Donald Trump: The Anti "Person of the Year"

Time Magazine has never chosen an Anti-Person of the Year, but I'm here to fill the void. After careful consideration of the dozens of people who have helped make the world a darker place in 2012, Donald Trump has successfully made his way to the top of the heap.

First, by making a mockery of the primary system in presenting himself as a possible candidate for president, he exposed himself, and presumably his several supporters, as being completely out of touch with what politics in this country is about. Even more amazing is that at one point he was considered by CNN to be a front runner in the race.

Second, the Trump candidacy made a laughingstock out of the Republican Party. Who can take them seriously with Trump on the debate stage? The Trump platform seems to have been something along the lines of, “Vote for me, I was born in the United States.” His insistence on clinging to the birther story brought him support from the fringes of the right, which only served to expose the bigotry that thrives so well in that group.

And finally, Trump’s Twitter rant after the election made even Karl Rove seem level-headed. "We can't let this happen,” he tweeted, “We should march on Washington and stop this travesty, our nation is totally divided! Let’s fight like hell and stop this great and disgusting injustice! The world is laughing at us. This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!”

No, Mr. Trump, the world is laughing at you. We don’t march on Washington to stop election results from being recognized. On what grounds do you think we can have a rally and overturn the will of the people? The election was close and the absurdity of Trump’s comments lies in how a swing of 2 percentage points could have changed the outcome. Had that happened, the travesty would have become a mandate from the people.

I shudder to think what would happen to our country if we ever elected a real estate developer to the White House. His solution to difficult times has long been the bankruptcy courts. Could he even recognize that bankruptcy is not an option for the federal government?

His latest act of complete absurdity is to be angry with a Scotsman who refused to sell his farm to a Trump development in Scotland. The people of Scotland voted the farmer, Michael Forbes, the “Top Scot” award. Trump’s response was to ban Glenfiddich whisky from his resorts. Empty gestures abound in this man’s world. Banning Glenfiddich is far more likely to impact Trump’s revenue than theirs, once again demonstrating the depth of his marketing acumen to be as shallow as his personality.

While I readily acknowledge his balance sheet will attract more attention than mine, this thrice married salesman, sporting the tsunami of comb-overs, stands as living proof that accumulating wealth can happen without the crushing burden of acquiring wisdom.