Election 2016: Of Winners and Losers, by Dr. Sarah Condor, 10/17/16,
Politichicks
After the second debate, mass media
pundits said that Hillary Clinton won because Trump stayed in the ring,
fighting – meaning that had he fallen and been substituted with e.g. Mike
Pence, the race would be winnable for the Republicans. This is a false concept
of winning, based on a culture of consolation trophies.
As Rocky said: “It ain’t about how
hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward… how
much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.” (Rocky
Balboa/Sly to his son in “Rocky 6”) What Rocky meant to say is that it
is not about survival as such. If your opponent suffers a knockout in the
first round, thirty seconds into the fight, the viewers will question whether
it was just a lucky strike, a “surprise blow.” Real Champions are tested by the
journey, the entire war, not based on a lucky strike in one battle.
There is an undeniable track of
losses in Clinton’s history: Russia’s “reset” was hardly a win; Iraq’s fall to
ISIS and the latter’s spread around the world is clearly as great a loss as
any; the Iran-Russia-Syria coalition against the United States changes
geopolitical geography as much as the formation of Warsaw Pact did; Libya’s
overthrow of Khadafy and Clinton’s tacitly supplying arms to ISIS in north
Africa, as well as the fall of Europe to the Muslim invasion… those cannot be
called “wins” for our civilization by any standard or measure.
Hillary Clinton lost every round she
has ever fought, including the fight for her husband and for the black people.
400 signatures on individual pieces of legislature mean nothing – as nothing
has changed for the common people. Her stating this as an accomplishment merely
reflects her distorted view of what leadership means: rule from above, limiting
individual growth, responsibility, sense of achievement.
What is more, comparing Donald Trump
to a dictator as some uneducated NBC/CNN anchors do, is a testimony to their
utter ignorance and indoctrination. Dictators become rich in office. Dictators
take the money of special interests and chop off their heads when they reach a
position of power. Dictators disregard laws and pass executive orders and
“BigGov Care” pieces of comprehensive legislature no-one can read under false
pretense of achievement…
What puzzles me is people like Mitt
Romney coming out against Donald Trump. Let us recall that in the 2012 race,
when Romney pointed out that “the government picks losers” (e.g. Solyndra), the
media had an easy job finding out that while the government lost (i.e.
government-chosen companies went to bankruptcy 8% of the time), Romney’s Bain
Capital did so 22% of the time, which is 1 in 5 companies Bain picked while
Romney was in charge went bankrupt.
Romney should have replied that
there is no comparison between free market and government subsidized
businesses. He should have cited Hayek, perhaps even Orwell – building
nonsensical windmills in order to do what exactly? Show how powerful one is?
Romney failed to do so, just as he failed to fight back in the ring when Ms.
Crowley sided with Obama. This makes Romney a loser. What makes him a “sore
loser” is his current attitude and lack of the ability to learn from his loss.
By comparison, McCain is not a loser
because Obama had had no record (e.g. of picking Solyndra), was a new kid on
the block, had charisma – 100% of blacks had voted for him then. McCain should
never have said “You need not be afraid of Obama… he is a good man,” (to
paraphrase) – because you simply do not do that while the battle goes on.
Can you imagine General Grant saying
to President Lincoln: “We need not be afraid of Lee. I know him, he is a good
man.” Or imagine General Patton saying that about Keisel; or, better still,
imagine Churchill (saying the same) about Hitler. Neville Chamberlain actually
did so, even as he was shaking Mussolini’s hand in Munich in 1938… How did that
go for him? He became one of the biggest losers in history!
But all is allowed in love and war –
and politics, they say, for war is a continuation of politics by other means
(to cite von Clausewitz). For example, the North would never have won over the
South had it not been for intelligence, good luck, and equally-minded
perseverance. Here is an example of luck: when the Northern armies discovered
the three cigar scrolls General Lee wrapped his orders in for General Hill
before Antietam, the outcome was determined by luck. But one cannot rely on
luck. Today: three “c” classified emails in the hands of our enemies can
destroy the country… Negligence may kill. Winners are not negligent.
As an Olympic athlete, I can tell
you one thing: you may see those on the podium as winners, but the fact is that
they have lost as many times as anyone. What they did differently? They stayed
in the ring and took the blows. They learned from their mistakes, improved and
persevered. Luck? Luck is important, which is why athletes pray. However, it is
90% hard work and perseverance, 5% talent, and 5% luck. One cannot prepare for
every eventuality, but one can prepare for the most likely one.
Finally, no real winner relies on
bad luck for his or her opponent. No real winner relies on how the other
competitor is prepared. No real winner relies on luck, period. Most of all, no
real winner wins by cheating. One who stands on the podium at the end of the
race/fight/debate grinning like a rat, all pumped up with prohibited substances,
doing whatever they have done – for fame and money… those are not winners.
Those are real losers.
At the end of the day, winners are
our heroes – not because they always win, but because they have the strength of
character, the willpower to persevere, the strength to admit to fault and
correct their mistakes. Winners are genuine and true. Winners are not perfect
and do not always win, but they persevere. Donald Trump has not only all that –
he also has the strength and grit to recognize it in his opponent. He is like
General Grant in that he never underestimates his foe. He is like Winston
Churchill in that he calls a spade a spade when it matters. He is also like a
common man in that he has his weaknesses, slips and falls at times – but always
picks himself up from the ground and keeps on punching. Speak of winners and
losers – ha – this contest is not even a close call!
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