Quote of the Day

Maybe even the Quote of the Year.

​On Sunday, the presidential primary wars got a bit more heated, as Donald Trump [R-Trump Towers] got caught in the midst of some blunt criticism.  Always on the outspoken, crude offensive (with an emphasis on "offensive"), Mr. Trump was slammed hard from a surprising source, ripped by an opponent who previous to now had dealt with him with gentle, kid gloves.  But now, that's no longer the case, as the words now came flying.

"I don't think he's got the right temperament. I don't think he's got the right judgment.  You look at the way that he's dealt with [things], where he goes in there, frankly like a little bit of a maniac. You're never going to get things done that way."  He went on, saying that the GOP candidate would "never get anything done" because you can't "scream and call people liars and not be able to cajole and get along with people." 

Oh, wait, I'm sorry.  Did you think that that was said about Donald Trump, in this latest dust-up??  Oh, no, sorry -- no, no, no.  That was said by Donald Trump.  

Really.  Honest.  

No, really.  And no, this is not "Total Lack of Self-Awareness Week."

That was actually, really Donald Trump talking about someone else.  He was appearing on Fox News on Sunday and had been asked a question about a criticism that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) had made about the real estate mogul and TV game-show host who's the leading GOP presidential contender. 

Mr. Cruz had been quoted in the New York Times from an audio tape of a private meeting saying that he questioned Donald Trump's judgement.  “You look at Paris, you look at San Bernardino, it’s given a seriousness to this race, that people are looking for: Who is prepared to be a commander in chief? Who understands the threats we face?”

And Donald Trump didn't like that.  Okay, never mind that there was a pretty big seriousness in this race long before the attacks in Paris and San Bernadino -- not to mention the un-mentioned Planned Parenthood attacks in Colorado -- but just the general seriousness of the world with fighting going on in Afghanistan and Syria and still in Iraq, and global warming nearing such a crisis point that it just brought about the largest meeting of world leaders ever, and so much more.  But still, yes, there is a seriousness to this race, wherever you mark the starting point.

And Ted Cruz is quite right about Donald Trump's lack of judgement and temperament and his qualifications to be commander-in-chief.  True, that was the case months ago, as well, so it's a little late coming to the party, but better late than never.  And he was quite right in all that he said about Donald Trump, even if just in private.

And the thing is, Donald Trump was absolutely right, too, in what he said about Ted Cruz -- in public.  To be fair, I left out a couple of words in the quote above, "the Senate," because it would have given away who he was talking about.  But the quote was still accurate.  The full words about Ted Cruz (not about Donald Trump, though I can see where you'd be confused...) were --

"I don't think he's got the right temperament. I don't think he's got the right judgment.  You look at the way that he's dealt with the Senate, where he goes in there, frankly like a little bit of a maniac. You're never going to get things done that way."  He later went on, saying that the Cruz would "never get anything done" because "You can't walk into the Senate can't scream and call people liars and not be able to cajole and get along with people." 

And yes, again, the totally tone-deaf, clueless Donald Trump said this about someone else.

I'm not going to detail why this is so hilariously hypocritical.  I have absolutely no doubt that it's egregiously obvious to almost everyone who is even only just-slightly paying attention, other than perhaps the most die-hard, beatific Donald Trump supporters.  And even the majority of them probably get it, too.

All I'll say is that finally there is something I agree with Donald Trump about, speaking of Ted Cruz.  And also that unwittingly he has created the perfect anti-Trump TV ad by any opponent on either side of the aisle.  As sure as you're reading this, you know that there will be ads that show Donald Trump railing about women, the disabled, war heroes, people's physical appearance, Muslims, Mexicans and more, making faces and mocking them -- while playing his quote that oh-so perfectly describes himself.

"I don't think he's got the right temperament. I don't think he's got the right judgment.  You look at the way that he's dealt with the Senate, where he goes in there, frankly like a little bit of a maniac. You're never going to get things done that way."  He would "never get anything done" because "you can't walk into the Senate can't scream and call people liars and not be able to cajole and get along with people."