I’m with you, and I really, really want to be on the side of skepticism and saying that this election is no different from normal cycles we’ve had in the past. But this is the first time ever that we’ve given serious support to someone with a history of neither political office nor military leadership. And someone who really clearly has no consistent train of thought or policy acumen. If the economy happens to be strong and the country is successful, then people will appreciate his persona and values as the basis for a very entrenched brand of populist conservatism. So in this case I think it’s okay to say that the long term future of America could be seriously altered from what we consider to be normal, and it’s okay to say that this election was unusually consequential.
I’m with you, and I really, really want to be on the side of skepticism and saying that this election is no different from normal cycles we’ve had in the past. But this is the first time ever that we’ve given serious support to someone with a history of neither political office nor military leadership. And someone who really clearly has no consistent train of thought or policy acumen. If the economy happens to be strong and the country is successful, then people will appreciate his persona and values as the basis for a very entrenched brand of populist conservatism. So in this case I think it’s okay to say that the long term future of America could be seriously altered from what we consider to be normal, and it’s okay to say that this election was unusually consequential.