Tailgunner Trump

A lot has been said lately about the "birther" controversy, to the point (or some would say New Low) where the POTUS unveiled his birth certificate long form to the public yesterday. As expected, and to no one's surprise, The Donald quickly jumped on the opportunity to proclaim victory of his accomplishment, complete with no shortage of pride or chest-pumping. Many see this as a major step towards his credibility as a viable candidate for POTUS in 2012, whereas most political pundits realize this is nothing more than "more of the same" from a celebrity who loves to rattle the cage yet, because he has not officially declared himself a candidate (something the current POTUS had no hesitation in doing), he remains exempt from counter-accusations, which seems all too convenient. One can easily return the challenge to The Donald by way of demanding the release of his personal financial statements (as all candidates are required to do), or insist that full disclosure be made in regards to his roles in the three bankruptcy petitions he filed on behalf of his companies, but since he's not officially a candidate, he has no incentive to do any of this. And of course there's the recent gaffe he made about being "a friend to the blacks"...did you notice how no one really took that seriously? It wasn't because it was irrelevant -- it was because it was wonderful fodder that was stashed away to be used in another time if and when The Donald becomes an official candidate. I, for one, have a huge problem with this condescending comment, but I will give him credit for not being a fake about it. I find The Donald amusing at best, and given his shallow position on real issues, I don't expect him to be an official candidate any time soon -- even he knows he cannot afford the scrutiny that will follow that action, as I'm sure he painfully remembers the last time he had to go under the microscope when he filed his last BK. I don't know if anyone caught Boone Pickens on CNBC yesterday, but when asked what Boone thought about The Donald's point about challenging OPEC, Boone quickly scoffed it off as being ridiculous because of the real facts -- something that The Donald seems to shy away from, and maybe that's because he's never been one to let facts get in the way of a good story. More on the Pickens conversation later...