Lemony Snicket explains how Trump gets away with all his lies

[renate]

“When somebody is a little bit wrong - say, when a waiter puts nonfat milk in your espresso macchiato, instead of lowfat milk - it is often quite easy to explain to them how and why they are wrong. But if somebody is surprisingly wrong - say, when a waiter bites your nose instead of taking your order - you can often be so surprised that you are unable to say anything at all. Paralyzed by how wrong the waiter is, your mouth would hang slightly open and your eyes would blink over and over, but you would be unable to say a word.”

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/809609-when-somebody-is-a-little-bit-wrong---say-when

(Needless to say, this isn't a great excuse. If a reporter's job is to fact check, they should probably, oh, I don't know, TRY.)

[cilla4progress]

1. Yes, I believe there is a lot of

shell shock. But the professionals have to get over it...

[unblock]

2. i don't think that's it at all. i agree with the "stun factor", but in that example,

you *know* the waiter that bit your nose was wrong; you may be stunned for a few moments, but you're sure not leaving him a big tip. but trump does the moral equivalent yet people support him.

the problem is that we're down to two major candidates and there's no good way to accomplish all that people might want to accomplish with a single vote. you can't say "i hate trump's bigotry but i want low taxes". so the usual republican and right-leaning people have no real alternative if they want (their illusion of) low taxes, or (their illusion of) roe v. wade being overturned, etc.

trump is a virus exploiting a structure that is no longer equipped to appropriately handle an implausibly disastrous major candidate.

people are stuck in this structure with no clear way out. this includes the media, which is not set up to say that major party candidates just aren't worth airing or considering as plausible candidates. they do it all the time to *third-* party candidates, but never to the major candidates.

[Jerry442]

3. Trump's handling of the birther issue...

...has nothing to do with truth or falsehood and everything to do with asserting dominance. Either the media fight back or they slink away with their tail between their legs.

I know where my money is.

[Wellstone ruled]

4. So true.

Our Media is nothing more than a Chat Room filled with unsourced stories. Like Brietbart and Drudge,just make crap up and tell some stooge to run with it. What the Heck could go wrong.