March 22, 2016

"I looked... She seemed like a good person to me" ≈ "I looked the man in the eye.... I was able to get a sense of his soul."

Donald Trump, about that woman, he interviewed and (seemingly) hired at a press conference:
"I looked... and I have a gut instinct. We're allowed to have that. I looked at her. She asked a positive question.... She seemed like a good person to me."
This power to look at a person and to know him... George Bush thought he had it:
"I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul."
("The man" = Putin.)

20 comments:

tim in vermont said...

A lot less at stake, and what is at stake is Trump's to risk.

Alexander said...

And yet, if we define a 'good person' as one who doesn't happily and knowingly commit actions that lead to their countrymen being blown up in their own capital...

Putin's looking pretty good.

Seriously, in a time where the masses are revolting against the suicidal multi cult, comparing Trump to Putin is not a negative.

And yes, I know that technically, it was a comparison of Trump to Bush. Well... sorry, we spend the first half of the primary looking at that particular comparison, and decided we liked what we saw in the new guy. The time for Trump is Bush has long passed, if it were every really here.

Sebastian said...

Umm, no. And W never quite said what he saw in that soul.

Chuck said...

Althouse, the Alicia Watkins story has nothing to do with Trump's ability to size someone up with a glance or a brief conversation.

It was staged. Trump took just one question; from a reporter who was set up by his campaign staff. Trump asked her an obviously scripted question. It was a question designed solely to play out the theatrical event that they had planned. It was a lie.

And what puts it into the realm of lying and fraud is that while political theater is all about speechwriting and staging (and nobody lies about it) this story is SUPPOSED to be about what you have posed -- the notion of sizing someone up with just a look at their face -- but we know it isn't. Trump didn't size this woman up with a glance at this event. The event was put together with advance planning and now Trump won't admit to that. Trump and his campaign are lying. Again.

Anonymous said...

I have not changed my favorable impression of GWB in 16+ years; he was a good president. Yeah, he whiffed on Putin, there, but he got a lot of other stuff right. Certainly, if he had been president the last 7+ years, we would be (much) safer, stronger, and more prosperous.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

The fact of the matter is that Putin might be the best we could hope for in a Russian leader right now.

Considering Russia's history, expecting its leadership to be Jeffersonian Democrats is probably a bit much.

tim in vermont said...

We believe you Chuck because we know that you openly and honestly view every event involving Trump with an unbiased eye, so if you say it reflects badly on him for some reason, we all know you come to this conclusion only after deep consideration and a thoroughgoing consultation with the brain trust at NRO.

Gahrie said...

Anyone else starting to think that maybe Chuck has a K street six figure salary that is starting to look a little shaky?......

traditionalguy said...

This is true to my experience. When a man has studied women his whole life, he sooner or later tunes in and discerns what is the best in female souls, which is simply an intelligent willingness to assist a good man. (See, Proverbs 31) And Ivanka Trump certainly proves this.

And the beat goes on. A Jewish mother named Ivanka is giving birth to another Trump grandchild as we speak.

Walter S. said...

Tim in Vermont is right: It's a reasonable risk, and his to take.

Snap hiring decisions used to be more common; think of Horatio Alger. Modern practices are too formal and too credential-driven. So it is refreshing to see an exception.

walter said...

Did he actually hire her? There were a lot of ifs regarding making a "deal". Might have been a very saavy way to move her along.
I mean..what if she was captured during her service in Iraq? Traumatic brain injury symptoms might be "pathological".

"I know Hillary and I think she’d make a great president or vice-president." – 2008

But yes..W and Putin..err.."Puty Poot"

n.n said...

Only God or someone with a similar frame of reference knows the mind of man. Humans use inference to supplement science.

walter said...

"what is the best in female souls, which is simply an intelligent willingness to assist a good man"..for as long as he sticks around.

Brando said...

Putin is neither an enemy or an ally of ours, he is simply part of a long tradition of Russian authoritarian leaders who act in what they perceive as their country's best interest. We don't need a president to "woo" him or "stand up to" him necessarily, but rather to recognize who he is and what his interests are. Sometimes we'll want to cooperate with him, other times we'll want to oppose him (ideally short of armed conflict) but the last two presidencies started with naïve notions that he was fundamentally a great guy and we just needed to "charm" him.

The analogy isn't perfect, but FDR also mistakenly thought he could "charm" Stalin, and ended up just looking like a disloyal tool who was willing to sell out Churchill (and ultimately the Poles). You don't charm Stalin! At best you pee on his leg and tell him it's a good thing you didn't eat asparagus that day, and make his wife hold your coat while you do it.

Smilin' Jack said...

I looked at her.

Um, yeah...but maybe not in the eye.

walter said...

Of course, what his "gut" could tell him very quickly is that this person is:
1) Female
2) "African-American"
3) Vet

If you're aiming to woo friend Hil's voters..potentially ticks a lot of boxes.

jg said...

People need to just stop with the fearmongering comparisons to Hitler and Dubya.

Wince said...

"The eyes, Chico, they never lie."

Big Mike said...

I agree with EDH. Back before I retired, I'd evaluate potential hires by what I saw in their eyes. Sometimes I was ready to make an offer after only a couple minutes, and subtly starting selling my company and my project just to use up the time allotted for the interview. In a career that started in 1967, I was never wrong. Not once.

Ron said...

But Bush couldn't fire Putin.