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Economy

consumer-Reuters

Consumer compares food prices at the supermarket. (Photo: Reuters)

The Conference Board reported its gauge of consumer confidence jumped in July to 101.5 from an earlier reading of 91. Economists expected the gauge to rise to 93.4.

“Consumer confidence rebounded in August, following a sharp decline in July,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat, primarily due to a more favorable appraisal of the labor market. The uncertainty expressed last month about the short-term outlook has dissipated and consumers are once again feeling optimistic about the near future. Income expectations, however, were little improved.”

However, the cutoff date for the preliminary results was August 13, meaning the gauge was conducted during a period prior to the stock market worries. Whether or not confidence holds remains to be seen.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, which is based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch.

From the Report:

Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was considerably more favorable in August. Those saying business conditions are “good” decreased marginally from 23.4 percent to 23.2 percent. Those claiming business conditions are “bad” declined modestly from 18.2 percent to 17.6 percent. Consumers were considerably more positive about the job market. Those stating jobs are “plentiful” increased from 19.9 percent to 21.9 percent, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” decreased from 27.4 percent to 21.9 percent.

Consumers’ optimism about the short-term outlook also improved in August. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased slightly from 15.3 percent to 15.8 percent, while those expecting business conditions to worsen declined from 10.3 percent to 8.3 percent.

Consumers’ outlook for the labor market was more upbeat. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased from 13.7 percent to 14.6 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs decreased sharply from 19.0 percent to 13.6 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase declined moderately from 17.0 percent to 16.2 percent, while the proportion expecting a decline decreased from 11.3 percent to 10.0 percent.

The Conference Board reports its gauge of

Video

[brid video=”13898″ player=”1929″ title=”Black IL Mom Peggy Hubbard Takes to Facebook to Rip Black Lives Matter”]

Peggy Hubbard, an African American mother living in Illinois, took to Facebook to rip Black Lives Matter and the anti-police protests on Thursday, August 20. Now, as of Tuesday Aug. 25, the roughly six-minute video has gone viral, racking up over 300,000 views on YouTube.

“You guys need to stop. You’re hollering this black lives matters (stuff). It don’t matter. You’re killing each other,” Hubbard said. “White people don’t care. They don’t care. Save us some tax dollars. I need new parts for my Harley. If you want to die, die. Go ahead and knock yourself out. Your life does not matter. If it doesn’t matter to you then it doesn’t matter to us. That is the truth of the reality. If you don’t care then we don’t care.”

Hubbard, who states on her Facebook profile that she is from St. Louis and now lives in Rockford, Illinois, says the protesters should be standing up for innocent victims killed every night in the streets of St. Louis.

Peggy Hubbard, an African American mother living

Video

Trump: We Make Great Products, But We Can’t Compete

Donald Trump reacted to the latest Wall Street scare regarding the markets and economy in China during an appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor” on Monday Aug. 24, 2015. While conducting the interview, Bill O’Reilly asked The Donald to explain how China devaluating currency (yuan) impacts the U.S. economy and allows them to take our jobs.

Bill O'Reilly asked Donald Trump on Monday

Economy

Blitzer: “Two Possible Clouds on the Horizon for Housing Market”

Home-Prices-Home-Sales-Reuters

Home sales and home prices data and reports. (Photo: REUTERS)

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas in June gained 5.0% on a year-over-year basis, slightly quicker than the 4.9% rate in May. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 5.1% gain.

U.S. single-family home prices rose a tad faster from a year ago in June, suggesting resilience in the housing sector as the Federal Reserve has stuck to a near-zero interest rate policy, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday.

“Nationally, home prices continue to rise at a 4-5% annual rate, two to three times the rate of inflation,” says David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “While prices in San Francisco and Denver are rising far faster than those in Washington DC, New York, or Cleveland, the city-to-city price patterns are little changed in the last year.”

Eleven cities in all reported greater price increases in the year ending June 2015 over the year ending May 2015. Denver, San Francisco, and Dallas again experienced the biggest year-over-year gain in home prices among the 20 cities surveyed, seeing price increases of 10.2%, 9.5% and 8.2%, respectively. Phoenix reported a 4.1% in June 2015–the seventh consecutive year-over-year increase–while Detroit posted a 5.7% gain in June 2015, the sixth consecutive year-over-year increase.

