In his recent Rolling Stone essay, Matt Taibbi immortalizes the race for the Republican Party presidential nomination, as a freaky spectacle that is "like watching 17 platypuses try to mount the queen of England. You can't tear your eyes away from it."
Currently, the alpha platypus is Donald Trump. He is taking advantage of a reality show, barroom brawl format in which serious debate over policy proposals can't compete with bombastic broadsides. He blames China and Japan for lost jobs, slams Beijing's currency manipulation while overlooking Tokyo's, and complains that the Japan-U.S. alliance is a bad deal.
Trump also pilloried Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, complaining she is a lousy trade negotiator — even though that's not her job — and snidely suggests that she only became ambassador because of her connections, all while touting his own business tycoon buddies whom he'll tap to solve America's various international problems.
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