(08-28-2018 05:47 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote: (08-28-2018 05:19 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote: Lad, this is the 10,000 meter run, not the 60 meter sprint. There will be changes in pace, in who is leading, in everything, before we reach the finish line. But we can cheer a good start. In fact, we can cheer that we have even made a start. The final outcome is a long way off, and may or may not be as we wish. But it is a damn good start that we are even trying to get to that finish line. Don't dismiss the race because we are not yet at the finish line.
I'm not dismissing anything - I've said multiple times that it is good that Trump was willing to start a dialogue.
But your analogy is perfect - we're maybe 0.6% of the way there, as we've finished the first 60 meters. No one should be congratulating or lauding anyone for that.
And we're in a similar position with Mexico regarding a revised trade agreement. It's news that we've started talking, and that's a good position to be in. But we're so far off from tangible results that no one is deserving of praise yet.
As a millennial, I found a very apt comparison. These situations, where you and Tanq want to pass out awards for just getting into the race is just like how my parent's generation decided to give every kid on the soccer team a participation trophy.
Gee, I would have said it was my son's generation.
We don't know yet if it is .6% of the way there. Certainly closer than it has been in decades. But I know when my son ran track, I would cheer for him every step of the way. I cheered the start, the middle, and of course the last push to the wire (He was a miler). I guess this implies that when you have a son, you will say to him, "call me when its done, and tell me you won, otherwise, I'm not interested." I hope this attitude is just because he is Trump, I cannot imagine you would ever do your kid like that.
I have often said here that foreign policy is important to me, and also that I wanted a change from our do-nothing, back out of the room foreign policy under Obama. Whatever Trump is doing, it is having an effect, an effect we didn't see under the studied indifference of his predecessors. In only two years, I have learned not to judge Trump's initiative by how they start, but how they finish. He approaches these things differently from any previous President, I guess because he has been a businessman, not a politician, and so far, so good. A year ago people on your side where saying he would start WW III. So far, I think we are closer to denuclearization than we are to Armegeddon. Still could go either way, but for this first time since the 50's, maybe, just maybe, there is a real chance of defusing the NK situation. If Obama had done this, I would be be applauding him. But he didn't. Trump is.
As for the Mexico agreement, all it needs is Congressional approval. I guess the Democrats will find some reason to say no. They are the party of No. But the real reason is because Trump did it, and we all know that.
Of course, this one we can liken to the Texas Two-step. Step one is Mexico. Step two is Canada. And soon we will have a tri-country trade agreement better than NAFTA. And I liked NAFTA.
We are getting results from this President, despite the many and unneeded obstacles the Democrats throw at him. I hope the Democrats are unsuccessful in their efforts to make things worse.