Bob, in 500 words (or less 
), could you convey what you would want a president to be? I think for me at least it would be huge inspiration and schoolingā¦ As I somewhat know a little about your background. Are you up for it?
Itās good news week? Whatās one of Trumpās buddies up to? 
I like those two. Iād add modeling character and civility, a stable personality in the face of crises, esp. international, and following through on promises to offer better and less expensive healthcare for all.
Everybody (Like Calvinists) who disagree with you, you claim they have a mental illness or be unstable.
From Psychology Today
So is Trump mentally ill?
No.
In Russia and other totalitarian states, āmentally illā is what the Powers consider it to be; itās a fluid concept used to terrorize and control.
Any impartial observer can see that Trump is supremely sane, just as most of us are. The ones that are seeking to undo him, are the ones showing signs of mental instability.
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Well Iām a bit hooked on the conversation for now ā as long as no one gets unduly angry with me
Bob said:
āāIād add modeling character and civility, a stable personality in the face of crises, esp. international.āā
Sure there are articles which Iāve seen circulating by some media āpsychologistsā speculating that Trump has a personality disorder and therefore is unfit for office. These articles are not helpful ā they are pure speculation. However, Iāve looked again and again at Bobās post and heās said nothing about Trump having a diagnosable mental health disorder.
Bobās talked about ācharacterā. Questions of character ā and modelling character to others - concern virtue as opposed to personality disorders rooted in psycho/physical pathology. Moderation and prudence are traditionally seen as virtues in leadership. Being able to rise above criticism ā even when you find it hurtful ā and also be civil to your opponents ā even when you passionately disagree with them ā have traditionally been seen as evidence of moderation and prudence. These virtues have been seen essential in a tolerant and pluralistic democracy ā therefore is desirable the leader of such a democracy should model them.
Evenness of temper has also been seen as evidence of the virtues of moderation and prudence. The ability to not overreact in the face of a crisis is highly desirable in international affairs ā and it also helps promote trust in your reliability with allies, and with the sorts of enemies you have to deal with also.
Trump lacks these virtues. Thatās what I read Bob as meaning.
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Frankly, that type of thinking imo has severely limited us to the type of polished, sold-out, gravitas-bearing individuals that have for a couple of generations gotten themselves entrenched into what is lovingly called the "Swampā.
We have seen Trump under constant and vile attack every single day for 3 years - and has he caved, has he flown off the handle, has he done anything except calmly going about the business of America? Nope. I wonāt repeat what he HAS done because folks donāt read it. Itās always Orange Man Bad - and impartially, a person would scratch their head and say - whaaaaat?
Does he throw out shiny objects for the MSM to go ballistic on? Yep, and it makes me laugh.
Long story short, gentlemen - wonderful manners, decorum etc are wonderful, but me and a lot of people lost almost everything while the silk-stocking and bow-tie crowd got richer. Trump will continue to MAGA for 4 years and then maybe we can get some dumb-a** socialist in there to take everything down. That is probably the outcome, in my jaded opinion.
The USA is at the biggest decision-making point in my lifetime - and to worry that DT isnāt polished enough just seems silly to me. What doesnāt seem silly is - get behind him and help. Have any of you thought about doing that, instead of another 4 years of attacks, and then gloating that he didnāt get enough done?
The Left is just stupid right now - and I donāt consider that just an opinion - and I have no respect for them at all. There are otoh some liberals that can still listen and reason.
Iām like Gomer Pyle, when it comes to understanding - the ācorrectā political perspectives. It takes the Sargent Carter like āexpertsā here, to enlighten me.
We need leadership that models calm respect even for challengers seen as deficient & foolish.
