I always figured a saboteur of American democracy would be an evil, formidable figure

[WillyBrandt]

Who would knife the American constitution? Or at least kick it in the nuts?

I always figured it'd be a formidable, twisted figure. Perhaps a deeply competent, cunning, immoral person like a Lenin or Trotsky (fans of these two: spare me). Or perhaps a Hitler, with his deviousness and rhetorical gifts and his twisted political creativity.

But Trump is such an incompetent clown. He squandered an amazing inheritance: if he would have parked daddy's cash in few index funds he'd be a real billionaire instead of sticking his name on steaks. He is such an worthless lothario: you don't make yourself known for "conquests" -- and you don't buying pageants and groping/raping participants. He can't even bullshit his way through a debate, like Pence nearly did. He's not even a particularly scary bully: I'm quite sure Putin is terrifying in all kinds of contexts. Trump needs unbelievable imbalances of power to pull it off, and not even consistently then.

And yet look at it. Tens of millions of Americans are forgetting whatever little wisps of democratic practice were a given because of this guy.

I mean, isn't it disappointing? Isn't the devil supposed to be more impressive? As an American, I'm embarrassed: we're being undermined by Bozo the Clown, not Lex Luthor.

[First Speaker]

1. Joe McCarthy was pretty much of a clown, as well...

...personally, he was a joke: a drunk, shambling, uncouth, utterly cynical, didn't have a single sincere bone in his body. Didn't believe his own BS for an instant. And yet, he had an instinct for the jugular, and an ability to sense the dark underbelly of America. Trump is similar in some ways. Neither man, I think, can/could withstand adversity--they fell apart relatively easily. In that, we have been lucky as a country. Some day, maybe soon, we really will have a formidable nightmare come along--a Hitler or a Lenin wrapped in the American flag. And on that day, God help us.

[WillyBrandt]

2. That's very wise: we have gotten lucky

We've had evil fuckers behind the scenes setting up the right wing noise machine, but no nightmares personified...