The Don

[Julio3000]

Trump sucks in the debate format. I assume that's why he doesn't want to debate.

[zitothebrave]

Trump sucks in the debate format. I assume that's why he doesn't want to debate.

[Runnin]

Trump sucks in the debate format. I assume that's why he doesn't want to debate.

Like all narcissists, he hates having to listen to other people talk.

[Runnin]

Imagine him doing that at the G8 or one of those world leader events.

[zitothebrave]

Imagine him doing that at the G8 or one of those world leader events.

Vlad you're a loser. Angela Merkel, you could look good if you tried. You know who looks good? My daughter Ivanka, she has an ass that doesn't quit.

[BedellBrave]

What do you make of the fact that Cruz is running second?

Cruz is the example of the case y'all are wanting to make. Yet, he's second.

[sturg33]

I think Trump sitting out is a mistake... he will be a massive punching bag for the other candidates and won't be around to bully them around this time

[BedellBrave]

One can hope it's an exit strategy for him.

[BedellBrave]

Douthat's Palin/Trump column made sense to me. Link

[bravesnumberone]

I think Trump sitting out is a mistake... he will be a massive punching bag for the other candidates and won't be around to bully them around this time

I think it's a mistake for him in that it may make the difference between him and Cruz in Iowa. But I actually think it would be a mistake for the other candidates to go after him when he's not there. They'd come off looking much better, and it'd be a far bigger statement, if they simply ignored his name. Of course the moderators likely won't let that happen.

[57Brave]

this from RedState:

If you are known by the company you keep, then Donald Trump has some explaining to do. Trump has accepted the endorsement of and will visit with former SC state senator Jake Knotts, the man who called Governor Nikki Haley a “raghead.”

[Julio3000]

this from RedState:

If you are known by the company you keep, then Donald Trump has some explaining to do. Trump has accepted the endorsement of and will visit with former SC state senator Jake Knotts, the man who called Governor Nikki Haley a “raghead.”

I noted it at the time, but it bears repeating that he also called the president a raghead as part of the same statement. Somehow it only rates because he threw it at Nikki.

[sturg33]

this from RedState:

If you are known by the company you keep, then Donald Trump has some explaining to do. Trump has accepted the endorsement of and will visit with former SC state senator Jake Knotts, the man who called Governor Nikki Haley a “raghead.”

I hate Trump... but I get so sick of the "a bad person endorsed someone, so therefore someone is terrible."

You didn't seem to be bothered by Obama's relationship with Ayers

[57Brave]

who are you quoting ?

[57Brave]

who has the biggest, "schlong"
Roger Ailes or Donald Trump.

undercard :
Bill O'Reilly,Sean Hannity Megyn Kelly

This might get good: from NY Magazine


As the war between Fox News and Donald Trump ratchets up, Roger Ailes is fighting off criticism from his senior executives over his handling of the crisis. According to one highly placed source, last night, Ailes sent out the now-famous statement mocking Trump as being scared to meet with the “Ayatollah” and “Putin” if he became president. “That was Roger 100 percent,” the source explained. “A lot of people on the second floor” — where top Fox executives work — “didn’t think it was a good idea.”

Fox executives are also troubled that Ailes’s principal adviser right now is his longtime personal lawyer and Fox & Friends contributor Peter Johnson Jr. “He wrote the statement with Peter,” the source explained. “Peter is running the war room,” another Ailes friend told me. Fox executives are worried that Ailes is relying on an attorney with scant communications experience as the network is reeling from the biggest PR crisis in recent memory. Historically, during a crisis like this Ailes would have huddled with his veteran communications guru Brian Lewis. But Ailes fired Lewis in 2013 over his concerns that Lewis had been a source for my 2014 Ailes biography. Since Lewis’s ouster, Johnson has taken on the role of media counselor.

Fox spokesperson Irena Briganti did not return a call. When asked about his role advising Ailes, Johnson responded to me with an ad hominem statement. "If you were ever actually fair, any semblance of integrity was swamped by your reaction to the failure of your critically panned hit job on Fox and Ailes," he said. "Just like your latest tweets and articles, your questions today are based on your own malicious fabrication."

New signs emerged today at just how frantic Ailes has become to get Trump back to the table. The two men have not spoken since yesterday, sources told me. This morning, Joe Scarborough reported that Ailes called Trump's daughter Ivanka and wife, Melania, to get through to the GOP front-runner. But Trump is saying he'll only talk to Rupert Murdoch directly. In a further challenge to Ailes's power, Bill O'Reilly is scheduled to host Trump. Last night, Ailes directed Sean Hannity to cancel Trump's interview. O'Reilly's refusal to abide by a ban adds a new dynamic to the clash of egos. For O'Reilly, this is an opportunity to take back star power from Kelly. Sources say O'Reilly feels he made Kelly's career by promoting her on his show, and he's been furious that Kelly surpassed him in the ratings.

Meanwhile, Fox producers are scrambling with the practical matter of how to program the debate without Trump. "Right now, it is about how the moderators handle Trump," one producer said. "They do not want to be seen either directly criticizing him since he's not there, and they don't want to seem like they are drumming up criticism by letting the candidates attack Trump rather than stake out their own positions and debate one another. For all the talk of the optics right now, the bigger issue is how to program a debate without the front-runner. Remember, Fox may be a political machine, but it is still a damn good television programmer."

For Ailes, the internal dissent over his handling of the crisis would seem to only weaken his grasp on the helm of Fox News. Rupert Murdoch has become more hands-on at Fox since questions about Ailes’s faltering health have been raised. Now Murdoch has to wonder why Ailes, who runs the most valuable asset at parent company 21st Century Fox, is getting PR advice from a lawyer Ailes personally pays.

A spokesperson for Murdoch did not return a call.

[sturg33]

who are you quoting ?

You and redstate. Rrdstate for making the point and you for thinking it was good enough to waste our time reading. Tough to tell with you bc you never seem to have an original thought

[57Brave]

What are you talking about, the Flat Tax was my idea
that cutting edge audit or better yet get rid of the Fed --- that's me too


//

It is kinda newsworthy when the front runner of one of the two major parties makes a racial slur aimed at the Governor of a state.
And evidenced by the general knowledge of current events around here -- hey sturg, I'm here for ya

[sturg33]

What are you talking about, the Flat Tax was my idea
that cutting edge audit or better yet get rid of the Fed --- that's me too


//

It is kinda newsworthy when the front runner of one of the two major parties makes a racial slur aimed at the Governor of a state.
And evidenced by the general knowledge of current events around here -- hey sturg, I'm here for ya

I frankly have no idea what you're talking about

[goldfly]

You didn't seem to be bothered by Obama's relationship with Ayers

why would someone be bothered by that?

[sturg33]

why would someone be bothered by that?

Sigh. So you have a problem with peaceful protesters occupying an Oregon government building, but you don't have a problem with a guy who bragged about igniting bombs in 3 different government buildings.

OK