Hi Dave 
ā
Iāve been watching these conversations for a couple of weeks. Bob argues against you ā Mike Cairns disagrees with you, Paidon disagrees with you. The majority of the other poster strongly agree with you on Trump or at least they donāt disagree with you. So that means the only fellow countryman arguing against you is Bob ā and heās neither slandering President Trump nor saying that everything that Trump is doing is completely bad. So I donāt there are at least āparity of armsā in this discussion about out politics. Those who support President Trump here are either getting angry at people who arenāt present in this discussion ā liberal cultural warriors ā or getting angry with people who simply donāt support Trump for various reasons (but there must always be a space for dissent in secular political argument I reckon).
Iāve certainly taken note of what you have listed as President Trumpās achievements. From memory you applaud, for example, that:
Heās moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem (and has been very supportive of the Likud government in Israel)
Heās appointed a Conservative judge to your Top Legislative Body ā which means the Conservative Judges are now in the majority.
Heās introduced legislation on to the books which ā of passed ā would drastically limit legal abortion or even outlaw it.
Heās taken the plight of the people who were left behind by globalisation in America seriously ā he understands them, speaks for them and addresses their grievances
Employment under Trump is very good for all sectors of the community ā including black Americans and Latino Americans
He has dealt seriously with border controls and illegal immigration
Heās torn up the bad nuclear deal with Iran that Obama made and paved the way for a far better deal by imposing stringent sanctions on this territorially ambitious, Enemy of Israel and sponsor of terrorism
His trade war with China has made the Chinese sit up about stealing copy write on US goods and inventions etc.
Heās shaken up most NATO countries so they are now paying ā or will soon be paying ā their fair share towards the NATO Alliance
Heās got out of the Paris Climate Accord which was injurious to American industry.
I saw two articles yesterday by people who donāt support President Trump, but who were able to give credit where credit was due for his achievements. One of the article was by a USA Conservative Latino journalist whose list was pretty similar to the points Iāve seen you make. But there was only really one difference. This man argued that because of the rhetoric used against the Latino community by Trump and the hatred he had seen increase towards people like himself he could praise Trump for his achievements but still hope for his impeachment.
The other article I saw praising President Trumpās achievements was by someone who was āprogressiveā in sympathies. I have no idea of the details of the legislation he was commending but he said that Trump had started good initiatives on prison reform, the treatment of AIDS in the US, and ā paradoxically ā he had praise for whatever small measures Trump has taken in limiting the sale of the most dangerous assault weapons.
As for me, itās too tall and order to comment on all of those things. Indeed, I donāt feel it appropriate that I comment on another countryās internal affairs too much (although I think it is certainly right and proper that Trump has advocated for those in America who have been left behind by globalisation, for example). But in International terms, Iāll comment on a couple:
Yes I can see he had a point about NATO countries. They should pay their fair share
It does seem to that global warming is happening and we can do something to prevent it escalating exponentially ā thatās a long argument, but I do think that. So certainly I did not approve of the short termism of withdrawal from the climate accord.
Iām not sure that trade wars if they become the norm will do anything other than undermine economies all over the world ā so I hope these donāt become the norm under Trump
Of course as a Brit I have a vested interest in the outcome of the rise of English nationalism due to Brexit. Iād prefer it if Trump would go back to former norms of not endorsing any particular party/policy in an allied state democracy (I know Obama was at fault too in saying that Britain would go to the back of the queue for a trade deal with the USA ā but Trump has taken this stuff to extremes). Brexit is happening now and Iām not in denial; but I am concerned about the break-up of the UK because of it. Certainly the majority of people in both Scotland and Northern Ireland want to stay in Europe rather than get closer to America. I fear that we may well see terrorism start up again in the North of Ireland (and this time it will probably be Protestant paramilitaries that start it up again). So I would be happy if President Trump kept his mouth shut a little in the near culture regarding the UK. I hope this all ends as well as possible though ļ
Old fashioned political virtues may seem useless now and people who are more used to the cut and thrust of getting the best deal and who are schooled in creating realities through the power of positive thinking might be the paradigms for the future. But ā¦. we shall see; you can only judge history in hindsight.
