Did George F. Will, long time conservative commentator and former Reagan campaign worker, just tactically endorse Hillary Clinton for President [Detail]?

It would appear so. Hope other conservatives follow.

Even though he works for the other side, I’ve always liked Will. He is supremely rational in his arguments. He reminds me of William Safire, one of Nixon’s speech writers who went on to become one the NY Times best columnists ever. Both are masters of the language. Will is one of the last journalists of his ilk.

God, I miss the days of Seymour Hersh vs. William Safire in the dailies. They were so civilized—during a very uncivilized time in our history. Reading them was always a learning experience. Now all we get are crazy maniacs, with no extraordinary knowledge base, screaming at each other 24/7 on cable TV, then replicated in their columns in the papers—pandering to the unthinking lowest common denominator. What shit it has all turned into.

I disagree with him often, but I love George Will. His support for Clinton is a pragmatic decision in the face of an incredibly wierd situation and I imagine it is a very painful time for him, as it is for all of us on both sides of the fence. But he has always been a ballsy intellectual conservative (unlike the butch cheap shot artists like Limbaugh, Hannity and all too many others) and that is why he is so respected across the spectrum of American ideology.

Hardly an endorsement of Hillary by any stretch of the imagination but what amuses me most is how supremely offended the likes of Will and other establishment Repubs and Dems for that matter over Trump when they fail to make that connection that they are the very reason for Trumps success. Good riddance.

Will took that position the second it appeared Trump had any traction. He was also in a huff & said so when his party saddled McCain with Palin as running mate. Trump is a particular hurdle for the 2 or 3 conservatives left with any intellectual credibility. There’s just plain no place to hide. The instant any question of Presidential qualifications arises, the jig is up. Note Ryan’s “enthusiasm” over his nominee. The mere mention of Trump and the Speaker looks like he’s being stewed alive.

David Brooks can’t stand him either and he is a Conservative I really respect.

Not an endorsement for H but certainly an UNendorsement for the G.O.P. I often disagree with Will but I his admire his intelligence and I admire his stance on Trump.

I don’t typically agree with @Cruiser on political issues, but I couldn’t agree with him more about this one. This is what happens, on both sides of the fence, when you ignore the people you’re supposed to represent. More and more Americans are getting fed up in general, and they’re starting to get pissed off that no one listens to them. So we have Trump. And, thankfully on the opposite side, Bernie.

“Make sure he loses. Grit their teeth for four years and win the White House” is an endorsement for Clinton. The only way Trump loses at this point is if Clinton wins.

The media bias amuses me.
When Paul Ryan said he would vote for Trump, all the headlines were “Ryan Endorses Trump!”.
When Sanders said he would vote for Clinton, the headlines were “Sanders Will Vote for Clinton – Withholds his Endorsement”.
Of course the media isn’t going to set one of their own out on the ice flow, so, of course, Will hasn’t endorsed Clinton.

George F. Will endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.

The reasons for Trump’s ascendancy are irrelevant to the question. Yes Trump is the product of popular unrest, and the contempt of the ruling classes for the wishes of the great unwashed. The irony is that it would be difficult to devise a more striking vindication of the argument that the masses are unfit for self governance than the arrival of Donald Trump.

It is a grave mistake to regard such comments as Will’s to be endorsements of the much despised Clinton. The fact that such sentiments might help her along are missing the point. There isn’t a political pundit in the country who can avoid the incessantly repeated question from every quarter: “Mr.(fill in the blank) is Trump qualified to be the President of the United States?” It isn’t often in the realm of politics that a question comes along with no weasel wiggle room for the answer, but this is one of them and it’s a question that places the respondent’s personal integrity squarely on the line. Will isn’t endorsing Clinton, he’s simply forced to tell the truth. The visible consequences of taking the opposite path are evinced in the detestable and rather pathetic behavior of that sycophantic toady, Newt Gingrich.

@stanleybmanly Will is a pussy that instead of taking on the responsibility of both his party and the task at hand, he takes his baseball, bat and glove and leaves the game. I already said Will is part of the problem and the very reason for Trump’s success. Maybe Will can find a pick up game with David Cameron.

Like, @Cruiser, both Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have taken on the responsibility of both party and task at hand?

“Trump as president with “no opposition” from a Republican-led Congress would be worse than Clinton as president with a Republican-led Congress.”
Both Ryan and MCConnell are afraid of Trump, and he’s not even gotten the nomination. Afraid of losing their political hides.
The game as you put it, is the problem, and Will would rather bench himself that play under a loudmouthed, misogynist, and racist coach that has declared that the rules of the league don’t apply to him.

@ibstubro I encourage you to look at this election without your rose colored glasses on as Ryan, McConnell, Reid, Pilosi and most of all Obama are the very reason for Trumps popularity and success to date. All of the above will similarly tuck their tails between their legs and run away in November like David Cameron just did. It takes a real leader to take on change that does not play by the rule books and I have yet to see anyone come close to taking on the Trump freight train who has even a hope or prayer of stopping him. Sad but true.

What the fuck are these “rose colored glasses”?
You ask everyone else for specifics while talking in platitudes and metaphors.

Nothing but circles. Will is a pussy for taking Trump on, head on, and the rest are cowards for not taking Trump on.

That’s the foundation of the Trump campaign: “Take my hand my friend. Everyone is wrong and stupid but us.”
Once Trump alienates everyone but the angry white males he’s likely to be more like a Heritage USA ride.

Don’t misunderstand me, I do not dismiss the threat of Donald Trump. What I dismiss is the contention that the threat has basis in rationality.
Seems to me the opposition would do best to sit quietly while the Trump train derails from the freight it’s taking on.

