April 20, 2011

 
 
     Back in 1968 when Democrat Hubert Humphrey was running for president, a popular anti-Humphrey slogan was, "Dump the Hump!"   Mean?  Sure--he didn't have a hump--but hey, that's politics.  This year rhyme may return to the campaign.  This time, of course, it would be "Dump the Trump!"
 
     Well, why not?  He's old enough, 64, rich enough--it's a very expensive thing to do--and, as far as I can tell, perfectly unqualified.  This is a man who questions whether Barack Obama was really born in this country, even though the President's Hawaiian birth certificate has often been shown.  Well, never let the facts get in the way of a good story, the old saying goes.  He's changing his positions to appeal, it seems, to the conservative base--once pro-choice, now pro-life, same switch on gay marriage.  And let's not forget he has "a great relationship with the blacks."  Still, I've seen more than one poll showing him running with the front of the GOP pack.
 
     Is he qualified?  That, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.  I'm old enough to remember that a lot of people thought Harry Truman was unqualified when he took office after Franklin Roosevelt died.  But he made some huge decisions:  dropped the atomic bomb on Japan to end World War II; led the United States into NATO, into the United Nations, into the post-war world.  And, among other things, he integrated the U.S armed forces.  Looks pretty qualified nowadays.
 
     So who knows?  If The Donald, as they call him (I've never known why) wants to jump in, let him.  If you win, Mr, Trump, shout and jump.  If you lose, just take your lump and your bump.  Lots of fun rhymes here.  That never hurts.