{"id":5510,"date":"2016-11-13T00:16:43","date_gmt":"2016-11-13T00:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=5510"},"modified":"2022-07-20T22:41:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T22:41:37","slug":"trump-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=5510","title":{"rendered":"“Trump is like a box of chocolates…”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

“Are you telling me\u00a0Donald Trump<\/b><\/a><\/em>\u00a0just got elected president?”<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\"RepublicanSaturday, November 12 – In the news this morning: Trump tells ’60 Minutes’ he will try to keep the ‘strongest assets’ of Obamacare<\/a>. Professor Allan Lichtman predicted last September that Trump would win. \u00a0But now he’s saying he’ll be impeached, but not<\/em><\/strong> by Democrats.* \u00a0The Republicans – he says – would rather have Mike Pence, as “far easier to control.”<\/p>\n

They don’t want Trump as president, because they can’t control him. He’s unpredictable. They’d love to have Pence – an absolutely down-the-line, conservative, controllable<\/strong> Republican… \u00a0“Having Mike Pence in the White House would put a more trusted establishment Republican in the job.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But the good news could be<\/b><\/i> that it will take 67 Senate votes to actually convict and remove “the Donald” through impeachment. Which may explain why he’s being so “nicey-nice” with Democrats now. \u00a0(That’s where the “irony” comes in.) <\/em>That is, if Donald plays his cards right, the Democrats might be the ones to insure that he doesn’t get impeached and convicted. <\/i><\/b>\u00a0(It’s a two-step process, you see…)<\/i><\/p>\n

Which brings up what I said back in March. \u00a0(About Trump being impeached if he got elected…)<\/em><\/p>\n

In\u00a0That OTHER \u201cTeflon Don<\/a>,” I compared Donald Trump with that “other\u00a0Great American Showman<\/a><\/em>, P. T. Barnum<\/a>.” \u00a0(Barnum was often referred to as the \u201cPrince of Humbugs,\u201d as shown at right.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Also in that post I noted that\u00a0Barnum<\/a>\u00a0(1810-1891) was known for supposedly saying, \u201cThere\u2019s a sucker born every minute<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which may be something a lot of people would credit Donald Trump as saying. \u00a0But in writing that post I learned something surprising.<\/p>\n

Barnum – who we might today call “The<\/em> P.T.” – also went into politics later in life. \u00a0And<\/em><\/strong> – surprise of surprises – he turned out to be quite an effective\u00a0public servant<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Barnum served two terms in the Connecticut<\/a> legislature in 1865 as a Republican<\/a>.<\/strong> \u00a0[On the issue of slavery]\u00a0and African-American suffrage, Barnum spoke before the legislature and said, \u201cA human soul, \u2018that God has created and Christ died for,\u2019 is not to be trifled with. It may tenant the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab or a Hottentot \u2013 it is still an immortal spirit.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which no doubt surprised a number of people.<\/p>\n

From there he was elected\u00a0Mayor of Bridgeport, CT<\/a>\u00a0in 1875. \u00a0He \u201cworked to improve the water supply, bring gas lighting<\/a> to streets, and enforce liquor and prostitution laws. \u00a0Barnum was instrumental in starting Bridgeport Hospital<\/a>, founded in 1878, and was its first president.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AWhich no doubt surprised even more people. \u00a0And that<\/em><\/strong> brings up\u00a0What Tom Hanks meant when he said ‘Life is like a box of chocolates<\/a>:’<\/p>\n

\n

When you open a box of chocolates, there is a variety of flavors available. Problem is, since they are covered in chocolate, you can’t really tell what any given piece of chocolate is going to taste like… \u00a0The real lesson: you take what life gives you and you learn to deal with it, because – as they say – that’s life.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Which means that whatever else happens, the outcome of this last election is not<\/em><\/strong> going make me grumpy. \u00a0(Like those right-wing wackos, whining and complaining these last eight years.) \u00a0<\/em>I’ll continue on as a\u00a0Contrarian<\/a>. \u00a0(Which I define as a “moderate with a ‘tude<\/a>.”<\/em>)<\/p>\n

But I’ll be a cheerful<\/em> <\/strong>Contrarian. \u00a0And besides, we just might be in for some pleasant<\/em> surprises…<\/p>\n

