I think we rocketed right past "Trump's Katrina" about a week ago...this is a whole new animal.

[Miles Archer]

If you haven't seen the SNL clip of Michael Che's comments that I just posted in Video & Multimedia, I encourage you to check it out. He says what most of us are thinking. The best line is about Trump needing to go "smoke a Virginia Slim until his hands stop shaking" after San Juan's Mayor was "nasty" to him.

Bush screwed up. It hit him fast, it hit him hard, his handlers got through to him, and while much of what he did after that looked extremely staged (especially the hugging photos), he at least went through the motions.

But Puerto Rico?

This one's gonna leave a mark. From an "optics" standpoint, I think it's too late for Trump, and it will be fascinating to see what happens on Tuesday...especially if he spews more bile on Twitter after his visit, unless of course he cancels it in advance.

[Not Ruth]

1. I think that this will fuel the independence movement

There will be those that want to leave Puerto Rico (and move to yet another hurricane prone area like Orlando????) and those who are done with the US for good.

[Hortensis]

5. Of course. But will that hurt Republicans in the elections? How much?

Texas got prompt and competent relief for Harvey because its Gov. Greg Abbott has a mutually beneficial relationship with the Kochs and their alliance. Gov. Abbott is up for reelection in 2018 and could run for president in 2020. The Kochs, and their tools and agents in government, have a real interest in good press for relief to the people of Texas.

But what's in it for the Republican Party to go all out Puerto Rico? How much would the party be hurt by only providing basic relief to a Hispanic dominated island territory that can't support itself, was already badly in debt, is going to need billions in aid to rebuild, and has millions of brown-skinned people who are currently able to move to the mainland at will because they're citizens? And do? How happy would many Repubs be to wish just Puerto Ricans a happy independence?

Note that aid already committed, even if inadequate, is nevertheless extremely substantial in numbers and dollars terms. Far more is needed, of course, but if the tap isn't opened for the future, the initial relief provided will allow most Repubs to claim they've done all that reasonably should be. Rump is already laying the ground for that with his talk of PR's debt, not helping itself, etc.

Oh, and as for breaking away, I think we can just assume that Russia is already fully invested in making sure this split grows and is as nasty and demoralizing to the U.S., including Puerto Ricans who are proud to be Americans, as possible.

[Not Ruth]

11. I think that the "separation" began when the US military closed up a few years ago

This will be the "divorce"

[Hortensis]

15. Many valid problems, Not Ruth. But irrelevant to the point I was making.

Really bad people have gotten control of the Republican Party. They are devoid of altruism, proudly, and despise the America we believe in, that we are proud of and have good reason to be grateful for.

Texas is important to the Kochs themselves specifically because theirs is an energy fortune and Texas is an oil state, including ports. And, of course, as I said, its governor is effectively one of their agents and his pursuit of power is being nurtured.

But Puerto Rico? What's in it for them whether PR stays or goes? They've made a religion of eliminating almost all taxes, very much including those that would pay to rebuild PR, and the Virgin Islands. Their only reason I can see for keeping PR in the U.S. would be if they wanted to invest there and wanted to be able to reach into our taxpayer kitty to pay for their investments.

Yet they have not been investing there, and Rump's tweets are, as always, at least somewhat revealing of what his handlers are feeding him and/or how his emotional reactions are being shaped by those whispering in his ears, etc. Right now, they're saying PR doesn't deserve to be helped, was already broken down and would be far too expensive to rebuild, and we're already more than generous to these lazy Hispanics way, way out there in the ocean who aren't even really real Americans.

You know, all these guys operate internationally. They have Geneva, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Miami and people eager to schmooze and fawn over them everywhere. What's PR to them except a diversion of taxpayer money they plan to flow to their pockets?

[Volaris]

19. Investments...

Let's wait 6 months, and see what kind of rock-bottom land deals Trump gets for his next golf course. This is Disaster Capitalism at its most pure, and it's being racially (not politically) perpetrated against American Citizens by their own goddamn PRESIDENT. This one's gonna leave a mark, I think.

I keep asking myself what the hell is it going to take for him to get himself impeached?
The only correct answer I can come up with is 'A Democratic Majority.'
2018 Midterms will define our Nation's path for the next 25 years, and that's a good chunk of time to either start fixing what's wrong, or lose the rest of it for a century.

THAT needs to be the message to 'voters in the middle', and those that would otherwise Stay Home.

It's Put up, or Shut up Time, America.

[Siwsan]

2. Bush isn't completely lacking in empathy and compassion.

trump*, being a truly pathological narcissist, doesn't care about anyone but himself and won't do anything that doesn't directly benefit his financial portfolio and feed his pathetically delusional 'base'. He can never admit to being wrong, so his only option is to double down on his mistakes - because he doesn't see them as being mistakes.

I see trump* as being Cheney, on steroids.

[mucifer]

6. I felt that Katrina and starting the war in Iraq showed w lacked empathy.

[Siwsan]

8. I thought it played more to his "daddy" issues

Bush, at least, did a lot of work for African Aids relief. Trump would simply send out a blaming tweet.

[Miles Archer]

7. I think with Bush it was largely a lack of awareness

A sense of entitlement, a sense of a guy who never had his home swept away by flood waters, BUT, he's not completely lacking in humanity. He's just a grown-up rich kid who thinks like a rich kid, who addresses a room full of mega-donors as his "base."

He's toned that nonsense down a lot since leaving office. I'm not advocating for him here or attempting to be a revisionist on his eight years in office, but he is most certainly not Donald Trump.

I agree with you completely on the Cheney comparison...the guy with 5 deferments who had "other priorities" while our Military fought and died in Vietnam. That's Trump, the Bone Spur Cowboy,

[Girard442]

3. People are getting to the point where they realize that he's either:

1. Too mentally incompetent to function as an adult. "They'll be fine. They can just eat Pop-Tarts and drink soda."

2. So dead in his soul he doesn't understand why anyone should care or even pretend to care whether Puerto Ricans live or die.

3. So evil he actively wants them to die.

[MyOwnPeace]

4. I vote.....

Number 1!!

HE IS STUPID!!!!

[Lochloosa]

10. All of the above.

[Lindsay]

12. I vote for

4. All of the above.

[SammyWinstonJack]

17. A combination of all three, leaning heavily on #2.

[dalton99a]

18. He's all three

[Brainstormy]

9. Bush was ignorant, but

he wasn't mean. His handlers were. But Bush had something resembling a soul.

[madokie]

14. As sorry as bush the lessor was

he was a saint compared to Anusmouth

[madokie]

13. What goes up must come down

he reached his apex a long time ago

The fall will best be described as the CRASH

The boy ain't right, nuf said

[get the red out]

16. But with gerrymandering

His base is is the only voice that matters politically.