In the first presidential election I was old enough to vote in the candidates were Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and billionaire Ross Perot. I was 21. Clinton won. My friends had a bumper sticker that read: Lick Bush in 92. (Laugh--even if you were a Bush supporter, it's a funny bumper sticker!)
Perhaps it was that election that set up the Clintons to run against billionaires. Ross Perot is actually very similar to Donald Trump. He never held a public office, but ran several successful corporations. You could never understand what Perot was saying. And both he and Trump are a bit funny looking. Looking back over this year's "race to the white house" I can't help but think Trump learned something from Perot. He had to get the Republican nominee to have a chance in hell. And the star of that "Primary" circus was Trump. On the democratic side Hillary was groomed by the National Democratic Party to be the next president since being defeated by Obama eight years ago. Poor Bernie never had a chance.
As the election came to a close Trump was declared the victor. He beat Hillary by electoral votes. And Hillary? She joins Andrew Jackson (Democrat, 1824), Samuel Tilden (Democrat, 1976), Grover Cleveland (Democrat, 1888), and Al Gore (Democrat, 2000) as a candidate to win the popular vote, yet not the electoral vote.
Whether you voted for Trump or Clinton, the ballots have closed and Trump has won. I can offer one condolence for those supporting Clinton -- marijuana, whether recreational or medical, passed in all states where it was a ballot measure except Arizona. This makes the west's "blue" states (pun intended) a recreational marijuana mecca. And don't worry Arizona, California rejected this measure the first time around also!
What happens next? For some, fasten your seat belts, for others run for the border--to escape or go home, your choice before the wall goes up. Republicans rule the House, the Senate and the Oval Office.
Trump is the first businessman to take the seat. He is not a politician. Let's see what he can do. And in four years, if America is not "great again" we can say "You're Fired!"