“Washington saw the smallest year-over-year gains in five of the last six months; San Francisco and Denver ranked either first or second of all cities in the last five months,” says Blitzer. “The price gains have been consistent as the unemployment rate declined with steady inflation and an unchanged Fed policy.”

While a series of Fed rate increases and a “full blown bear market” for stocks would hurt the housing market, one rate hike and a stock market correction will unlikely damage the housing sector, Blitzer said.

“Two possible clouds on the horizon are a possible Fed rate increase and volatility in the stock market,” Blitzer warned. “A one quarter-point increase in the Fed funds rate won’t derail housing. However, if the Fed were to quickly follow that initial move with one or two more rate increases, housing and home prices might suffer.”

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20

Economy, Markets

NYSE-Markets-Reuters

Traders on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with Barclays, etc. (Photo: Reuters)

U.S. stocks are trading higher following yet another move by the Chinese central bank to cut interest rates in an effort to stop the bleeding and anxiety. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) cut the country’s benchmark interest rate by 0.25%, pulling the one-year lending rate down to 4.6%. The PBoC also slashed the reserve ratio requirement for banks by 0.5 percentage points, effective September 6.

The Shanghai Composite Index (SHA:000001) fell 7.6% overnight, sliding 244.94 to 2,964.97. But, as of 9:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) climbed to 16,235.46, up 364.11, or 2.29%. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) climbed 38.63 to 1,931.84, or 2.04%, while the Nasdaq (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) was up over 108 to 4,635.12, or 2.4%.

Peoples-Bank-China-PBoC-Rate-Chart

“The Chinese stock market may be caught up in its own chaos, but the rest of the global equity markets are recovering,” IG Market Analyst David Madden said in a note. “While the moves we’ve experienced this morning in Europe are encouraging, the market still has a lot of ground to make up before we’re back to normal levels.”

The rate cut is aimed at reducing corporate borrowing costs and to ensure enough liquidity for stable credit growth. Monday, the Shanghai Composite lost nearly 8.5 percent at Monday’s close, wiping out Shanghai’s gains for the entire 2015 year. It was the largest daily percentage decline since February 2007 and, following trading Tuesday, the index has lost 15% on the year.

Commodity markets also climbed higher on Tuesday, despite some still nearing six-and-a-half year lows, such as global oil prices. U.S. crude increased 3.22% to $39.48 a barrel, while Brent Crude, which is the international benchmark, rose 2.86 % to $43.93 a barrel. Silver gained 0.35% to $14.85 an ounce, while copper rose 1.80% to $2.29 a pound. Gold actually slid 0.19% to $1,151 a troy ounce as traders shifted positions to riskier assets on the heels of the prior session’s selloff. To that point, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond rose 0.068 of a percentage point to 2.066%.

In currencies, the U.S. dollar rose 0.14% against the Chinese yuan, while the euro fell 1.03% against the greenback.

U.S. stocks are trading higher following yet

Politics

Cuban: Most Important Word for Trump is “Killer”

Mark-Cuban-TheBlaze

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on The Glenn Beck Program, Feb. 24, 2015. (Photo: TheBlaze TV)

Mark Cuban, the well-known owner of the Dallas Mavericks, weighed in on Donald Trump in what he called his “Cyber Dust 2 minute guide to understanding Donald.” In the Dallas News, The Shark Tank entrepreneur said Trump’s most important word is killer, and “we want to vote for a killer of those who threaten our future,” But he stopped short of supporting the real estate mogul, fellow billionaire and TV personality.

“If you are not a killer, he doesn’t respect you. If you are a smart killer, you have used knowledge, effort and something that makes you special to accomplish what most dream of,” Cuban wrote. “He does not think any of the other candidates in either party is a killer. Which is why he has no trouble criticizing them. There is no one running that can stand up to him. He knows it. That’s why he isn’t leaving anytime soon. He smells the kill.”

Cuban also said that Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson, the other two insurgent anti-political class candidates in the race, “have not had enough personal finance success for him to consider them a threat.” He did, however, offer some advice to other candidates, and took the chance to “toy” with the current Republican frontrunner.

“If you want to beat Donald in the summer and winter you have to be a smart killer that can go toe to toe with him and crush him with his kryptonite,” Cuban wrote. “His kryptonite is technology. He doesn’t understand it.”

