Substance and policy don’t seem to matter to voters

Ed Dornlas, Las Vegas

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

Barack Obama won election as president by promising hope and change, by being well-spoken and by not being George W. Bush. His campaign was as content-free as he and the left-leaning media could make it, only occasionally letting his agenda slip out, as in that casual conversation with Joe the Plumber, when he revealed his fondness for redistribution of wealth.

His comments on the advantages of raising the capital gains tax, not to mention his casual prediction that his environmental policies would necessarily lead to skyrocketing energy prices, let the curtain slip.

The voting public seemed fine with little information about Obama’s agenda, only the image seemed to matter. The public’s superficiality is underscored by recent movies based on comic books, or even video games. The public who loves “American Idol,” “Dancing With the Stars” and, yes, “Celebrity Apprentice” probably doesn’t care to be bothered with policy; I think Obama proved that.

So I don’t see why there is so much negativity about Donald Trump. He is clearly all about image, he has great sound bites and although it’s easy to fault him, I really wonder if the public cares. If he can present himself as the larger-than-life hero who can save the country from China and India taking our jobs, and from the Middle East stealing our gas money, I wouldn’t be betting against him.