Many Trump critics watched the GOP debate in Texas last week thinking that Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio got the better of Trump, especially because they were much better prepared to outline their policy positions and did so with flowing eloquence. Trump critics probably thought it ridiculous that these two men should be so far behind Trump in most primary contests so far. How could Donald Trump be so popular when he is apparently unable to articulate in any detail what he would actually do as President? It’s a compelling question.
However, I too watched and thought the whole debate was ridiculous too, but from a completely different perspective. The question for me is why would anyone vote for Cruz or Rubio for the most demanding job in the free world, knowing both are freshman senators with barely any accomplishments that would suggest they would be good Presidents? Isn’t that the mistake we just made with Barack Obama?
Everyone should agree that Trump needs to talk a better game if he intends to be President, but should he really be expected to be as fluid on those topics as those senators who by virtue of their careers are professional bloviators who get paid to drill that stuff into their heads day in and day out? There are lots of folks that can talk chapter and verse on a full range of topics and some probably better than those two senators. In addition, let’s not put too much emphasis in those policy positions. With few exceptions, those GOP positions are similar in their broad strokes and it’s likely that whoever wins is going to need to amend them in order to secure congressional approval. Moreover, those policies could be completely overhauled and even abandoned if the country faces another financial crisis or national security catastrophe many experts believe are a virtual certainty in the years ahead.
Quite frankly, the GOP electorate is telling us loud and clear that good policies are great, but what we really want is a leader that can make them happen. As far as I can tell, Trump was the only one on that stage with a long track record of making things happen, albeit in the private sector, but in environments that are at least as hostile as the Washington political scene. Rest assured that being a real estate developer in New York is about as tough as tough gets!
We should also remember that what Trump lacks as a policy wonk he can compensate for by surrounding himself with knowledgeable people. And as a real estate developer Trump is not only comfortable quarterbacking a team of experts in performing their respective roles, but has proven himself adept in the role of making sure it all gets done. On the other hand, the executive experience that Cruz and Rubio sorely lack cannot be so easily acquired. Those guys should be encouraged to become governors of their respective states, Texas and Florida, and return to national politics when we can evaluate their successes and failures in those roles.
At the debate, Cruz made the snide comment that while he was standing up for his principles on the floor of the Senate, Donald Trump was firing Dennis Rodman on celebrity apprentice. Too bad Trump did not respond that while Cruz and Rubio were still in high school, Trump had succeeded in taking on one of the great city government bureaucracies and accomplishing a feat most deemed a hopeless cause, the renovation of the Wollman Ice Skating Rink in New York City.
The Wollman Rink had been closed and languishing for 6 years and had become a $13 million politically charged money pit for the City, when Trump in 1986 convinced the Mayor (he had a history of antagonizing) to allow him to undertake its renovation. The renovation was finished ahead of time and under budget, within year for a total cost of approximately $2 million dollars. Obviously, that achievement does not qualify Trump to be President, but it does serve as a colorful public example of someone who gets things done, even when government is involved. Isn’t that what politics and leadership is all about, getting people to do what you want them to do? By the way, has Cruz or Rubio done anything comparable?
People who can talk are a dime a dozen, especially in Washington DC. People that can get things done are few and far between, and our country desperately needs one at this point in our history.
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