“He is lucky I am not running. I would toy with him :)”

Below you can find Cuban’s message typed out exactly how he sent it.

–

5 weeks till training camp. I’m so ready.

But until then Donald Trump watching is a sport 🙂 so here is my Cyber Dust 2 minute guide to understanding Donald

First. I like him. Will I vote for him? Way too early to decide.

Now here is what you need to know about DJT:

1. His most important word is Killer.

If you are not a killer, he doesn’t respect you. If you are a smart killer, you have used knowledge, effort and something that makes you special to accomplish what most dream of.

He does not think any of the other candidates in either party is a killer. Which is why he has no trouble criticizing them.

He knows the best most can do is talk about their political accomplishments which no potential voter that is paying attention now respects. If our politicians approvals are at all time lows, saying u are great at is plays right into his hands

As far as fiorina and ben, they have not had enough personal finance success for him to consider them a threat.

If you want to beat Donald in the summer and winter you have to be a smart killer that can go toe to toe with him and crush him with his kryptonite.

His kryptonite is technology. He doesn’t understand it.

He is lucky I am not running. I would toy with him 🙂

There is no one running that can stand up to him. He knows it. That’s why he isn’t leaving anytime soon. He smells the kill.

2. You have to understand how DJT approaches problems. He looks at any issue like a business issue and asks himself “can I solve it and how” 99pct.of the time he will have the confidence to think he can. Like most ultra successful people he sees solutions and thinks it’s a matter of effort to go from concept to result. He knows he could fail. But he will deal with that when he gets there

3. He doesn’t see downsides. This is what the media doesn’t understand. They always look at the “fallout” Donald listens for applause. He is always selling and n the summer and winter applause, ratings and bodies at events are votes. He knows everyone hates every politician, so no matter what he says as long as ratings and bodies are there, he is winning.

That’s it. that is all you need to know about DJT to understand him

I said pay attention to how DJT says things more than what he says. People hate politicians. Donald fashioned himself a Killer of political correctness. A Killer of politics as usual. A killer of those, both real and imagined who would threaten American’s future.

Donald Trump has changed politics. We want to vote for a killer of those who threaten our future. He has sold his way to that position. I think even those who hate him now, when the number of candidates thin, may come around and realive that he may be a better alternative and vote for him, even if they don’t like him

Will he be the next POTUS? I still think the odds are against it. But it will be a fun sport to watch

Mark Cuban, the famed owner of the

Sports

British IndyCar Driver Justin Wilson Dead at 31

IndyCar-Driver-Justin-Wilson

Aug. 22, 2015: Justin Wilson, of England, walking on pit road during qualifying for Sunday’s Pocono IndyCar 500 auto race. (Photo: AP/Derik Hamilton)

IndyCar driver Justin Wilson, 37, died Monday night from a head injury suffered when a piece of flaming debris from another car struck him at Pocono Raceway. IndyCar made the announcement at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Wilson, a British driver living outside of Denver in Longmont, Colorado, was hit in the head during Sunday’s veered into an interior wall at the track after being hit by a piece of debris that had broken off another car. He was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

“Can’t even begin to describe the loss I feel right now. He was my Brother, my best friend, my role model and mentor. He was a champion!” his younger brother, Stefan, also an IndyCar driver, tweeted. Stefan also said his brother’s organs would be donated.

The last IndyCar driver to die from an on-track incident was Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon, who was killed in the 2011 season finale at Las Vegas when his car went airborne and his head hit a post in the fence. Following Wheldon’s death, Wilson became one of three driver representatives to serve as a liaison between the competitors and IndyCar, and was well-liked and respected by his peers.

“Justin’s elite ability to drive a race car was matched by his unwavering kindness, character and humility — which is what made him one of the most respected members of the paddock,” said Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co., the parent company of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Wilson, himself, broke a bone in his back at Mid-Ohio in 2011 and missed the final six races of the season. He was forced to wear a back brace for over two months. Because he was restricted from any physical activity, he missed the season finale at Las Vegas, the race where Wheldon died. Further, Wilson also suffered a broken pelvis and a bruised lung in the 2013 season finale at Fontana, but never let his injuries and Wheldon’s death change his views on his career or the sport.

