Dear Editor,
Many misguided and possibly naive Bahamians once held the bogus and patently unrealistic expectations that Hillary Clinton, the now politically demised Democratic presidential nominee, would have become the first female president of the United States of America. I, of course, since 2015, have been crowing about the salient fact that Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee, would emerge as president-elect come November 8 of this year. I am elated that my prediction has come to past, against all odds.
Since that historic date, countless Bahamians, from all walks of life, have asked me whether or not the same scenario could play out in our wonderful nation come next year's general election. No, my fellow beloved Bahamians, that simply cannot and will not happen. I "know" both president-elect Donald J. Trump and Dr. Hubert A. Minnis. Minnis is no Donald J. Trump by any stretch of even a dead crazy person's imagination.
Yes, people all around the world are now clamoring for "change" - whatever that nebulous concept might be - and trust me change represents many things to many different people. Trump, a man after my own heart, has never run for elected office. He is not from the usual professions of law, medicine or accountancy. He was never creased up with the establishment and, for sure, he had to mold the Republican Party (GOP) into his own political image.
Here in The Bahamas, Minnis, with all due respect, has establishment written all across his forehead. He's been in elected office for more than a decade. He "inherited" a party (FNM) which is still haunted by the ghost of Hubert A. Ingraham. Yes, he did, eventually, emasculate all of his detractors within his parliamentary ranks but, at what cost?
In addition, while the president-elect, occasionally comes across as a Bozo, it is and was only a perception. With Minnis, there is no misperception. What you see with Minnis is precisely what he is. Donald J. Trump is not a spontaneous orator like Barrack Obama but, at the very least, when he speaks one is able to understand his sound bites. Not so, I suggest, with Minnis. Mumbo jumbo reigns supreme in his case.
In the U.S.A., ordinary citizens felt forgotten and left behind by the leftist and socialistic policies of the past eight years under the disaster called Obama. Thankfully, his presidency will come to an ignoble close in a few short months. Hillary, not known to be a truthful individual, was perceived as full of it. She, like Obama, was a product of the Chicago syndicate. Most of Obama's Cabinet members and advisors are also products of Chicago.
Obama was, I submit, the bought and paid for candidate of the left in the U.S.A., not from a sinister way but realistically. If Hillary had been elected, the tradition of the establishment would have continued without missing a single beat. I thank God that it did not turn out that way. Under Trump, the American economy will, finally, emerge out of the economic dungeon where Obama and his socialist crew in the Democratic Party held it in captivity for the past eight years.
Trump is a seasoned businessman. He has created a business empire, equaled by few. He was trashed by Hillary and her zombies during the election campaign. He was accused of groping females, decades ago, without a single piece of evidence. He has been labeled a racist, sexist and many more things which are simply unprintable. Trump, however, despite it all, prevailed.
Minnis, sadly, is a terrible alternative to Perry Gladstone Christie, our prime minister. In a different world in a different dimension, this might not matter in the grand scheme of things. In the real world, however, The Bahamas and our demographics are totally different from what obtains in the great U.S.A.
In that nation, few citizens depend directly on the incumbent president and his administration, directly, for a job or patronage. Here in our wonderful country, almost 30 percent of the working population at any given time depends on the administration for employment and patronage. People, who are professed supporters of the governing party, at any given time, are wont to support that party during general elections. In other words, they believe that they have a direct stake in the survival of the administration. This is the case here and little will change in 2017
Minnis, like Hillary, is a speaker whose voice grates on the very nerves of many of my fellow Bahamians. Christie, on the other hand, is able to wax eloquently, even if sometimes in a tedious and disjointed manner. He does not evoke one's imagination or fire up one's expectations. In fact, I do believe that Minnis is a citizen, if only honorary, of The Land of Nod. There is no other logical explanation.
The election of Donald J. Trump is not, necessarily a wake-up call for the PLP as, foolishly, espoused by my good friend, Leslie O. Miller (PLP-Tall Pines), and George A. Smith, who I once counted as a "friend" and political ally. While the PLP has to do plenty housekeeping chores over the course of the next few months, we will do what we have to do to assuage the Bahamian people that they have not been forgotten and that the PLP is still the best choice to lead the nation.
And so, while I wish the political opponents of my party (PLP) well, I hold no brief for them and wish them all well. The PLP, however, as lead by PGC, will emerge victorious come 2017. Yes, there will be many casualties and maybe some will end up at Sandilands. Who knows? Minnis, however, is no Trump and, the juvenile "leader" down the road is, clearly, still playing with his marbles and big tar ball.
To God then, in all things, be the glory.
- Ortland H. Bodie Jr.
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