By Sal Bommarito
The Republican Party amateur show was in full force this week. I really must remember to change my political affiliation from the GOP to independent.
Ted Cruz, after getting whipped in several primaries on Tuesday, decided to select his VP running mate now. For some reason, Carly Fiorina gladly boarded Cruz’s Titanic. In recent history, presidential candidates have never chosen their running mates before locking up the nomination. I guess Cruz didn’t get the memo.
The ploy was obvious. Most women can’t stomach Trump’s aggressive style and his misogynistic attitude towards the fairer sex. Cruz hopes Fiorina will attract female voters. She has a sharp tongue and has been a perennial critic of Hillary Clinton.
Unfortunately Fiorina has had a rough time recently in her business career and in politics. As CEO of Hewlett Packard she made a huge strategic error in acquiring Compaq Computer in 2002. At the end of her tenure, HP’s shareholder value decreased 52%.
In 2010 Fiorina ran against Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and was defeated “resoundingly.” Last year she entered the Republican presidential primaries and went nowhere. 0 for 3!
Cruz’s strategy to pick Fiorina is questionable and looks like a desperate move on his part. He’s trying like hell to find famous people to support his candidacy and having little success. Very few in Congress have showed the slightest interest in helping Cruz with his campaign, or even to say he would be a good president.
Donald Trump did a few things in the past couple of days that have me scratching my head. His political strategy seems to change day by day. Doesn’t this cause anybody to wonder what will happen if he must make strategic global decisions every day in the White House?
Anyway, Trump decided to deliver a foreign policy speech to prove that he understands the complexities of world affairs. Up to now Trump has been seriously lacking in his knowledge of international events. His rhetoric pleases the crowds who want change, but it’s always devoid of specifics.
Making matters worse Trump decided to use a teleprompter to “look more presidential” rather than speaking off the cuff. Why he would change his method of communication with supporters given his success to date is a complete mystery. Trump was uncomfortable and hardly seemed like a seasoned statesman. I doubt anything he does would convince many Americans that he has the ability to lead country.
His presentation was disjointed indicating that either he wrote the speech himself or his speechwriters are inexperienced. Frankly, he looked like an amateur (that word again). In many situations he contradicted previous positions he has held. How he can flip flop on important issues while keeping his support completely befuddles his critics? By the way, the Mexican Wall, one of his chief initiatives has vanished. I suppose Trump finally realized that offending millions of Hispanics does not bode well for his campaign.
Also this week Trump recruited Bobby Knight, the bad boy of college basketball, the man who threw chairs across the basketball court when he disagreed with a referee decision. Knight is legendary in Indiana. The state will be the next big test for the candidates, and Trump was hoping Knight would help him get more votes.
Knight is a basketball coach, repeat, a basketball coach. Why would anyone base a decision for the president of the United States on the political prowess of this man? The Hoosier State is crazy wild about basketball so maybe Trump’s tactic will be helpful. It certainly doesn’t move me.
The Republicans are moving towards some crazy realities in this election. The convention could be a circus if Trump is not nominated. The general election is going to be a political catastrophe for Republicans if Trump is nominated. The stakes are huge, the presidency, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court are all in play. I hope Trump supporters are considering all this before they pull this guy’s lever in the voting booth.