Our long orange-colored nightmare is just beginning

F**k!

I nodded out at some time last night while awaiting election of Trump v. Clinton. I awoke right at 2 a.m. this morning to find President-elect Donald J. Trump speaking. “Horse puckey,” as my Senior Chief Smith used to say during my Navy days. “This isn’t happening,” I said, before donning my CPAP mask and crawling back into bed.

This morning after getting out of bed and making coffee I turned on CNN only to find out that last night hadn’t been a dream at all. Donald J. Trump had won the presidency.

Our new national nightmare had begun.

 

How did this happen? Trump and Hillary Clinton had been close in the polls. Most polls showed Clinton slightly ahead although several showed they within the so-called “margin of error.”

Trump said he knew why the polls were finding him losing. It was the same reason he constantly chided the “Disgusting and crooked” media. Simply, it was all of these forces being rigged against him. So how did he win?

So far as the popular vote is concerned, perhaps the polls were fairly close. For the second time since since 2000, the presidency could be won by a Republican with the most electoral votes, with the Democratic candidate taking the lead — at least through this afternoon — in the popular votes. It is summed up more easily with Huffington Post headline: “Electoral College About To Screw Democrats For Second Time In 20 Years.”

Therefore, President-Elect Trump was somewhat correct in that ours is a rigged system. It’s just rigged against the Democrats, not Republicans.

For whatever God-awful reason FBI Director James Comey decided to play Lucy to Mrs. Clinton’s Charlie Brown, may too be a reason for a close election that went instead to Trump. For those of you who are too young or perhaps were a member of an Amazon jungle tribe who never before heard of comic strips — or TV, or indoor plumbing — here is  cultural history moment: Charlie Brown was a comical kid who most of the time looked sad. His tormentor was a little girl named Lucy. Each year during football season, all the kids would come out to play. And each year, Lucy would show up with a football for Charlie Brown to kick. Lucy would hold the football while Charlie Brown would attempt to kick it — anywhere. You see, Lucy always grabbed the ball just as Charlie Brown was about to kick the ball. Charlie Brown would afterwards lie supine on the field with misery, declaring that “next year” he would kick that ball. He never did kick the ball as far as I know.  Lucy always kept the same routine and Charlie Brown always landed on his butt.

The media also deserves the blame. Trump would shout to his rally crowds how “disgusting” the media was. But the media just sat there and took it. But even before that low point, Trump made a practice of calling into this or that cable news network, talking for 10-to-15 minutes a day. The result was his campaign rally crowds were all the political advertisements Trump needed.  His call-ins would show up for CNN or some other network. Following would be one of his surrogates who had great memories so they could recite the daily talking points. Last but not least, the president-elect would say something outrageous at his rallies that would incite his crowds. It seems the more outrageous the comment, the more traction it would receive for his red-meat-chompin’ electorate, as well as free advertising which would ensure another 24-hour news cycle.

Yep, those Trump PR folks would talk up more crap than a stuck tape recorder.

Most of all, it was the American people. You are the reason he was elected president and it’s the same reason you handed two terms to former President George W. Bush — you voted for him and thus, you deserve what you elect. Given, Mrs. Clinton wasn’t the most politically attractive nor the most ethical of candidates. But many of you, some even friends and relatives of mine, voted for the narcissistic poorly-read rich kid from New York.

Sitting in the VA Clinic today while waiting for my eyes to become dilated for an exam was some blow-hard Trump fan was sitting there telling some other veterans why he was happy Trump won. His reasoning, some of which was total bulls**t, included remarks that were insulting to blacks and Hispanics. Especially since a guy with a common Hispanic name and the black veteran sitting across from me. These weren’t words like the N-word bur rather more subtle remarks based mainly on stereotypes. This loud-mouth came back from his visit with one of the optometrists and could just not understand why the doctor — a West Asian woman with dark skin and jet black hair — wouldn’t tell him from what country she (or her family) originated. “She said it was none of my business where I am from,” he said. Those were the only sensible words this loud-mouth produced.

I have no idea how deeply Trump will plunge us — and perhaps the rest of the world — into hot water. For some of the Trump voters out there, it might take a bit longer to recognize. All I have to say is that I hope we recognize what the hell this Orange-hued man named Trump is up to before we have to take cover in our own little once-safe world.