@jegga said in US Politics:

God help trump if his opponents ever start charging him rent for the space he’s taking up in their heads .

I'm quite sure that if Trump discovered a cure for cancer his opponents would attack him for putting Oncologists out of work

@frank said in US Politics:

Or do they not criticize his policies as much as him because his policies are pretty good?

Personally, I think it would be good to actually have them examined, rather than being subjected to shrill hysteria.

I'm no great fan of the man, but he does seem to be far more effective than Obama, who seemed more interested in the thorny issue of transgender toilets than, say, the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria

@baron-silas-greenback said in US Politics:

His policies over the Paris accord,we were told he was literally killing the country.

Precisely the point I'm making. His opponents engage in anti-Trump hyperbole rather than critique or reasoned debate of the issues. He exits the Paris accord, calls his opponents losers and they respond with more anti-Trump hyperbole and outrage (inc. attacking Trump voters). Meanwhile he's achieved his policy goal and his opponents look deranged.

It may be unedifying, but equally, it may well be a pretty clever strategy.

@baron-silas-greenback said in US Politics:

Free ride???
How on earth is he getting a free ride???

His policies are. His opponents are more interested in competing with each other to see who can be the most outraged at Trump rather than engage in any sensible political debate with the electorate

They're playing his game and seem too thick to see it. Dumber than dumb

@antipodean

That tweet kinda sums up what I feel about Trump.

He may be right about things (what he's achieved with Nth Korea and in trade, forcing the EU and China to be less protectionist, is impressive) but the way he goes about things is petty and cringe-worthy.

Still, while the media and rich Hollywood celebs rail & rant hysterically about the man rather than attack his policies, he's getting a free ride.

@jegga said in US Politics:

Thanks for that . Jimmy Carter was similarly the butt of jokes and derision for years and his foundation effectively eradicated hookworm in Africa too.
https://www.google.co.nz/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/2016/1/8/10735108/jimmy-carter-guinea-worm

Thanks, I'll read that.

The more you read, the more you realise what Bush achieved in Africa was staggering. How he achieved it - by out-of-the-box thinking which challenged assumptions that Africans wouldn't take drugs, by using every channel possible to get the drugs to the people that needed them and paying licence fees so African pharma companies could make HIV drugs cheaply - was stunning.

Hard to believe Obama and the Democrats tried to kill the program on the basis that the groups distributing the drugs were Christian aid groups who opposed gay marriage.... (yes, really)

@jc said in US Politics:

@jegga is it just me or have other people warmed to Bush Jr in the past few years? Seems like a decent and genuine bloke. Quite witty too.

Google PEPFAR - Bush's African AIDS programme. It will tell you why he is so admired in Africa. E.g, last year year the 2 mllionth baby in Africa was born HIV-free to infected mothers thanks to Bush's AIDS programme.

PEPFAR saves millions of lives in Africa

@rancid-schnitzel said in US Politics:

It's rather hilarious hearing and reading these glowing tributes to McCain and Bush Sr from people who regarded them as one step removed from Hitler and the KKK when they were poltical or ideological rivals

Yep. Particularly Obama, who made great play in the 2008 campaign of the way McCain held his hands, using it to suggest McCain's body-language proved he was dishonest and lying. He and his campaign knew that McCain's hands were injured when he was tortured as a PoW in Vietnam and that McCain would simply ignore it, as he had long refused to make made a big thing of any "war-hero" status.

Speaks volumes about the statemanship and morality of the two men.

England Hooker Brian Moore writing in the UK Sunday Times 18 June 1995 on the morning of the England-NZ RWC semi.

"England's recent win over New Zealand has shown their aura of invincibility is fading fast. Today England will smash it forever."

Oh, how we laughed...

@mariner4life

It's the Sky UK and Irish commentators who are the worst - biased, inept and frankly embarrassing to listen to. Don't mind Marshall as he gets as enthusiastic with great tries from other teams as he does with the ABs

The BBC's Andrew Cotter is excellent. He's clear, intelligent and as unbiased as I have heard. He also covers Wimbledon, Athletics, Golf and Olympics. Martin Bayfield doesn't seem to do much media work but his analysis during RWC2015 was superb.

Also think the Saffa commentators Pierce and Joel Stranky are pretty good.