“You’ve got to know the risks and work out if those risks are acceptable,” Wilson told The Associated Press upon his return to racing in 2012. “To me, it’s acceptable. But I’m not going to stop trying to improve it. All the drivers, this IndyCar, we’re always trying to make it safer, but at the end of the day, it’s a race car. We’re racing hard, we’re racing IndyCars and it’s fast. When it goes wrong, it can get messy.”

Wilson, from Sheffield, England, won sever times over his 12-season open-wheel racing career, and finish 5th in the famed Indianapolis 500. He won the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona with Michael Shank Racing, and he competed in 20 Formula One races in 2003 before moving to the U.S. to join Champ Car, where he finished third in 2005 and was runner-up in both 2006 and 2007. He sign on with Andretti Autosport for the sixth of seven scheduled races with the team in an agreement that started as a two-race deal for the events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but it was increased to the final five races of the year. The IndyCar season concludes Sunday in Sonoma, California.

“While Justin was only part of the Andretti lineup for a short time, it only took a second for him to forever become part of the Andretti family,” the Andretti team said. “His life and racing career is a story of class and passion surpassed by none. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Wilson family and fans worldwide. Godspeed, JW.”

Andretti Autosport also called Wilson “a tremendous racer, a valuable member of the team and respected representative to our sport.”

Justin Wilson is survived by his wife Julia Wilson, their two daughters, 7 and 5. The family is asking for donations to a trust fund for his daughters in lieu of flowers.

IndyCar driver Justin Wilson, 37, died Monday

Opinion

Limbaugh on Trump Candidacy, and GOP Reaction

Donald-Trump-Mobile-AL

Aug 21., 2015: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves to supporters during a campaign rally in Mobile, Ala. (Photo: AP/Brynn Anderson)

Commentators and political consultants are working overtime to divine why Donald Trump’s candidacy is explosively successful despite his breaking all the established rules. They’re outthinking themselves.

They say he is a flash in the pan, the darling of disaffected independents, the tea party’s dream, a Clinton plant or the right wing’s narcissistic alternative to Barack Obama. Folks, it’s not that difficult. For many Americans — who knows what percentage? — the Republican Party is not an antidote to President Obama’s seven-year wrecking ball.

They look at the GOP and occasionally see strong rhetoric but mostly observe a lack of inspiration, energy and any sense of urgency about the current state of affairs. They recall that when Republicans didn’t have control of Congress, they asked for patience until they recaptured the House. In the meantime, we were not supposed to rock the boat and jeopardize the upcoming elections.

Since winning back Congress, they’ve offered a similarly tired excuse: We don’t have control of the presidency. Just wait until 2016, and we’ll really turn things around. But for now, let’s be calm.

Calm? What is there to be calm about?

Those living outside the Beltway wonder why there isn’t universal horror over the $18 trillion debt and $100 trillion of unfunded liabilities threatening our kids’ future, the gutting of our military, the government’s destruction of the world’s best health care system, the assault on American businesses and the energy industry, Obama’s runaway Environmental Protection Agency, his managed invasion of our borders, his war on Christians’ religious liberty, his mistreatment of Israel, the Iran deal, and the government’s funding a notorious abortion factory.

It’s true; Republicans don’t have control of the executive branch. But that doesn’t mean they have no power. They have the power of the purse. They didn’t have to forfeit their constitutional power on the nuclear arms deal with Iran.

Obama hasn’t had the power to do many of the things he’s done, either — from granting selective exemptions on Obamacare to granting amnesty to “Dreamers” — but nothing has stopped him.

Likewise, the same-sex marriage lobby didn’t have anywhere close to a majority when it started bullying its way toward societal and legal legitimacy, but it proceeded fearlessly. And it got results.

Even if you believe that Republicans have no power, is that any excuse for their always having their tail between their legs? Some see little evidence that the Republican Party believes in its own ideas anymore.

But that’s not the case with Donald Trump. Even if he isn’t a Reagan conservative, at least he’s got the courage to take on the status quo — the outrages of the Obama administration, the complacency of establishment Republicans and the tyranny of political correctness.