As noted in \u201cTeflon Don<\/a>,\u201d P.T Barnum surprised a lot of people when he evolved “from a man of common stereotypes of the 1840s to a leader for emancipation by the Civil War.\u201d \u00a0And it may be that Donald Trump will “evolve” as well. \u00a0That is, he may well evolve into something neither his ardent supporters nor his rabid opponents expect.<\/p>\n

On the other hand,\u00a0it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if\u00a0<\/span>Showman<\/a>\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0actually\u00a0<\/span>played<\/a>\u00a0“those far-right conservatives\u00a0<\/span>like a piano<\/a>.” \u00a0(See\u00a0<\/em><\/span>That OTHER \u201cTeflon Don<\/a>.”)<\/em><\/p>\n

Either way, it leads to a question: \u00a0In light of Donald Trump’s\u00a0chameleon<\/a>-like\u00a0shifting\u00a0political positions<\/a>\u00a0– especially since last Tuesday – will he eventually be seen as an \u201ceffective elected official,\u201d or a\u00a0funhouse showman<\/a>?<\/span>\u00a0 Or as the Simon Legree<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>his opponents\u00a0believe<\/em>\u00a0he is? \u00a0(And which – by the way – his statements on the campaign trail led them to believe… \u00a0But again, that may have been part of his playing<\/a>\u00a0“those far-right conservatives\u00a0<\/span>like a fiddle<\/a>.” <\/span>)<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Is Donald Trump the new\u00a0Simon Legree<\/a><\/em>?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/em><\/h3>\n

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0Forrest Gump (1994) – IMDb<\/a>. \u00a0See also\u00a0Forrest Gump – Wikipedia<\/a>, and\u00a0Life is like a box of chocolates \u2013 Wiktionary<\/a>. \u00a0The latter indicated that the book “Norwegian Wood<\/a><\/i> by Haruki Murakami<\/a>, first published in Japanese in 1987, and in English in 1989, has the following: ‘Just remember, life is like a box of chocolates.'” \u00a0(I.e., some seven years before the movie.)<\/em><\/p>\n

“Note” also that an asterisk in the main text indicates a statement supported by a reference detailed further in this “notes” section. \u00a0Thus, as to the prediction of <\/em>impeachment, see\u00a0Trump will be impeached – washingtonpost.com<\/a>. \u00a0The “Having Mike Pence in the White House” part of the indented quote is courtesy of Professor Predicts Congress Will Impeach Trump<\/a>. \u00a0And BTW: \u00a0“Trump now says ‘Crooked Hillary’ is ‘very strong and very smart.'” See\u00a0‘Crooked Hillary’ no more: Trump<\/a>, etc.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For some related thoughts see On dissin\u2019 the Prez<\/a> in my companion blog, and An update<\/strong> on \u201cdissin\u2019 the Prez<\/a>.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The “Gump-in-uniform” image is courtesy of\u00a0Forrest Gump \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: To play someone like a piano. \u00a0The cited reference is actually to\u00a0playing someone like a fiddle \u2013 Wiktionary<\/a><\/em>, meaning to \u201d\u00a0manipulate<\/a> (a person) skillfully.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Wikipedia<\/a>. \u00a0The full caption: \u00a0“Simon Legree on the cover of the comic book adaptation of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’<\/i> (Classic Comics<\/i> No. 15, November 1943 issue).” \u00a0The article added: \u00a0“It is unclear if Legree is based on any actual individuals. \u00a0Reports surfaced after the 1870s that Stowe had in mind a wealthy cotton and sugar plantation owner named Meredith Calhoun<\/a>, who settled on the Red River<\/a> north of Alexandria, Louisiana<\/a>. \u00a0Generally, however, the personal characteristics of Calhoun (“highly educated and refined”) do not match the uncouthness and brutality of Legree.” \u00a0But that could change, I suppose…<\/em><\/p>\n

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“Are you telling me\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0just got elected president?” * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * Saturday, November 12 – In the news this morning: Trump tells ’60 Minutes’ he will try to keep the ‘strongest assets’ of Obamacare. Professor Allan Lichtman predicted last September that Trump would win. \u00a0But now he’s saying he’ll be impeached, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5510"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5510"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13245,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5510\/revisions\/13245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}