Another Prince and the Pea Moment, or It Never Hurts To Demonstrate a Little Sensitivity Once in a While

Recently, I felt a little drowsy while reading a book on a Sunday afternoon, so I decided to try a little something I have heard stories about from time to time, but never had the time to try--a nap.  So I laid down on a bed, on my side, not my back, of course, because I have been told that other people from time to time who sleep on their backs tend to snore.  Anyway, I felt a little twinge of a lump of something at about the height of the bottom of my pants pocket.  My first thought was to roll over onto my opposite side, but I remembered I carry my wallet in my side pocket instead of my back pocket, having given up the habit of carrying it in my back pocket after reading some airline travel magazine article about probably one of the top ten spots where one had to watch out for pickpockets, that is (I am not making this up) while touring the Vatican in Rome.  The advice offered there was to stop carrying one's wallet in a back pocket, as that made one "easy pickings" for any pickpocket.  The preferred alternative is to carry it in your side pocket, preferably with your hand casually stuck in the pocket as well.  I thought this was a much better strategy than the one adopted by my spouse's father in his later years.  He would wrap several rubber bands around his wallet, making it harder for a pickpocket (or--remember this--anyone else) to slip it out of of that pocket.  Consequently, he spent an inordinate amount to his time when the bill came for dinner trying to tug out his wallet and remove the several rubber bands to get at his money or credit card, thereby avoiding any risk of picking up the check for a meal.

So I decided not to flip over on my other side, but instead to remove whatever small object was in the pocket on the side on which I was lying.  It was probably just a peanut, or an M&M candy, or an M&M candy-covered peanut.  Ah, but as I emptied said pocket, I found two pair of flip-up, clip-on sunglasses, a key fob for an automobile with a key ring and post office box key, $1.63 in change and an Apple iPhone 6s...  Now, I'm left wondering about those people who, every once in a great while, observe that I may not be the most sensitive person around, perhaps even a little insensitive or was it non-sensitive, or full of nonsense?  Hmmm,....   I talked to my friend H. C. Anderson, and he said not to worry, although it might have given him an idea for a story.

I Haven't the Foggiest, While I''m Lost in the Fog

I recently deliberately took leave of my senses and plunged into the fog that passes for a pre-primary season as we approach a presidential year (2016).  I had committed myself to the task of understanding the virtues the Republican electorate was projecting onto Donald Trump.  I mean, he really isn't all those things he pretends to be, but he has a flamboyant mouth that has garnered most of the attention of the media.  Republicans are thirsting for a candidate they believe the country will need--to repair what they perceive has broken over the past eight to ten years.  Combine that thirst with the flamboyant character mouthing some of the things he sees as wrong with the current state of affairs and you have an electorate that literally has an "identity crush" on Trump.  They, like any other person who develops a crush on another, are projecting onto this man the attributes or virtues they see as needed in this country.  My sense was that if I looked at what they thought they see in him, I would learn what qualities they really wanted.  I wound up lost in a fog, the likes of which we haven't seen since the last presidential election, and it took a long time for me to make any headway.

(Please note the above represents my fourth attempt at explaining what I mean about the attraction to Trump.  It isn't real, but it may provide some insight.)

Attempting this task, I had to wade through some pretty awful stuff--here is just a taste:

• I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. 
• How much money did Barack Obama waste today on crony green energy projects? 
• The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. 
• The line of ‘Make America great again,’ the phrase, that was mine, I came up with it about a year ago, and I kept using it, and everybody’s now using it, they are all loving it. I don't know. I guess I should copyright it. 
• You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. 
• I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.
• I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. 
• The beauty of me is that I'm very rich.
• I have a great relationship with the blacks.
• People say, 'Mr. Trump, you're not a nice person.'  But actually I am.
• When Mexico sends its people … they are bringing drugs and they are bringing crime and their rapists. 
• The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. 

I kept looking, and looking, but there just wasn't any there there.  It was a fog, I finally decided that there was indeed one commonality that all sorts of Trump supporters and Trump curiosity seekers seemed to have--fog, and by coincidence the word "fog" offers an acronym for that attribute--FOG, meaning Fire Our Government.   Almost everyone taking an interest in him seems to agree that the incumbents have accomplished nothing and they need to go.  (You can tell my brain just wore itself out, can't you?) I decided that people believe some extraordinary things about Mr. Trump.  But let me assure you these things are not really Trump--only in the very real sense that they were projecting things that are not there.  Seriously, folks, he is none of these things.  He just has a bag of wishful thinking that makes people think he has some of these things, despite the fact that he demonstrably does NOT possess any of them:

They believe/wish he'd be a military leader like Colin Powell
They believe/hope he's not willing to just say anything that will get him elected.
They believe/hope he's not like any of those presently in congress or the executive branch, neither of whom have demonstrated any capacity to do anything.
They wish he'd be a Washington outsider like Ronald Reagan, but savvy enough to make the deals necessary to move this country ahead.  Remember Reagan and Tip O'Neill?
They believe/wish that he'd be a businessman, like a manager in a successful private industry giant like, let's say Jack Welch--as opposed to a money mogul running a casino business into the ground. 
They believe/wish he would be someone who can get things done through others.
They believe/wish he would be a shrewd investor like Warren Buffett.  (and a whole lot more)

These all seem to be projections that do not describe Donald and most likely never will.  But he knows how to put into words what the voting public wants to hear, along with some entertaining farcical pieces mixed in.  Unfortunately, he offers no details.  But who can argue with a man who says things we mistake for the following:

I will--

1. Restore our greatness--as an ally, a leader among nations and a force for good.  Confront Russian and any other enemies when necessary.  
2. Get the economy moving again--here at home and among other free nations.  If that means tax reform, let it lead to a simpler tax code that also stimulates investment.  Here, Trump tries to straddle a fence.  he wants to rebuild America's roads and bridges, build new VA hospitals, k]increase the military budget and reduce the deficit.  He wants to do this without raising taxes.  He will do all this without increasing taxes.  Instead, he wants to grow the economy by cutting taxes.  I am sorry to say this, but I don't see how this can happen just because Donald says so.  Show me some facts, details, estimates, numbers--something.
3. Stop illegal immigration. and secure our borders from extremists; while continuing to welcome people seeking freedom.  When protecting our borders, be willing to do whatever it takes.  If that  means walls are what it takes, then do that, but deal fairly with the "illegals" who are here, contributing members of our economy and society.
4. Address the growing budget deficits--not by talking about it, by doing something that begins to turn the tide in the right direction.
5. Get things done, where necessary, compromise.  But above all be an effective leader who can get things done through others.  Yes that's management, but good management includes a vision and a culture that works together.

As far as I can see through all this fog, Trump has never really said the five things listed above, he has just said things that sound like them at times, and he has not offered details.  Soon (I hope) a candidate will step up who not only believes the above, but has a plan.  That one will get my vote.  Unless or until that happens, I haven't the foggiest notion who will get my vote.