[Hoot Gibson]

Respectfully Hoot, you know I have stated several times that Trump speaks so extemporaneously, it is my contention that he would have gaffed by now in epic proportion if he had anything much up his sleeve. Therefore, I agree his statements are all off the cuff which is why I think apart from his limitations, (they all have some), he is being genuine. Take for instance his statement saying he would temporarily suspend Muslim immigration. I could not have been anymore surprised if the pressure cooker had exploded out in my kitchen. Bill O'Reilly proclaimed with earnest that was surely the end of Trump's run. Everybody and their brother have gone on TV avowing to a man that he could not legally do that. Surprise Bill, not only was that not his undoing, he's up in the national polls to 41% and as it turns out, under U.S. Code, the president does have the statutory authority to keep anyone out of the country, for any reason he thinks best. Per 8 USC §1182

“Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.” [Ben Swann]

How do we know he was speaking of a ban on explicitly temporary terms? His statement;
“Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.”

Additionally, I do not believe a campaign designed to run interference for another politician as in the potential case of Trump for Clinton, that that person would be out saying things like Trump said today; “She is the one that caused all this problem with her stupid policies. She talks about me being dangerous. She’s killed hundreds of thousands of people with her stupidity.” ---Donald Trump. That is pretty darn stout.

Trump's demeanor and personality remind me of several rich or famous people that I know at a personal level.

I never said that Trump's proposal to temporarily suspend all Muslim immigration is unconstitutional. I think that it is pretty clear that it is constitutional. What I am saying is that in political terms, the statement showed poor judgment. It is not a promise that he could possibly keep and framing the proposal as he did will alienate independents who might be persuaded to support a temporary suspension of immigration from countries harboring substantial terrorist activity.

Trump's statement about banning all Muslim immigration grabbed media attention, but I suspect that it also drove up his negatives in the opinion polls. Back peddling from the statement made matters worse.

How can a candidate for the presidency possibly propose making the death penalty for murderers of policemen across the nation mandatory through an executive order? Does that not show extreme ignorance of the U.S. Constitution?

The campaign is still pretty young and Trump shows no signs of putting any more effort into checking facts and federal law before he inserts his foot into his mouth.

I have tried to keep an open mind about Trump, but if he is as ignorant of the power of the presidency as it seems he is, then handing him the nuclear football would constitute an unforced fumble.