The Atlantic: Ten Reasons Why Melania Trump’s Speech Will Have a Lasting Impact - David Frum

[StrictlyRockers]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/melania-trumps-speech-matters/492038/

3) Since Sunday, every journalist at this convention has been collecting examples of the Trump campaign’s failures and incompetence: the quarrel with Ohio Governor John Kasich, the absent senators and governors, the no-show donors, the convention’s financial embarrassments, the floor fight over rules, the lack of a proper schedule, and the defective apps and other technology. Suddenly, there is one easy-to-understand incident that encapsulates in one grim joke all this convention’s cavalcade of derp.

5) Trump has just vividly demonstrated that his campaign—never mind the campaign, he himself—have zero skill at crisis management. Confronted with this comically absurd failure, their instinct is not only to lie, shift blame, and refuse responsibility, but to do so in laughably unbelievable ways. It’s all a big joke when the crisis in question is a plagiarized speech by a would-be first lady. It won’t be so funny when a President Trump tries to manage a truly life-and-death crisis in the same blundering, dopey, and cowardly way.

6) The incident throws a harpoon into the heart of the Trump campaign’s racial politics. Trump’s message: Non-white people are ripping off hard-working white Americans who play by the rules. “They” cheat; “we" lose. Could there be a sharper reversal of that racialized complaint than Melania Trump in her designer dress stealing Michelle Obama’s heartfelt words?

[CrowCityDem]

1. 11. Trump can't do the equivalent of hitting the bowl while seated.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. Frum! Who would have thought!!!

[tblue37]

3. Trump's narcissism os so out of control that he stepped all over the speech that

was supposed to be the most powerful anti-Clinton moment of the day--the one by Pat Smith, whose son was killed in Benghazi--by calling FOX and giving O'Reilley a live phone interview while Smith was speaking.

[PJMcK]

4. Great attack article

I liked this one, too:

4) To this point, the Hillary Clinton campaign has been unsure how to attack Donald Trump. There has been noticeable hesitation, uncertainty, and even mutually refuting contradictions in its early attacks. How can Trump both be a cynical con man and a dangerous extremist hate-monger? Now at last the script writes itself: Trump as doofus, the guy who went broke running a casino—and can’t even find someone to write an ordinarily competent speech for his wife’s big self-introduction to the American public.

Secretary Clinton's campaign has so much ammunition that they'll have to be careful how they dole it out lest they be seen as too vicious. Donald Trump doesn't know what he's about to experience. It will be, I hope, epically devastating for him.

ETA: Thanks for posting the link, StrictlyRockers!

[Beartracks]

7. I hope Clinton's campaign plays a good Long Game with all this ammo.

It's a long way to November, and Americans are easily duped into forgetting the obvious.

======================

[Her Sister]

5. Yes sometimes a little detail can say so much! Can give it all away!

Can symbolize and tell the whole truth at the same time.

[SunSeeker]

6. "blundering, dopey, and cowardly"

A succinct description of Trump.

[mopinko]

8. 11- when the excrement hits the oscillator, trump

hops on his plane and goes home.

[Hekate]

9. David Frum. Amazing.

[Martin Eden]

10. "lie, shift blame, and refuse responsibility, but to do so in laughably unbelievable ways"

That strategy has worked well for Trump up to this point; why change now?

[StraightRazor]

11. Great article and spot on, but Melania's speech theft will be forgotten by the end of the week...

I've never seen negative press or missteps disappear down the memory hole so quickly as they seem to where Trump is concerned.

The speech theft is far less an important issue than say Trump refusing to release his tax returns (lying about not being able to do so because of an on-going audit which has been proven to be utter nonsense) and no one even cares. So, I can't see this being an issue perhaps even by tomorrow.

[StrictlyRockers]

12. Well, you may be right. I hope your not...

but it's short attention span theater for the rethugs and for most American voters.

At the very least, it grinds against his assertion that HE'S the trustworthy one, the one who doesn't lie and cheat. It's a medium-sized story and it's out there, and it has some legs. I'm curious to see if it gets mentioned by anyone next week.

[Democat]

13. I'm sure many people hope it will

Maybe even some people posting here at DU.

[StraightRazor]

17. Just checking...

are you implying that my post was my 'hoping' the story would go away?

I can never tell through all of the unnecessary snark that flies around DU if people are being genuine or passive-aggressive when they post something.

[StrictlyRockers]

18. I'm agreeing with you that it may not have legs, but hoping it does.

carry on

[StraightRazor]

19. Yeah, I got that...

which is why I asked Democat.


Thanks though.

[StrictlyRockers]

22. LOL whoops my bad.

who's a noob?

[StraightRazor]

23. No worries...

[obamanut2012]

14. Nope, it's not going anywhere

Although some people desperately hope it will.

Regardless of Sunday news shows and and other "legit news" hitting it over the next few months, we still have Bill Maher and SNL this weekend, Colbert, Samantha Bee, etc.

[voteearlyvoteoften]

15. Cavalcade of derp!!

[L. Coyote]

16. "the whole project of humanizing Trump has become a farce" Well put.

The significance, to me, is the resounding endorsement of Obama values!

9) Plagiarism draws attention to content of the passage plagiarized. In 2008, Michelle Obama summed up the values that she had learned from her parents and that she and Barack Obama now tried to instill in their children: work hard; tell the truth; keep your promises; treat others with dignity and respect. Donald Trump epically does not tell the truth, does not keep his promises, and does not treat others with dignity and respect. A plagiarized speech (and the failure to detect the plagiarism) pretty strongly confirms that the Trumps do not much care about hard work, either. "Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.”

[jcgoldie]

20. #6 is awesome

Been struggling to express it succinctly.

[Sheepshank]

21. well, well, well....we're not the only ones