Please accept my appologies @ibstubro I meant “blinders” not rose colored glasses. I consider you one of the smart ones here and by the virtue that you and others would rather attack Trump than to acknowledge the MILLIONS of voters who approve of his message tells me you are either clueless (which I doubt is the case) or you are in denial over the reality of just how broken our political system is. The hand waving over Brexit is minuscule compared to the status quo turmoil America is up against and I find so very few people who though disapprove of Trump truly acknowledged why it is he is the front runner of the Republican Party? Why is this? I really want to know.

@stanleybmanly Trump is the product of popular unrest, and the contempt of the ruling classes for the wishes of the great unwashed.

Trump is the product of a “branding” effort many years in the making. The Donald is doing what The Donald does best…promoting The Donald. He has been a regular on “Fox and Friends” since 2011, further blurring the lines within that network between news and entertainment.

@Cruiser the reality of just how broken our political system is.

A democratic political system depends on an informed electorate. It is difficult for an electorate to remain informed when moneyed interests (e.g., Roger Ailes, et al.,) continue to blur the lines between news and entertainment.

I acknowledge the millions of voters who approve the message of Donald Trump.
I acknowledge the fact that Trump is the end result of a broken system that places the needs of business and other moneyed interests above those of the common man.
I acknowledge the fact that because of the above items Trump is the Republican front-runner.
I have removed my blinders but…........
I still don’t like nor trust the man nor do I have any qualms about saying he should not be the President of the US.

But, as you point out for Will, this is not by any stretch of the imagination an endorsement of Clinton by me.

And yet many times it seems that is how I am portrayed any time I call Trumps competency into question. Don’t like Trump? You must be a Clinton stooge. Can we not understand or accept that T minus A does not always equal C?

Or let me point out Trumps ties to organized crime or his many misrepresentations of the truth or his barely concealed disdain for those whom he considers his lessers and I am met, not with facts showing where I am wrong but with cries of “Well what about Clinton? She has (fill in the failing du jour)! What about her?”

Well, yes, what about her? We can get to her later. We were discussing Trump, not Clinton, and her failings do not cancel out his. Can we get back on topic?

Evidently not.

@ibstubro :: “Both Ryan and MCConnell are afraid of Trump, and he’s not even gotten the nomination. Afraid of losing their political hides.”

I don’t think that is it. I think it is that he will do whatever the fuck they want since he has no actual convictions.

Apparently Trump’s supporters have a lock, on protest.

YES, I understand where Trump’s supporters are coming from.
He’s the reincarnation of the early labor leaders, the union organizers. He uses the common man’s distrust of big government, resentment of big business and inherent racism to whip his crowds into a lather. Unlike early labor, however, he’s saying he’s going to work from within the existing government. He has no clear goal, target or plan, but essentially promises that, if elected, he’ll bring the house down.
I do not want the US government in a shambles.
I do not, will not and can not support a Trump presidency.
If that means I have to vote for Hillary, So be it. If someone had bet me $5 at 20 to nothing that I’d one day vote for Hillary, I’d be $1,000 poorer by the end of the year. If a vote for Trump can be against the establishment, a vote for Hillary can be against Trump.

In many ways, I think Trump is the wrong man, at the right time.
In many ways I believe Obama was the wrong man at the right time.
I agree with both Trump and Obama that it’s time for a shift in American politics. Problem is, I don’t think Obama fulfilled his promise, and I’m afraid Trump might.

I do not like Donald Trump’s view of the world.
I do not like Donald Trumps’ view of America.
I am not so dissatisfied with the America of the past 8 years that I’m willing to give a political neophyte a chance at remaking the government in their own image. And I’m certainly not willing to give one the chance to burn the house down.

So I’ll do something completely radical for me. I’ll protest the notion that America is a festering cesspool of hate, and I’ll vote for Hillary.

Apparently Trump’s supporters don’t have a lock on protest.

@ibstubro It is truly disheartening to me to see you so eloquently articulate all the reasons you would not vote for Trump yet the only reason you posit for voting for Hillary is ”’ll protest the notion that America is a festering cesspool of hate, ” Nothing could be more sad. I would offer you a modicum of respect if you denounced your citizenship to back up this sheer disappointment in our country if this is how you truly feel.

What does “disheartening”, “sad”, and “disappointment” have to do with anything, @Cruiser? I stated my opinion. I didn’t ask for your emotional response to it.

If you have a rebuttal, that’s great. If all you’re looking for is an emotional evaluation, that “pisses me off”, “angers” me, and makes me want to offer you a modicum of respect if you’d go straight to…
Well, you get the idea.

The Three Fallacious Debating Tactics you are a master at.

Thanks for exposing yourself to be a complete idiot @ibstubro this will save me a very small amount of time here.

Well, that disheartens me, @Cruiser. It’s sad that you would be so short tempered that you can’t see the true genius of my words. I can’t tell you what a disappointment this is. I really believed you were much more intelligent than that.
But, if you’re so blind you can’t see past all your shortcomings, perhaps we can just shake our collective heads and tell you that we’ll still offer you a minuscule amount of respect should you ever wake up and smell the rose colored…er…if your glass is ever half….er…half measures…

In any case, if you ever have an independent observation or opinion you’d like to discuss, let’s talk.

I must apologize @ibstubro I let my emotional cup runneth over as I was in Florida packing up my moms’s estate during this time. Let me regroup and we perhaps can take another stab at this conversation in a more mature meaningful way. Thanks for your patience…

There’s no need to apologize, @Cruiser, we’re all adults here.
Speak freely.
You and I have interacted enough that I know you’re no troll. We live on to be overly opinionated again one day!
:-)

^^Aww!

Shut yourself up? @Yetanotheruser
:-P

~ ~ ~ Okay, now let’s have another chorus of Kumbaya. ;>)