Larry D. Lauer

OK I confess. I recently made an attempt to understand Mr. Trumps’ appeal in spite of his offensive language and incessant attacks on individuals and entire groups. I suggested that in this age of instant communication and 24/7 news saturation maybe all this crudeness could eventually come to represent a kind of appealing toughness to his supporters. I reasoned that as globalization sent jobs abroad and middle incomes declined these people believed their depressed condition had been overlooked in Washington and that maybe this tough guy could really deliver results for them.

But before I continue we must remember that communication dynamics in Washington had a lot to do with bringing about this mess. The political decision to block anything the current president wanted to accomplish setup an eight year assault which totally grid-locked Congress. Problems were left unsolved. Mean-spirited attacks became the norm. Nationwide, political districts became polarized. And so the under-employed and declining middle class became angry and chose this presidential election to no longer remain silent. The “stop Obama at all cost” strategy backfired.

This is why we must try to understand communication and media dynamics in order to fully comprehend what is happening to us in politics. Actual problem-solving is something very different from arguing ideology. Statesmanship requires a completely different and higher level style of leadership behavior than winning ratings on a reality TV show. And when it comes to addressing the problems of an entire country and representing it abroad it’s not a matter of winning debate points. What we need is a savvy, sophisticated, and informed president capable of bi-partisan strategic problem-solving and thoughtful, courageous statesmanship.

It’s tempting to ask committed conservatives why they didn’t disqualify their “offensive and crude” candidate and find a more experienced one long ago? It’s also tempting to ask why cable television gave free rally coverage and publicity merely in anticipation of headline producing “crude” remarks?

As a consequence of all this, these debates have now become pointless. And we still have an eleventh-hour mess.