Donald Trump Admits He Lost Iowa Because He Has No Idea How to Run a Campaign

[KamaAina]

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/02/donald-trump-explains-iowa-loss

The post-Iowa reckoning continued Wednesday morning, with Donald Trump speed-dialing into MSNBC’s Morning Joe for an awkward postmortem. Trump, who has been the Republican presidential poll-leader for months, placed second in the Iowa caucuses Monday night, three percentage points behind Ted Cruz....

“I think we could have used a better ground game, a term I wasn’t even familiar with,” Trump said. “You know, when you hear ‘ground game,’ you say what the hell is that? Now I’m familiar with it. But, you know, I think in retrospect we should have had a better ground game. I would have funded a better ground game, but people told me our ground game was fine. And by most standards it was.”...

Trump may not have had a ground game, but he proved perfectly willing to pay the pander game. In the run-up to the caucuses, he expressed hope that his daughter Ivanka Trump would give birth in Iowa, and shared some newfound skepticism about Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the Supreme Court ruled to extend marriage equality to the entire nation.

“The caucus system is a complex system and I was never familiar with it,” Trump said on Wednesday. “I mean, I was never involved with the caucus system. Don’t forget, Joe, I’m doing this for the first time. I’m like a rookie and I’m learning fast and I do learn fast, and I think we’re doing really—I think we did very well.”

[PatrickforO]

1. OK...so if he has no idea how to run a campaign, how can we have

any confidence that he'll know how to run our country?

[Sanity Claws]

3. He doesn't even know what he doesn't know

[1939]

2. A caucus is a bit different than a primary

Back in 1972 when McGovern pretty much split the poplar vote in primaries with Humphreys and Wallace, his McGovernites ran a great game though local caucuses and conventions. Trump is not really a political animal and would do better in a straight primary election.

[KamaAina]

4. The poplar vote?

Trees can vote? This could be a gamechanger!

[Volaris]

6. Its very likley he will come out ahead in NH (the electorate is a lot less evangelical than Iowa)

and so the first 2 will be a wash. But if he doesnt have his shit together for South Carolina, Cruz will stick so many knives into him that a 'post-mortem' wont even be POSSIBLE, let alone necessary. If Trump really wants this, its time to start spending some real money, instead of just coasting on the media's dime. If he can come in second in SC (i dont think theres any way he can win) he can make a play for a decent attempt at Super Tuesday--but again, its time to start spending money like he means it.

[gratuitous]

5. Politics is like teaching

People have familiarity with it and think, "You know, I could do that." The reality is that running for office and holding office once you win require specialized skills, just like being a good teacher. It requires a professional, and just because you have expertise in one area (in Trump's case, being a world class asshole), doesn't necessarily translate into being a good politician. The old pros would eat Trump for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if he got elected.

If he's really interested in a career in politics, maybe Trump should start somewhere a little more entry-level than President of the United States.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. Trump for Dogcatcher!

and someday, maybe, Dogcatcher-in-Chief!

[WinkyDink]

8. So? A candidate should be assessed not on "running a campaign," but on ideas.