Trump is standing up, shaking his fist at the Beltway elite and saying he is tired of the intentionally managed decline of America and the impotence and apparent indifference of Republicans. In contrast with much of the GOP ruling class, he is high-energy, is in your face, has no tolerance for excuses and is vigorously proud of America. He refuses to take no for an answer, unlike most Republicans, with a few notable exceptions, who seem to lust after any excuse for inaction and avoid confrontation at all costs. Trump may get more slack because he’s an outsider, but it’s time that our risk-averse people took some chances themselves.

Trump is filling a void, which he couldn’t do if one didn’t exist. Like him or not, he is shaking things up, sounding an alarm and showing other candidates what appeals to voters.
Some look at establishment Republicans and see those comfortable with Obamacare lite. They pretend to favor full repeal but in the end will only tweak it. They say they’re fierce free-marketers, but they’ll barely reform the tax code. They acknowledge that entitlements are bankrupting us, but they don’t have the guts to make the case for restructuring them. They promise to cut government spending, but they think that means shaving pennies off the rate of increase. They say they’ll protect the borders, but they spend half their time trying to prove they’re not xenophobes.

When Ronald Reagan was vying for the Republican nomination, he didn’t muzzle himself for fear of scaring off moderates. He said what he believed. Leadership is presenting ideas you believe in and selling them even to a minority. It is not keeping your powder dry until the next election. Do you ever see the wildly successful left doing that?
Trump is showing leadership, whether or not you like him or believe in his authenticity or his ideas. Before you complain too much about him, you should ask yourself what his success says about the establishment’s prescription of sitting on our hands and biding our time.

Trump is hardly my first choice, but he is doing a lot of good right now, including showing the value of confidently presenting your ideas and how “making America great again” is a message that still strongly resonates with voters.

Let’s quit spending so much time worrying about Trump and focus on regaining confidence in our own ideas and presenting them to the American people.

[mybooktable book=”jesus-on-trial-a-lawyer-affirms-truth-the-gospel” display=”summary” buybutton_shadowbox=”true”]

Commentators and political consultants are working overtime

Opinion

US-Serviceman-Heroes-France

Spencer Stone, left, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler prevented what a French official said would have been “a terrible tragedy. (Photos: AP)

Every country has its heroes, but something in America’s cultural sauce makes for a unique and unusually effective variety. The ingredient would be improvisation — the ability to perform without preparation, using whatever is at hand to complete the task.

As most of the world knows, Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler — three pals on a European jaunt — were on a fancy train hurtling toward Paris, when a terrorist bristling with weaponry started attacking passengers.

The Americans were unarmed, but when Skarlatos said “Let’s go” to Stone, the off-duty U.S. airman ran down the aisle, grabbed the man by the neck and wouldn’t let go, even as the attacker slashed him. Skarlatos grabbed his gun. Sadler and a British passenger, Chris Norman, held down various limbs.

Improvisation requires letting gut instinct take the wheel from overthinking. As Skarlatos, a National Guardsman who spent time in Afghanistan, later told the media, his actions on the train weren’t “a conscious decision.”

Jazz, a truly American musical form, is all about improvisation, making it up as you go. “Do not fear mistakes,” Miles Davis said. “There are none.”

“Let’s go” reminded many of “Let’s roll,” Todd Beamer’s famous words on a doomed airliner hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001. Beamer and other passengers were trying to neutralize the terrorists and regain control of the airliner.

Before the Normandy D-Day invasion, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower instructed his field commanders to make quick decisions on their own rather than wait for instructions from above. They did, and their improvisation saved many American lives on the battlefield.

In 2009, pilot Chesley Sullenberger landed his disabled airliner on the Hudson River without a single loss of life in a classic example of on-the-spot improvising. Air controllers had suggested one of two nearby airports for an emergency landing, but instinct sharpened by experience told Sullenberger to take that unconventional — and successful — option.

Perhaps because Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler acted so simply, they did not fully comprehend the complex aftermath of what they had done — including the depth of their heroism.

Exercising calm control, they beat the terrorist unconscious but not to death. Stone attended to another wounded passenger in the car, though he himself was seriously hurt. He is a trained medic. That’s what medics do.

Once the assailant was out cold, the Americans, with some help, tied him up like a package and handed him over to the French authorities. In their way of thinking, the drama was over.
“I thought they were going to let us go after questioning,” Sadler later told assembled media.