And it is important ā regarding truth ā that Bob was talking about virtues and not pathology above. Also I reckon that your analogy with totalitarian regimes seeing dissent as a pathology and sending people off for ācorrectionā is not a good one. Totalitarians also lock up their leading opponents on corruption charges. Trump threatened to do this to Hilary Clinton. Or course the Clintonās are corrupt ā but that going to be a persistent problem when democracy is overlaid with plutocracy ā when you have to be very rich and have a finger in many pies to get elected; thatās a weakness in the American system despite the many points in which it is better than the British system. And Trump is also a plutocrat. And anyway the stuff about him locking up Hilary was rhetoric appealing to his baseā the President of the USA canāt do that and would never try. Likewise the stuff about Trump being mentally ill is just rhetoric appealing to the anti-Trump base. Heās not going to be sectioned and certified.
Anyway ā from a UK perspective - I remember there being loads of articles about Tony Blair being physiologically ill in the British press at the time of the Iraq War and in its aftermath. He was unable ā supposedly ā to see falsehood from truth (heād come to sincerely believe in his own lies). He was pathologically megalomaniac etcā¦
Now Iām a social democrat in politics (although I learn much from those who disagree with me) so I supported Tony Blair. But, like President Trump, I didnāt support the Iraq War. However all people who want power have at least a streak of excess in them. The will to power becomes excessive in the best of people sometimes acting on what they think are in the best interests of others ā when it goes to their heads. Mr Blair sent troops to Sera Leone when there was a coup ā and the presence of British troops stopped the coup and prevented a lot of bloodshed and restored democracy. He was the one who was the cheerleader for military intervention in Kosovo against Clintonās more cautious instincts. And it worked and prevented a genocide. But then he went a bit bonkers and started talking about fixing the world. And he was uncritical in his support of the Iraq war, and that didnāt work according to plan, and that was his downfall. So ā¦ I just get anxious when people get excessive in admiration for any politician and over defensive against critics ā¦.
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Dick - Iāve exhaustively stated my ideas on those and many other topics, the past few years, and I really am not too interested in going over it all again.
Every response from Europe, Canada, Australia on this topic is negative, and in the face of all the positive Trump is accomplishing, my only deduction is that the news does not arrive overseas - at least, not informed and balanced news. Iāve met nothing but stubborn and uninformed blowback from people that will NOT dialogue in a fair manner. Iām quite frankly tired of it, and come to the point where, if a person stedfastly will NOT speak fairly, Iām not gonna listen - Iāve heard it all repeatedly. So Iāll be glad to listen and talk on other threads; but as far as attacks on Trump - and Iām not a Trumpist - unless they are backed by approval for the hundreds of good things he has accomplished - I donāt respond.
Iām sure this is a blow to the 5 people who frequent this forum lol.
Ciao
Meanwhile, another idiotic Leftist interference in common-sense governance; when will we just wake up?
" This week, the Census Bureau released the results of its formal test of the once-proposed, and now prevented, census citizenship question. The results are a striking rebuke to a recent leftist orthodoxy: Adding a citizenship question to a test-run of the census had no statistically significant effect on overall response rates. Even in the communities most sensitive to the question, such as neighborhoods with many Hispanics, response rates dropped only slightly.
To understand why this report is significant, step back to March 2018, when Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the 2020 census would include a question about citizenship status. Leftists were immediately outraged, seeing the addition as a racist conspiracy."
And some good news, but you will not get anyone to admit it, or even admit DT is doing it well:
" Like Pharaohās priests, the experts refuse to learn anything new. But President Trumpās tetrad of populist economic nationalism has proven superior to the court magicians of the economic pharaohs.
The Trump four-fold formula, conceived in the campaign and delivered as promised in his administration, combines tax reform, trade reform, regulatory reform, and energy reform to supercharge national economic growth.
Its power comes from the combination of the four elements: together, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
Together, they work synergistically to make the United States the best place on earth to invest and do businessāand to live, work, and raise a family.
