Could Obama have beaten Trump? We might as well argue ’05 Sox vs. ’16 Cubs, it won’t happen in reality

I’m trying to figure out who’s the bigger nitwit at the White House these days – the guy who’s on his way out or the one who soon will be in; and probably is envisioning a bonfire of all the building’s belongings on the grounds that they’re contaminated by the touch of the previous occupant.
 

OBAMA: Could he beat Trump? Maybe!

Seriously, I can’t help but find the whole “debate” a trifle silly about whether Barack Obama would have beaten Donald Trump in a head-to-head election.

THE BRAWL WAS inspired by Obama saying he would have beaten Trump if he could have run against him. Obama tried to raise the intellectual level of the discussion by saying how he thought Hillary Clinton was too timid and perhaps didn’t properly address the harsh level of attacks she drew from Trump backers.

But the simple fact is that Obama did NOT run against Trump. He couldn’t have. The U.S. constitution makes it clear that every president since John F. Kennedy has been ineligible to serve more than two terms of his own.

Obama’s eight years are nearly over. He had his chance, and it is time for the nation to move on.

One can make a serious argument about whether the direction the country is taking is one of incredible stupidity and pettiness, but it is the direction we are headed in. Those with a problem ought to be devoting their efforts to working to ensure that great harm does not befall the nation just because Donald J. Trump has an overbloated ego.

SO IT REALLY doesn’t matter much whether we believe Obama could have won again. Reality reflects that he solidly defeated John McCain and Mitt Romney and had his eight years in office – which will come to its end on Jan. 20.

Reality will also show that those eight years were thwarted largely by a partisan policy set forth by Republicans that certainly was not willing to put the good of the American people ahead of their own political leanings. But that is a shame that many of these Republican officials will have to live with.

 

TRUMP: Biggest presidential ego? Of course!

We talk about the legacy of Obama. The GOP legacy of this era is one of pure obstructionism.

Which means that when now Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said his goal was to make sure Barack Obama was a one-term president, we ought to consider that he failed in that attempt. In fact, Obama’s approval rating during the week of Christmas this year (according to the Gallup Organization) was 56 percent.

THAT MAY BE the basis for which Obama thinks he is loved by enough people that he could have won another term. Although I also think there are those who are willing to like Obama – now that they know he’s on his way out!

Trump, of course, is using his latest Tweet from a twit to say “No way.” Or actually, “NO WAY!” The man seriously believes he’s beloved. Not fully appreciating that it is the quirks of the Electoral College that made him president, and that his presidency will carry an asterisk bigger than anyone would dream of putting on Barry Bonds’ home run records.

I say that because I note Trump’s 46 percent of the vote. That’s 54 percent against him, and a potential butt-whuppin’ if only Clinton had been able to take it all – instead of splitting it up with the Libertarian, Green and other fringe presidential candidates.

I don’t know who would have won an Obama/Trump brawl – it’s possible that Trump could have got the bigot vote worked up enough into making this election cycle a “race war” of sorts even more than he actually did. The very people who are publicly saying they will turn on Trump if he doesn’t follow through with all the rancid talk he spewed during the campaign.

BUT THAT IS so theoretical. Thinking about it would give me a brain cramp bigger than the majority of this country experienced back on Nov. 9 when we learned Trump REALLY WAS likely to become president someday. Thinking about it is a waste of our mental capacity, and our time.

We’d be better off arguing whether Superman would beat up Batman, or vice versa.

The winner?

In fact, if we’re going to have theoretical debates for which there is no definitive answer, I’d just as soon argue whether the ’05 World Series-winning Chicago White Sox really would knock this year’s World Series-winning Chicago Cubs flat on their backs.

Because at least that debate would likely be held while consuming a beer or two by sports fans, and wouldn’t be inclined to result in a brawl by someone convinced he’s defending the honor of his “race” by defending the name of Ivanka’s daddy.

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