Why did people vote for President Trump

An excellent essay at American Thinker:

The Epic Donald
We voting Americans need to sort out our thinking and do so before next fall. I am so tired of hearing reasonable, intelligent people express anti-Trump attitudes based on truly flimsy grounds. A relative said to me that she’d never vote for Trump because “he’s an a**hole.” I have had other people voice similar concerns in more genteel terms -– they don’t like his tweeting, his braggadocio, his unpredictability. Okay, okay. At first, I didn’t either.

Now, it’s true that Trump can be a jerk. But so was Julius Caesar. So was Winston Churchill. So was George Patton. For that matter, so was King David, who was appointed by God to be king of Israel, and who was that country’s best king despite his dalliance with Bathsheba and his setting up her husband for certain death on the battlefield. David’s multiple wives and their offspring caused much upheaval in the country, but David, whom history still regards as a great king, brought peace and prosperity to his country throughout most of his lengthy reign.

Perhaps it would clarify things if we were to define our terms and priorities. Is greatness usually measured by hairstyle? By smooth talk? By delicate sensibilities? What are the attributes of a truly great man? What does tradition tell us?

I’m an English teacher, so I think in literary terms. Let’s look to the “epic hero” to find a standard for the epitome of human greatness. It seems to me that a person who would willingly take on the leadership of the greatest, wealthiest nation on earth would qualify as either a madman or a hero. Agreed? Reach back to your college lit class –- what are the official attributes of an epic hero?

1. 1. An epic hero has to be involved in a battle of epic proportions and he has to be winning that battle.
   2. An epic hero has to be strong physically and mentally.
   3. He has to be wise, fearless, and tenacious.
   4. He needs to be kind to women, children, and the poor.
   5. He has to be of the aristocracy –- the butler never rises to the rank of epic hero.
   6. He has to be selfless, risking his life for others.
   7. An epic hero is honest, saying directly what is on his mind.

Is that such a different list from what any country would want for a president?

The author then goes through each point (with specific examples) and concludes with the following:

I know -- Trump is odd. I have no idea why his skin is that color. His Elvis hair is a total wonder, though I have to admit I’m growing fond of it. His speech cadences are noticeably non-Ivy-League. He repeats himself. He says, “I can tell you that much,” much too often. He tweets -- aggressively. But nowhere in literature is the hero expected to be cocktail-party sophisticated. Nowhere does it say he can’t be eccentric. After all, most truly great people are.

Nails it. Yes, he is not your usual politician - groomed and cossetted. We do not want one of those now - they have failed us and we need a breath of fresh air. President Trump is that breath of fresh air.