Who are we? That is the question for America 2016.
Are we the America of President Obama or the America of Donald Trump. After Brexit, this could not be clearer:
"Every presidential election, to one degree or another, turns on the question, “Who are we?” But sometimes that question becomes particularly urgent, and the events of the last couple of days have made it clearer than ever that this election is about a fundamental divide in how we view the past, present, and future of America."
"If the electorate decides — as British voters just did in their own way — that our country has become too diverse, too modern, too cosmopolitan, too connected to the rest of the world, too polyglot and too tolerant, then it will make Donald Trump the next president of the United States. If it decides otherwise, Hillary Clinton will win. And there’s nobody with more of an ability to make that case on her behalf than Barack Obama. This may turn out to be his primary task as he campaigns on her behalf: bringing out the “Obama coalition” that enabled him to win two elections."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/06/24/barack-obamas-job-in-the-2016-election-is-now-clearer-than-ever/
It's the question for America, 2016. In many ways this will be a referendum on the America of Obama and the America of Trump.
Paul Waldman goes on to argue that's Obama's job in this election: to turn out the Obama Coalition.
"There are substantive reasons why the Obama coalition already likes Hillary Clinton. But Obama himself is the best person to get them excited about voting for her — or, failing that, voting against Donald Trump. Even if it’s just about boosting their turnout by a point or two in the right places, that could make all the difference."
As for Trump:
"As everyone wakes up to British voters’ decision to leave the European Union, it’s hard to find an analyst anywhere who says it’s a good thing, either for Great Britain itself or for the world. Donald Trump, however, was pleased. Appearing at the opening of his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, he saw the potential to make money in the collapse of the British currency: “When the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry, frankly,” he said. “For traveling and for other things, I think it very well could turn out to be a positive.” So there you go.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/06/24/in-britain-cultural-resentments-won-out-over-stability-can-donald-trump-create-the-same-result-here/
As Waldman goes on to note, economic anxieties often cover up cultural anxieties:
"Just as we’re seeing in Britain, cultural anxieties are often expressed as economic anxieties; the two aren’t completely separable. You can have a sincerely felt concern that immigrants will take your job, at the same time as what really bugs you is the feeling that they’re changing the character of your country, making it feel like it’s no longer your place. If we could just stop the flow of outsiders, many believe, we could return to the time where everybody talked like me and looked like me and thought like me."
"It’s clear that this same feeling drove much of the sentiment in Britain in favor of the vote to leave the E.U. Particularly striking was the divide by age: in one poll, 60 percent of those over the age of 65 wanted to leave, compared with only 20 percent of those under 25."
"A few weeks ago, Trump was asked his opinion about Brexit, and was unfamiliar with the term. When it was explained, he quickly answered that he was for it — after all, if his campaign theme is “America First,” it stands to reason he thinks other countries should also be insular, suspicious of immigrants and fearful of outsiders, whether he knows or cares about the details. But it’s important to understand that Trump will not alter his basic appeal. He’s driven above all by impulse and what he sees right in front of him. So when he holds rallies and hears his supporters whoop and holler at the most visceral cultural appeals he serves up, his conclusion is that those are the things that will win him the election. If anyone were to tell him to tone that stuff down, he’d surely find the idea absurd. Isn’t that exactly what people are so excited about?"
Sure, if he's for America First why not Britain First?
Are we the America of President Obama or the America of Donald Trump. After Brexit, this could not be clearer:
"Every presidential election, to one degree or another, turns on the question, “Who are we?” But sometimes that question becomes particularly urgent, and the events of the last couple of days have made it clearer than ever that this election is about a fundamental divide in how we view the past, present, and future of America."
"If the electorate decides — as British voters just did in their own way — that our country has become too diverse, too modern, too cosmopolitan, too connected to the rest of the world, too polyglot and too tolerant, then it will make Donald Trump the next president of the United States. If it decides otherwise, Hillary Clinton will win. And there’s nobody with more of an ability to make that case on her behalf than Barack Obama. This may turn out to be his primary task as he campaigns on her behalf: bringing out the “Obama coalition” that enabled him to win two elections."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/06/24/barack-obamas-job-in-the-2016-election-is-now-clearer-than-ever/
It's the question for America, 2016. In many ways this will be a referendum on the America of Obama and the America of Trump.
Paul Waldman goes on to argue that's Obama's job in this election: to turn out the Obama Coalition.
"There are substantive reasons why the Obama coalition already likes Hillary Clinton. But Obama himself is the best person to get them excited about voting for her — or, failing that, voting against Donald Trump. Even if it’s just about boosting their turnout by a point or two in the right places, that could make all the difference."
As for Trump:
"As everyone wakes up to British voters’ decision to leave the European Union, it’s hard to find an analyst anywhere who says it’s a good thing, either for Great Britain itself or for the world. Donald Trump, however, was pleased. Appearing at the opening of his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, he saw the potential to make money in the collapse of the British currency: “When the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry, frankly,” he said. “For traveling and for other things, I think it very well could turn out to be a positive.” So there you go.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/06/24/in-britain-cultural-resentments-won-out-over-stability-can-donald-trump-create-the-same-result-here/
As Waldman goes on to note, economic anxieties often cover up cultural anxieties:
"Just as we’re seeing in Britain, cultural anxieties are often expressed as economic anxieties; the two aren’t completely separable. You can have a sincerely felt concern that immigrants will take your job, at the same time as what really bugs you is the feeling that they’re changing the character of your country, making it feel like it’s no longer your place. If we could just stop the flow of outsiders, many believe, we could return to the time where everybody talked like me and looked like me and thought like me."
"It’s clear that this same feeling drove much of the sentiment in Britain in favor of the vote to leave the E.U. Particularly striking was the divide by age: in one poll, 60 percent of those over the age of 65 wanted to leave, compared with only 20 percent of those under 25."
"A few weeks ago, Trump was asked his opinion about Brexit, and was unfamiliar with the term. When it was explained, he quickly answered that he was for it — after all, if his campaign theme is “America First,” it stands to reason he thinks other countries should also be insular, suspicious of immigrants and fearful of outsiders, whether he knows or cares about the details. But it’s important to understand that Trump will not alter his basic appeal. He’s driven above all by impulse and what he sees right in front of him. So when he holds rallies and hears his supporters whoop and holler at the most visceral cultural appeals he serves up, his conclusion is that those are the things that will win him the election. If anyone were to tell him to tone that stuff down, he’d surely find the idea absurd. Isn’t that exactly what people are so excited about?"
Sure, if he's for America First why not Britain First?
We are being tested America.
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