Wilted Rose
<Snipped quote by Taaj>
Sound anything like any other presidents you know? Trump is literally just a Republican Obama -- maybe a little more outspoken, but they're the same candidate. Fringe outsider pulls a coup of the party, dominates the media, and polarizes the country. Don's got more leadership experience but Obama sounds better when he talks, so I think it evens out. They're the same guy. Everyone losing their minds over how he could even be a candidate -- this is how Obama feels to the rest of us. I'm enjoying the turnabout, but I honestly don't want another Obama even if he's on my side.
Obama was fairly par for the course as far as candidates go career wise. He was a Senator. Senators and Governors seem to be the normal pool of experience for Presidential candidates. In the current line-up we have Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, and Bernie Sanders running as people who's main line of experience comes from Senatorial careers. Of those, Cruz has only been in the senate as long as Obama was before he became President, and Rubio and Paul just two years more. And all, Obama included, had longer careers within their own states. The experience argument against Obama made sense in 2008 within the context of Obama vs Clinton, and then again with Obama vs McCain, where he was running against veterans of the national political scene. But when that comparison is made against Trump, it's rather silly.
With Trump, his political experience amounts to running in the same circles as important politicians, a few failed presidential campaigns, and being the leading voice in the birther movement. I actually went back through a list of pre-Presidential careers to see who was the last President to have held neither public office nor military command before ascending to the oval office, and this is the thing: it hasn't happened yet. If Trump were elected, he would be the first president to have never held either public or military office beforehand.
But that isn't even it. The real reason most people are at a loss for words about his presidency comes down to public image. Most people think of Trump as that guy who has tabloid relationships and hosts a corny reality show. When he isn't doing that, he is feuding with celebrities. That's not only the reason for people panicking over his candidacy, but also it is the reason that other people like him so much. He represents tossing a grenade straight into DC.
For me, I am not freaked out by the idea of a Trump presidency. Hell, if this ends up being a Trump vs Clinton match-up i'll probably vote third party again. Trump is a wild card. Hard to tell what he would do. But with absolutely no relevant experience, he is an irresponsible choice. I think the Republican Party knows this too. They are already walking a tightrope in balancing dissatisfied old-blood Republicans on one hand and dissatisfied young-blood Republicans on the other. Last thing they need is Trump to embarrass their party and mess things up even more for them.
I think the appropriate comparison for a left-wing version of Trump would be if Bill Maher ran for president. That gives you a good idea of how left-wingers see this.