I don't feel like a smart guy. Of course, I am not in the best mood at this point. 

I don't think you should brand someone a Nazi, that typically leads to a lot of complaints, but Trump ended up branded a Nazi because he and people working for him started quoting Hitler and the Nazis...intentionally. Honestly, I thought that would work against him, somehow it worked for him. I don't think you can blame us for recognizing he was quoting Hitler, some of us know the history better than others, and I mean I thought most people would see quoting the Nazis was a warning sign. I don't know what to think, Pat, I guess people either saw Trump quoting Hitler as "trolling" or they liked it. 

It did not appeal to me, I saw it as a major problem, and while I know Trump has not yet started rounding people up into concentration camps...well...he has talked about it many times. And we are not just talking immigrants, Pat, he also mentions his enemies, Democrats, Republicans that did not support him, he's got a list. It does not seem like he was just joking about that. 

On the "woke" stuff, I don't really think that is a thing. I mean there are not a bunch of men trying to compete in women's sports. There may have been a couple, but this is not a big thing nor a giant problem. And I think the vast majority of us do not think men should not compete in women's sports. It is such a minor thing that impacts so few people in such a minor way, it should not play any part in presidential politics. 

I thought Harris and Walz had a positive message. I thought Trump had the most negative message I have ever heard from someone running for president. He called the United States a garbage can. Then to play that up he almost fell down on his trip to ride around in a garbage truck. Everything the guy said was always meant to scare the living hell out of his supporters, that's pretty negative isn't it?

I can only say that I can't see JD Vance winning election on his own. Trump has somehow appeals to people and has been able to form this strange cult around his personality. Vance does not have this, you could see it when he spoke to Trump supporters, there would be silence in the room. Uncomfortable silence. 

On your last point, I agree with you, Pat, we should not hate, detest, despise the people we disagree with politically. Funny thing was, I thought Harris and Walz kept communicating that message while Trump kept referring to everybody that did not support him as scum, sick, deranged, and evil. Harris and Walz never said those things nor tried to portray Trump's supporters that way. The guy selling hate, selling the idea that people should despise and detest their political opponents...over and over...was Trump. It was part of why I thought people would not vote for him.

I was wrong, Pat. I admit it. I don't walk around with hate in my heart for anybody, Pat, it is really just the opposite of that. I do care about other people, I was trying to do the right thing, get people to think about what was happening. 

I don't think Harris and Walz were the wrong candidates, I think the mood of this country just got very dark. I don't think Trump had a better message, but he had a more effective message that suited this dark time...evil people are coming to get you, they will kill you, rape you, they are screwing you over, I will be your retribution. I don't think that is a positive message, nor a good one, nor a true one. But it worked.

I think what Harris and Walz did was try to be the counter to that message. They talked about unity and joy. About all of us being Americans first, before a party. They talked about lifting all people up. 

I guess though, as political strategists have been saying for some time, people hear and remember negative messages much more than they do positive ones. They heard this country is a garbage can filled with murderers and rapists and sick scum that are all out to get you and they voted for the guy that kept telling them that.