And that is exactly what weāre seeing. While the economies of Germany and China stagnate, while economic riots grip France, Colombia, Chile, Tehran, Beirut, and Baghdad, the American economy goes from strength to strength.
Unemployment is at a 50-year low, the latest jobs report blew the doors off, the stock market hit record highs, and so did holiday sales."
https://amgreatness.com/2019/12/31/four-aces-of-trumps-new-deal-for-americans/
Thatās quite a dissertation you have promulgated, Sobornost (alias āSpiritual community of many jointly living peopleā). I wish I knew your first name - hopefully it is short, like Jim or Bill. Of course, for all I know, it could be Sue or Pam 
). I agree with most of what you wrote and can shut my mind to your confession of being a social democrat, but do not share your pessimism about a UK break-up.
First, let me state that I am a Scot, born and raised in the Highlands. Throughout my schooldays in Scotland, I was taught that England was the enemy. The exploits of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace were drummed into me. Scotland formed alliances with the French (of all people) and the Dutch in wars against the English. There was no love lost between the Scots and the English.
Despite that fact, there has been union between the two peoples that has remained for over 400 years (except for the aberration of the Jacobite rebellions). James the sixth of Scotland became the first king of the united kingdom. Subsequent armies comprised soldiers from both countries. When Britain declared war on Germany, my father became a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Three of my uncles in Inverness joined up with the Army. In fact, my Uncle Norm signed up the day after war was declared on September 2, 1939. He did not return home, apart from leave, until the war was over in late 1945.
I very much doubt that Scotland will ever leave the Union. None of my family members who live there will vote to do so. Unfortunately, although I am still a UK citizen, I donāt have a vote. The Scots are a proud race. They wonāt want to be ruled by the French and Germans. You can bet your last dollar, I mean quid, on that. 
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Hi Invernessian -
My first name is Richard. People call me āDickā because my second name is Whittington. Yes Sobornost is a bit pretentious - and it does mean something like that When I joined here many years ago most people had pseudonyms and that was the first to come into my head because Iād just read the word in an essay by a Russian thinker.
Iām half Scots - mother from Glasgow. Scottish independence may or may not happen. This is hard to predict - like the weather these days. If it happens, it happens. The thing Iām more worried about is the resumption of hostilities in Ireland - the situation needs to be managed carefully. I can only hope it will be.
And bless you Dave - as you will. I wonāt post on politics here again
Well, Dick, you and the Donald have at least one thing in common - a mother from Scotland, and the Hebrides are not that far from Glasgow. You can build on that fact.
Btw, I concur with your concern about Northern Ireland. The āfighting Irishā did not acquire that nickname out of nowhere. I donāt believe, however, that Brexit or no-Brexit plays a big part in sectarian hostilities.
!!
Dick - there are a number of others here that will be glad to discuss politics with you, donāt let my stiff-necked recalcitrance get in the way!
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Well, I was looking for Trump - in todayās BBC news. Look what I found instead.
And I can summarize the thoughts, of this entire thread.
Trump good! Lefties bad. Democrats bad.
I am following in the vocabulary footsteps of Frankenstein.
Notice Socrates is ākind-hardedā to Frankenstein, as long has he likes Trump.
Fiddle sticks Dave - baldersash and piffle
Why on earth would I want to talk politics with anyone here. I may be half Scot but the English part of me is reluctant to challenge anyone on their political views on the grounds that āwe would not make windows into menās soulsā. And I certainly would rather eat my own ear wax than argue about Mr Trump. Hey I just wanted to keep you on your toes because you are a very intelligent man, and a very kind, welcoming and loving man so I wanted to you a bit of a round around because your best seemed to be a bit eclipsed on these politics threads
But hey - do love you Dave. An to get my own back on you - here is a Christmas joke.
Q. Why didnāt Donald Trump go to Church on Christmas Eve?
A. Fake Pews