Donald Trump for President?

I was basically asking if you guys think one of them would beat Clinton... Initially, I thought Trump was the best choice because Clinton has been the perpetual candidate for so long, and Trump would have been a wild card to win, and if he lost, big deal, he wasn't a politician in the first place, paving the way for someone else in 2020.

You cant successfully compare Donald Trump to Bill Clinton. Once you get past the fact theyre skirt chasers (at least), and they are....then you have to look at who could/can do the job.

Trump doesnt have Clintons genius (Rhodes Scholar), ability to communicate and bridge gaps at all. He might charm us with his adacious behavior and speech, but dont kid yourself to think thats going to sway world leaders or if hes called upon to quell a world crisis. Do you really think Donnie that Donald Trump could sell the Israeli Palestine peace accords?! Seriously?!

If shes elected Bill will be there just in case, and that gives me a sense of security. I dont have to like any of these people. I need to elect someone that can do it. The responsibilities of the Presidency is bigger than who I like or hate. I will not elect Trump because I strongly feel he is lacking, is not self-made like he himself thinks, and lives in a bubble of yesmen. Billionaires like him do. I cannot put my country in his hands for him, and us to learn the hard way.

Rubio would have beat Hillary by a decent margin. Cruz? I don't know, I don't like him.

Technically, nobody can prove a counterfactual, but the evidence is awfully strong: Trump's made tons of clear strategic mistakes, been caught in all sorts of ridiculous lies, and has historically high unfavorable numbers...and he still might be within a few points of her. Seems obvious, then, that anyone even remotely competent (or remotely moderate, or even remotely boring) would've won.

Rubio definitely. The map would be nearly impossible for Cruz. The rust belt would not lean towards him. His debating skills would help him but I can't see the US map going electorally for Cruz. He probably would win NC and CO though

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Tongo I'm not comparing them as politicians. I think Bill was a good president and don't care about either sexual tendencies.

My issue is the Clinton campaign making a huge fuss of this stupid Pussy video, where it's literally there main talking point when Bill was actually a sexual predator. And the fact that supporters buy this crap up is even worse.

All I'm comparing, not politics

Hell no. Some boring, ordinary Republican guy is not going to block the first woman president from happening. Trump's personality is why he has such a strong fanbase and why he's the biggest threat to Clinton. People hate Trump so much because they know he's her biggest threat.

Indeed. I also agree Trump chances are much higher than NYtimes prediction of 16% to 84% for Hillary.

Though I think that pools try to correct that bias by asking only people who have a desire to vote and not completely random people.

She does not care about what her husband has done. What matters is she tries to make Trump look worse. She wants to be President. That's all she's hungry for.

His unfavorables say differently. If you want to believe everyone's lying about their opinions of him, then I can't really say anything to persuade you otherwise. But if someone who most people dislike still has a chance of winning, it stands to reason that someone less hated probably would've won.

Having a strong fan base is valuable in the primary, but in the general you can't win without turning out people who aren't already big fans. Really excited people don't get extra votes.

I do think that just about any of the other republican candidates would have beaten Clinton. For good or for bad, Trump stood out during the debates. Instead of every man for themselves, it was more like him against them with them splitting the votes. If any one of them were facing Clinton, she would be the one standing out, but for her bad traits. The fact that so many talk of the two terrible candidates tells you all you need to know.

I don't know because I think one difference is -- Trump's bringing something new to the table, I feel. The whole, you know, "let's break the system!" kind of movement he's been preaching. His own brand of change. Like this whole Brexit thing, it's something new and appealing. I don't know if any other candidate would have brought that along with their campaign. Hillary's bringing the whole, "I will be the first woman president!" thing.

And what if she and her team went searching and found bad traits against the other Republicans?

Would they have been able to withstand a beating the way Trump can? Trump is called a sexist, a rapist, a bully, more evil than any other evil person we know of -- and he just smiles and goes, "BUT LOOK AT WHAT HILLARY CLINTON HAS DONE!"

Someone else would cry and apologize and say, "Here Hillary, you clearly deserve the Presidency more than me." Not Trump. And that's what's so spectacular about him.

Oh, I absolutely agree that he's appealing to people other Republicans wouldn't have. I just think he's losing far more in the process.

Ehh I've met more Bernie dems that aren't voting for Hillary than Republicans not voting for trump

I recently went to a Bernie Sanders rally on my campus (a very liberal one). There were tons of Hillary for Prison shirts, other signs mocking Hillary, Jill Stein signs. Nothing pro-Hillary, college kids hate the b*tch.

But people who supported Bernie would never have supported Cruz or Rubio, I don't think. In fact, the fact it is Trump makes them more likely to vote Republican.

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Ya Trump has more in common with Bernie, than most Republicans think

That definitely shows how different things can be from state to state. I'm not sure I have met a Bernie supporter.

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Letterboxd

Me neither, but we work out here.