Be Careful What You Hope for Democrats

Donald Trump, the New York financial and real estate mogul, is seriously thinking of running for President of the United States, and many in the media on both the left and the right are having a field day denouncing Trump for even thinking that he is qualified to be President.

You have wonder, sometimes, what drugs people in media take.  Trump, whether you like him or not or whether you agree with him or not, is far more qualified than a once obscure senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, who decided in 2007 to run for President.  Obama wasn’t even past the halfway point of his first term as senator when he threw his hat into the ring.  The media didn’t make fun of him.  In fact, many of them arguably could have been considered cheerleaders for his candidacy.

Donald Trump has had his share of financial failures, but obviously he has learned from them because he has become a hugely successful businessman.  He runs a conglomerate of businesses and has exhibited substantial leadership skills.  His educational credentials are also just as impressive as Obama as he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Now, let’s take a look at candidate Obama back in 2007.  He has an impressive law degree from Harvard Law School and did teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago.  Other than that, he was a self-proclaimed community organizer in the economically ravaged South Chicago neighborhood on the far south side of Chicago and a perpetual candidate for public office. 

I grew up in that South Chicago neighborhood, which was devastated by the closings of U.S. Steel, Inland Steel and Wisconsin Steel plants. No one person could have brought that neighborhood back, and it remains economically depressed to this date. 

Prior to being elected to the United States Senate in 2006, Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate.  During his time in the Illinois legislature, he was best known for voting present on many controversial issues.  Political pundits in the Chicago area speculated that he was strategically avoiding a record that would preclude him from running for higher office.

So who is more qualified to run for the Presidency?  The Barack Obama of 2007 was in his first term in the United States Senate.  He never ran a business and never had any executive experience whatsoever.  Donald Trump, on the other hand, has demonstrated business experience and has been an executive his entire professional life.

Many Democratic strategists are gleefully hoping Trump does run for President.  They believe that his brash personality and inconsistent record of political statements will tear apart the Republican Party and pave the way for an easy second-term victory for Obama.  Reminds me a little of 1979.  Back then, the Democrats were also hoping that a former governor of California, who they derided as a second-rate actor, would be the Republican nominee for President.  Ronald Reagan went on to win two overwhelming victories to become what many believe to be one of our greatest Presidents.  Be careful what you wish for Democrats!