An egomaniac president? Perish the thought!

Carl Hiaasen writes in the Miami Herald,

There will never be a President Trump. ...He has more baggage than all the Kardashians put together, and less class. The only way he could win is if the Democrats nominate Bill Cosby.

Hiassen calls Trump a "preening self-parody of an egomaniac." I have read several of Hiaasen's books, and thoroughly enjoyed them. I didn't know he was a leftist columnist, as Foley describes him. I read his column linked to by Foley, and I thought he made some very good points. For example, he explains how Trump sold his name to a mob-connected felon who was peddling condos, and then claimed, "I didn’t know him very well.”

More from Hiaasen,

Trump wasn’t always a conservative Republican. In the not-too distant past he advocated higher taxes for the wealthy, drug legalization and a single-payer healthcare system. He was also pro-choice.

The rapist comment will go down as one of the stupidest political ad libs ever. Three minutes into his campaign, Trump destroyed any possibility of winning the Hispanic vote in this country, which is crucial.

The fact he won’t apologize tells you how vain and short-sighted he is.

If Trump lasts until the major primaries (he tends to quit early), he’ll get some votes but not nearly enough. By then, other Republican candidates will be gunning for him, with abundant ammunition.

Since there’s no chance Trump will be on the ballot in 2016, why are we writing about him? He’s loud, self-bloated and obnoxious — but he’ll probably make the cut for the upcoming GOP debates.

Read more Hiaasen here.

Elizabeth Price Foley counters Hiaasen at Instapundit,

Gosh, I can’t imagine an egomaniac being elected President. That has never happened before! I mean, Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Clinton and Obama have all just been meek, self-effacing sweethearts. Besides, politicians have their jobs because they want to serve the public, not their own narcissistic sense of grandeur, right? And a President with baggage–impossible! Again, Kennedy, Johnson, Clinton come to mind, with their notorious philandering, and let’s not forget President Obama’s Marxist mother, father, pastor and mentor, and his infamous Choom Gang.

Methinks this is just wishful thinking and projection on the part of Hiaasen: that somehow the fact that he is offended by Trump’s recent statements about illegal immigration means that everyone else must be offended, too. But the size and enthusiasm of recent crowds for Trump’s speeches in Phoenix and Nevada suggest otherwise. And this seems to have the political left very nervous that the silent majority may have finally found a voice.

Read more here.

Glenn Reynolds adds, "If you ignore people, they'll find their own spokesperson."