POTUS Election thread

[Montmorency]

Well, uh, Kage here's an interesting article on why Finland only cooperates with NATO rather than joining it.

As for the election, looking now I can't help but notice that, despite any loss at all of Pennslyvania-Wisconsin-Michigan being more than just embarrassing for a Democrat candidate, the losses were narrow, around 1%, even 0.3% in Michigan. This might insulate the upper echelons from the urge to reform, if they can rationalize based on the absolute fact of narrow margin there.

For a D candidate it was nearly a bad showing everywhere, even inspiring more NYC metro citizens to vote R - over a million - than since Reagan's time.

[Kagemusha]

Well, uh, Kage here's an interesting article on why Finland only cooperates with NATO rather than joining it.

Monty how is that relevant to the issue? Finland´s lack of NATO membership can be explained rather more easily. There is no popular majority support for NATO membership in Finland as the "working man" still believes that it is more harm rather then positive thing. Thats democracy once again. Not that yours truly might agree with that assessment. Personally and i think ive expressed that many times before, Finland and Sweden should be in NATO.

The thing is, if NATO is to loose its "muscle" by US withdrawing. In such case the whole security situation in Europe would change drastically. Even more so with British Brexit happening already.

[Montmorency]

It was a way of recalling and building your confidence in self-reliance and Scandinavian cooperation - just like in old times!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Seamus Fermanagh]

My analysis was wrong. In fact, my early on prediction of a narrow Trump popular vote win coupled to a significant electoral college defeat was more or less exactly the reverse of what has occurred.

There is a segment of the USA that gets misty-eyed when they hear "Proud to Be an American" that has been sneered at too much and they found in Trump a standard bearer for their anger. The working "class" (a much less sweeping term here than in Europe) was frustrated and angered with an anemic GDP growth rate and regulations etc. that marginalized whole industries and/or assisted growth overseas more than at home -- they want to work and get paid, not be retrained and safety-netted and they found in Trump a standard bearer for that anger. They deeply resented a government which refused to enforce its own laws on immigration and which made efforts to protect the human rights of illegal aliens more thoroughly than that government protected the rights of its own citizens and they found in Trump a standard bearer for that anger.

Familiar names from proud political pedigrees -- the establishment -- were the target of this anger. Those supporting Trump chose a person who used the loopholes in the law to his own advantage over a person who set aside or arguably broke the law for her own convenience and enrichment.

That anger at the collective establishment -- and those who "felt the burn" were fellow travelers in this -- was the...pardon me...Trump card for this entire election season.

[Montmorency]

Interesting comments:

"Germany and America are bound together by values - democracy, freedom, respecting the rule of law, people's dignity regardless of their origin, the colour of their skin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views… On the basis of these values, I am offering to work closely with the future President of the United States Donald Trump."

- German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Striking choice of words.

"Their world is collapsing. Ours is being built."

- French National Front Vice President Florian Philippot

I don't like the sound of that!

"We wish your excellency success in your mission to achieve security and stability in the Middle East and worldwide."

- Saudi King Salman

Is this more or less opaque than it sounds?