump can alter his triggers and scripts on the fly. And so he does.
The current script, unless something drastic happens along the way, is quite simple: Trump represents "change" and Clinton represents "more of the same" lots of "more of the same." If Americans perceived themselves on an upward path to a better life, more of the same would win. But, we don't. The same represents a stalled economy, frustration with government and with big business, trade-offs about political correctness and the "illusion of fairness" with little to show for it, and a sense that America's best days are behind it. Trump says "make America great again" -- there is no how, but there does not need to be. In the deliberate vagueness lies the ability for the voters to project their hopes and possibilities onto what the Donald means by "great." He says trust me -- we don't, but we know change is better than more of the same.
The political pundit class has taken to writing about the "electoral map" and the great "firewall" of states who have consistently voted Democratic since 1992. Those stories all make the same assumption: party affiliation matters. Well, not this year. This is an election about two people. One is the steady hand of boring sameness -- albeit tone deaf to what she does not want to hear. The other is an entertainer always listening to the crowd in anticipation of delivering his next line. The Donald listens, Hillary does not.
The Donald may not seem to react to what he hears, but the reaction is always fed to the pot simmering in the background. Crowds require nuturing, and it is a mistake to alter recipes suddenly especially while the dish is being served. Better to experiment with alterations while making note of the comments. There is always another crowd to feed tomorrow.
To get Hillary to hear almost anything requires penetrating through to the few people she does listen to and then somehow, as if by magic, getting one or more of them to actually repeat the message. The Clintons have 30 plus years of practice when it comes to not listening. America has been governed for the past seven years by such a non-listener. We all know what that feels like. Hillary promises more of the same.
The irrelevance of the party labels is exacerbated by the behaviors of the two parties themselves. The Democrats spent months bending over backwards to ensure a Hillary coronation and fighting the simple message of "feeling the Bern" -- namely that we want change. Bernie's positions may not represent achievable results, but they are proof that he too wants change. Change is not spelled Clinton. In the process of actively not listening, the Democratic party has lost its claim on the millennials and younger who are voting for change. Many will vote for Trump. Many may not vote at all. And the firewall will dissolve.
The Republicans have spent the past two decades fighting wars -- sometimes with other countries, sometimes with the Clintons, and almost all the time with themselves. The label "Republican" has no fixed meaning and its use only prompts contention among those who desire to define it. Just this week we read of Trump's people saying that Republican means whatever the Donald deems it to mean and of Speaker Paul Ryan trying to pin that down. Not going to happen Mr. Speaker. Trump defines things by audience and context not by some dictionary or rule book.
With nominee Trump the label Republican becomes devoid of meaning and can be discarded. Voters will not be voting for Trump just because there is an (R) beside his name. But -- most voters will not be rejecting Trump just because there is an (R) beside his name.
Trump's "he is with me" beats Hillary's "I'm with her." Trump's vague empty vessels of slogans and soundbites allow the voters to project their wishes into his "promises" of "greatness." Those projections beat Clinton's detailed plans for more sameness. Change wins over yesterday.
It is time we and the world start to figure out how to deal with President the Donald. The sooner we figure it out, the sooner he may figure it out.
In the meantime the reality TV season has been extended -- perhaps to January of 2021.
