TRUMP AND PUTIN

The coziness of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with Russian dictator Putin really scares me to think about what might happen if Trump becomes president.

I'm confused about Trump being in Putin's pocket as Trump has carefully calculated what stances are promoted by his "base."  I don't recall any of these people that I knew being fond of Putin.  In fact, I seem to remember them accusing Obama and Hillary of being more than cozy with Putin (and still do).  Remember the Russian Reset?*
Making things worse, Podesta never fully disclosed the relationship, as the law requires. But of greater concern than Podesta is what it says about Clinton's strange and mutually beneficial relationship with Russia that led to Clinton lending a hand in helping Vladimir Putin build Skolkovo, a high-tech community meant to be "the Russian equivalent of America's Silicon Valley."
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In a wide-ranging interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, Hillary suggested that Donald Trump "has shown a very troubling willingness to back up Putin, to support Putin, whether it's saying that NATO wouldn't come to the rescue of allies if they were invaded, talking about removing sanctions from Russian officials after they were imposed by the United States and Europe together, because of Russia's aggressiveness in Crimea and Ukraine, his praise for Putin which is I think quite remarkable."

That said, Donald Trump is the best Republican candidate you can think of.   Ted Cruz, for example is even more scary. Wait, I'll take that back,  There was a fine candidate in the Ohio governor John Kasich.  He had significant congressional experience and has been a popular governor as witnessed by his reelection victory.  He certainly is qualified to be president.  He has passed the supreme Republican litmus tests in that he is against both abortion and Obamacare.  His only sin, so far as I can see, is that he says things like we need to care for those less fortunate than us, and he accepted Federal Medicaid money.**

As I have said elsewhere, if I had to have a Republican president it would be John Kasich, but I don't know if the country can survive another Republican president so soon after George Bush.

* http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/hillarys-biggest-scandal-russia-and-her-reset-pal-vladimir-putin/
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2015/08/expand-medicare-to-repeal-obamacare.html