Lets face it, in this crazy modern world we all feel a bit tiny, insignificant and powerless, at least some of the time.  When we see a public figure who seems just the opposite and embodies those personal attributes we strive for, its appealing.

Growing up in California in the late sixties I saw my WW 2 generation parents fall under the sway of Ronald Reagan as governor.  He positively dripped with a cocky, simplistic optimism and self-confidence that was hard (for them), to resist. I always saw him as an actor, playing to an accepting, uncritical older public audience who needed reassurance their world was not passing away as we Boomers came on the scene.   The defining issue of the time was of course Vietnam, Ronnie and my Dad saw it as WW 2 all over again, I did not.

Reagan continues to this day as an icon of common sense, old fashioned American values to some folks. When times are tough and we feel fear, we grasp for certainty, we state our opinions with gusto, crave simple good guy/bad guy choices and surround ourselves with those who reinforce this feeling of security.

The complexities of the middle east are a good example of the need for a multi variate analysis most of us are incapable of engaging in, and which calls at some level for a straight shootin' hero. But removing dictators in an attempt to spread democracy and further our business interests leaves power vacuums, reignites old conflicts, opens doors for radicals whose growing ranks can harm the rest of the world, leaving a confusing array of players with multiple agendas. Would somebody please give us some simple choices here?

Well, there is a "bomb 'em all" faction out there who are apparently ready to ignore the deaths of multitudes of imbedded innocent people and the reality of modern assymetical warfare.  This need for someone to make it all right, a father figure if you will, who will cut through the crap and show the world who's boss, will not go away.  Look at the hairy-chested heros (again from the fantasy world of movies), the conservative side flocks to: Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan (they need not be living...). Even Putin is spoken of in revered tones. The left is not immune, but our heroes tend to be well-spoken policy wonks who worked as community organizers, a different kind of hero for sure.

This need for the fearless mega man on the right must certainly explain the Trump phenomenon. Now its more the Gordon Gekko personna that is adored, the arrogant asshole billionaire who does whatever it takes to reach the top, the embodiment of the American Dream. Conveniently ignoring his inhereted millions, four bankruptcies and collateral damage along the way, Trump is the perfect predator capitalists' wet dream, who by the way does not take any crap from foreign nations.

Can you imagine this man with the codes for our nuclear arensal within reach, needing to negotiate a complex agreement involving both allies (if we have any left) and adversaries, or having any concept of the needs of the far, far less fortunate?  I can't.  Give me a plain-spoken policy wonk, I think you know who I mean.