Poll: Grade trump on his first 100 days in office

[pbrower2a]

D.

D- would imply political instability (as in barely surviving a coup or being in danger of impeachment and removal). F would imply that he had been overthrown in a coup, military defeat, or impeachment and removal.
 

[pbrower2a]

A- because he has mostly given up that populist charade to be a regular Republican, but we still need to get more done, like actually repealing Obamacare.

Betraying the people to whom he appealed is cheating -- failure in itself. It is one thing to make promises that fail because Congress and the courts do not go along; it is another to make a 180 turn on promises made just to become a corporate stooge or align with one's selfish economic interests.

I stick with my "D" for now because he has been getting away with what he does to some extent. The next President that we elect will largely repudiate what he does. He has put the House majority in danger of loss of majority status for very slight successes that have grave dangers attached.

Those who voted against him seem to disapprove of him as President. Yes, he can be re-elected -- but he would practically need to destroy democracy (or get others to destroy it) in the process. I can imagine provisions of the 25th Amendment being used against him, in which case his culpability in presidential failure gets recognized as the result of diminished capacity -- except that he has filled his Cabinet with yes-men who would never do something of the sort unless he were in an irrecoverable coma or certifiably insane.

Sure, I hate his guts. But I try to evade that in my discussion.  I may be a liberal, but I an also looking at him from a libertarian angle. Seemingly everyone likes an Imperial President -- so long as the Great and Glorious Leader gives one what he wants.      

[pbrower2a]

He spent nearly a third of it on vacation at his own properties, which in itself sets off a lot of ethical violations, especially since he is still making money off of these properties. Marred in scandal, his NSA had to resign, attorney general had to recuse himself, and the House Intel chair had to recuse himself, all due to similar reasonings. Got literally nothing accomplished. The things he did were either struck down in court or not really on him (Gorsuch was more McConnell's doing). Crappy foreign relations. Constant mixed messaging. No popular initiatives or proposals. No legislative accomplishments. Blames Democrats for failures of the Republican congressional majorities.

It's a D-.

That's not a D-...

What is up with this forum and giving politicians generous grades? I imagine that if Hitler was President the forum would "grade him on a curve" and give him a collective D. "Disagree with him but very effective at murdering Jews, also, he likes dogs "

The definitive F is being overthrown in a coup or being defeated in a war that one chose to start.  The near-F, the D-, is for being at risk of such.

I see him as a failure, and not only because I dislike him.  After some reflection I can recognize that Ronald Reagan did something right in cutting back the expectations of millions -- compelling people to accept that they really needed to endure poverty doing what people rally want (selling housewares in a store or flipping hamburgers even if they had college degrees) -- so that we could be free of the 'inflation' in stagflation. At least the fast food was good, and retail service was better than we usually get in good times.

So here's how I rate the Presidents that anyone now living can remember:

FDR A- (qualification: the incarceration of Japanese-Americans).
Truman B+ -- had to deal with the post-war flux
Eisenhower B+ -- quiet time, got out of the Korean war with some honor.
Kennedy A- (could have avoided the floozies)
LBJ C (nice legislation, bad war in Vietnam
Nixon F -- for cheating on the exam (Watergate and related offenses)
Ford C- (didn't really have a chance)
Carter D+ (1980 election says it all)
Reagan C -- see above
GHWB C+ (give credit for the end of the Cold War, but ran out of ideas too early)
Clinton B (Ike with some bad sexual behavior)
Dubya D+ (financial bubble, bungled wars)
Obama B+...stopped a possible replay of the Great Depression, just couldn't protect his Party... and would be A- except for his successor
Trump D (see my reasoning above)   

[pbrower2a]

How is F under 50%!?

I, for one, consider an F an indication of having been impeached and removed, resigning under pressure, being overthrown in a military coup, or  getting America into a war in which

(1) significant allies of the US are irretrievably overthrown (let us say North Korea conquers South Korea)

(2) significant territory of the US goes under permanent occupation, if not severance from the USA.

(3) an American city or a city of of a major ally of the US is nuked, or subjected to the destruction by conventional weapons as was Dresden, Hamburg, or Tokyo in the Second World War.

(4) American leadership commits crimes associated with Nazi Germany or Thug Japan in the Second World War or by Saddam Hussein or the Assad family at any time.

--or the appearance of a famine or an insurgency against the federal government.

That is a tough standard of failure.

I gave Nixon an F for cheating on the exam, so to speak. Without that cheat he might have gotten a high grade.

I gave only a D because we have yet to see a military disaster, a sex scandal, a resignation in disgrace, or an economic meltdown. I predict that I will have a D- for him when he is defeated in 2020 for substandard performance as President. Even if he does a few things right by accident Americans might not want him in 2020.

"F" is permanent. There is always some possibility that he changes his course... maybe he has an interview with the Pope or a centenarian Billy Graham and decides to follow Jesus Christ instead of Ayn Rand.  If he ends up doing some good that requires him to sacrifice some of his worst ways, then maybe he ends up with a C- or the like.