WILL DIRECTION DEFECTIONS TILT THE ELECTIONS?

We will have to wait for the opinion polls to tell us how voters are processing the revenge of Omarosa, the guilty verdict against Manafort, and the guilty pleas of Michael Cohen, the revelation of thirty hours of testimony given to the Mueller team by White House counsel Don McGahn, and the granting of immunity, first to Trump Organization CFO, Allen Weisselberg, and then to National Enquirer publisher, David Pecker.

And to all of that, we now add the death of John McCain.

Barring a crazy event (which you can never discount in the age of Trump), John McCain will dominate the news, and the comparisons between the American statesman and the man who pledges allegiance to himself will be unavoidable to any thinking person.

We can expect that some or all of those recent developments may have nudged some Trump supporters to slowly drift away, but not the ones who attend his rallies, where Trump does what Trump does best --stir the inner fires of the faithful, prompting their tried and true chants of “LOCK HER UP!”

But the numbers indicate that the desertions have already begun.

I tell everyone who will listen that Donald Trump’s favorability ratings of 40 to 45% do not reflect his hardcore loyalty numbers -- the devoted ones who will support his presidency, regardless of what he says or does.

I do not dispute the accuracy of those poll numbers. I think that about 43% of our friends, neighbors, and family members continue to support Donald Trump. I just happen to believe that it is only 30 to 35% of those individuals who would stick by him if he actually does shoot someone on 5^th Avenue.

The latest Quinnipiac University Poll tells us that only 31% of voters say they LIKE Donald Trump. I am certain you know one or two of those people. We all do. They still respond to evidence of incompetence and criminality with “Anyone but Hillary,” and they know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Obama’s mother faked her newborn baby’s birth certificate, so that he could one day be President of the United States. The woman had vision.

That Quinnipiac poll also tells us that 43% of voters approve of Donald Trump’s policies, but only 30% approve strongly.

That squishy 13% gives me hope – a lot of hope, and if your inner optimist hasn’t thrown in the towel, that 13% should give you hope too.

Speaking of optimism, when the Trump supporter you know and love (or used to love) starts looking glum, you can take that as a hopeful sign. Has he stopped saying that Trump is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers? Has he or she stopped insisting that alienating our allies, starting trade wars, and standing by his pal in the Kremlin are going to make us great again?

Maybe he has finally decided that the country might be on the wrong track. Maybe she is worried about how her children and grandchildren will be affected by opening the door to more dirty air and rising sea levels.

There should be major opinion polls that measure optimism and pessimism.

Actually there are, and one of them is now in. The Monmouth University poll for the month of June told us that only 40% of voters believed that the country was headed in the right direction, while 53% believed we were on the wrong track.

But under this runaway presidency, June is now ancient history. What do we know about optimism and pessimism in August?

This is what we know.

The Monmouth poll conducted between August 15 and August 19 tells us that only 35% of voters now believe we are headed in the right direction, and 57% believe we are on the wrong track.

And need I remind you that a lot has happened in the few action-packed days since August 19?

And, do you doubt that a lot more will happen in the many action-packed days before the November 6^th midterm elections?

Speaking of the midterm elections, the exit polls will be revealing, to say the least. The answers to those poll questions will tell us how many Americans voted to change direction.

I hope voters are asked if character and integrity influenced their vote. We might assume that those who answered YES voted for the candidate more like John McCain and less like the phony who disparaged his heroism.

And now my optimistic two minutes are up.