{"id":17557,"date":"2015-09-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leithart.level2d.com\/?p=2382"},"modified":"2015-09-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-09-14T00:00:00","slug":"the-power-of-public-insult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2015\/09\/the-power-of-public-insult\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Public Insult"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<\/head>

Donald Trump calls Jeb Bush a \u201cnice\u201d but \u201clow energy\u201d man. Whatever Bush does, Trump wins.<\/p>\n

Suppose Bush tries to get more energetic. That proves Trump was right, because Bush had to step it up. More, it keeps Trump in control, because Bush is dancing (more energetically) to Trump\u2019s tune.<\/p>\n

Suppose Bush ignores the insults and keeps steady as she goes. It\u2019ll be hard for people to avoid assessing Bush by Trump\u2019s standard. \u201cYeah, he is kinda passive, isn\u2019t he?\u201d they\u2019ll ask themselves.<\/p>\n

Bush could insult back, but then he risks looking vengeful, which is bad; also petty, which is worse. Besides, Trump is a lot better at it than Bush, a lot funnier, and if Bush fights back, Trump will upstage him, leaving Bush again looking \u201clow energy.\u201d Bush is not suited to a game of thrust and riposte.<\/p>\n

A world-class insulter like Trump controls the party (perhaps even the Party) by reckless insulting. And he leaves one wondering why more politicians don\u2019t make use of this apparently unbeatable weapon.<\/p>\n

(Photo by Michael Vadon.)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump calls Jeb Bush a \u201cnice\u201d but \u201clow energy\u201d man. Whatever Bush does, Trump wins. Suppose Bush tries to get more energetic. That proves Trump was right, because Bush had to step it up. More, it keeps Trump in control, because Bush is dancing (more energetically) to Trump\u2019s tune. Suppose Bush ignores the insults […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1405],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insult"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Power of Public Insult<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Donald Trump calls Jeb Bush a \u201cnice\u201d but \u201clow energy\u201d man. Whatever Bush does, Trump wins.Suppose Bush tries to get more energetic. 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