Michael Hayden, former NSA and CIA Director and a man whom I admire greatly, was on TV this morning and he was asked if he agreed with Donald Trump when he said multiple times that Obummer created ISIS. Hayden replied, to the surprise of the questioner, that yes Obummer's premature departure from Iraq, his "red line" back-down with Syria, and his Libyan fiasco ... all helped to spawn ISIS out of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. However, he did say that the way Trump communicated this fact was impolitic to say the least and he was not happy with it.
General Hayden was then asked about his recent statement, along with 49 other former intelligence officers, that he would not be voting for Trump ... see: VOA News Story. His response was also encouraging ... that he would not be voting for Clinton either. He also added that neither he nor necessarily the 49 other signers were Republicans. Yes, most served in Republican administrations, but that doesn't mean that they are political. He claimed that he has tried to be apolitical ... I think for good reason.
How do I feel about Trump's way of communicating? Yes, he is often immature and impolitic at his rallies ... and I wish he was more like Hayden. However, he is being heard by vast swaths of the voting public who need these simple messages that speak directly and plainly to them. Trump will never be William Buckley or David Brooks at the podium. But, then again, he will never be nuanced to the point of being taken both ways ... like most politicians. And, in some respects, this is his strength ... perhaps his only strength ... possibly why he is so resistant to changing his approach. For this straight talk, no matter the outcome in November, one must give him credit.
He clearly will live or die as a populist.