Did they imagine that after saving a trainload of passengers, they’d just move on to their next European adventure, say, waiting in line to see the Le Corbusier exhibit at the Pompidou Center?

There was nothing false about these Americans’ modesty. They seemed surprised to find themselves in the ornate Elysees Palace, being handed the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award, along with Norman.

But there was French President Francois Hollande, tailored to the millimeter, handing medals to the three Americans, who, though clean and pressed, were suitless and tieless. (At least their shirts had collars.) Norman had packed a suit and tie.

Americans obviously don’t have a monopoly on quick and courageous action. Do remember Jasper Schuringa, the Dutch national who may have saved Northwest Flight 253 in 2009. Upon seeing a terrorist trying to set off bombs sewn in his underwear, Schuringa jumped over seats to tackle him and started putting out the fire with his hands.

For the three Americans on the train, improvising saved the day, but because it came so naturally, they didn’t see the big deal in it. By now, one hopes, they know otherwise.

Every country has its heroes, but something

Opinion

2016-Presidential-Candidates

A compilation of the 2016 presidential candidates in both the Republican Party and Democrat Party fields.

Despite a nuclear Iran looming on the horizon, the media seem to be putting most of their attention on two candidates for their respective parties’ presidential nominations next year. Moreover, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each make their own party nervous.

If next year’s election comes down to Clinton versus Trump, a lot of people may simply stay home in disgust.

When we are this far away from the official start of the primary election season, we can usually just say, “It’s still early days.” Many a front runner this early in the process ended up out of the running by the time the party conventions were held, and totally forgotten by election day.

That is the way it usually is. But that is not likely to be the way it will be this time. This is Hillary Clinton’s last hurrah. It is now or never for her. And the Democrats have nobody comparable as a vote-getter to put in her place.

Even if an investigation finds Mrs. Clinton found guilty of violating the law in the way she handled e-mails when she was Secretary of State, the Obama administration is not likely to prosecute her. And President Obama can always pardon her, so that the next administration cannot prosecute her either. So Hillary doesn’t even have to take a plea bargain.

Someone with a sense of shame might well withdraw from the contest for the Democratic Party’s nomination, now that public opinion polls show that most people distrust her. But since when have the Clintons ever had a sense of shame?

On the Republican side, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has pointed out that if Donald Trump can continue to get 20 or 25 percent of the Republican voters on his side, he can build up a formidable lead of delegates in winner-take-all primaries.

It will not matter if 60 percent of the Republican voters turn against him, if that 60 percent is split up among all the other Republican candidates, with none of those candidates getting more votes than Trump.

Sometimes financial backers can withdraw their support and force a stubborn candidate to drop out of the race. But Trump has enough money of his own to stay in the race as long as he wants to, even if that ruins the Republicans’ chances of winning the 2016 elections.

Ironically, the Republicans have a much stronger set of presidential candidates than usual to choose from this year. But the media obsession with Trump means that even the best of these candidates are not likely to get enough exposure for most voters to get to know much about them.

Governors with superb records — such as Bobby Jindal in Louisiana and Scott Walker in Wisconsin — may not have much name recognition on the national scene. And certainly the little sound bites in the so-called “debates” are not likely to tell the voters much.

This is not just the candidates’ problem. With this country facing historic dangers, both internally and internationally, we urgently need to find someone with depth, insight and courage as the next President of the United States.

But, with the media obsessed with Donald Trump’s show biz talents and persona — and covering everything he says, does or might do, 24/7 — how are the voters to sort through the large number of Republican candidates to find a couple that are worth getting to know more thoroughly?

It will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. And never was finding that needle, the right leader, more important for the nation.

Internally, we are so polarized over immigration that our current “leaders” have left our borders wide open to terrorists from around the world, rather than take the political risks of offending voters on one side of this issue or offending voters on the opposite side. Instead, they risk American lives by their inaction.

Internationally, our “leaders” have written a blank check for our most dangerous and fanatical enemy — Iran — to get both nuclear bombs and the missiles to deliver them. And the Obama administration, with a track record of huge shameless lies, offers us its reassurances.

We had better find that needle in a haystack, someone who can salvage a desperate situation. Flamboyant rhetoric is not enough.

Thomas Sowell sorts out the 2016 candidates

People's Pundit Daily
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