This week was the annual Air Force Association convention. Lots of speeches, lots of industry booths, and lots of government, former government, and contractors in attendance. I had the good fortune of being invited to a couple of the informal dinner outings that occur every evening. The folks generally pick overpriced steak houses, but that is the price of hearing some interesting conversations. These are the 10-12 person get together, often at someone’s house so they can talk more freely.
I already suspect that a few of the radical fringe on here will find reasons to discredit and info that doesn’t come from their favorite mouthpieces, but I never thought my responsibility was to feed their delusions. These are not necessarily my opinions, but data points of a segment of public opinion in a very odd election.
--For it being less than two months out from election day there was a serious lack of support for either candidate. That is quite telling since usually at this time most people have made up their minds, and most are firmly Republican
--There is a very clear feeling that Trump will be better for the defense companies. There was a lot of wishful hoping—but not expecting—that Bill Clinton could somehow convince Hillary to moderate her likely butchering of defense spending. She is seen as a lunatic who has zero understanding about the military or foreign realities (threats)—worse than that, her ego she won’t let her appoint anyone but a yes-man as her SECDEF. They are very worried that it will be completely up to congress to avoid the DoD budget becoming castrated (not my phrase). But, even though these are many of the people who benefit from Congressional pork, they essentially believe Congress for the most part does not take their responsibility seriously and has sold out TOO MUCH to their constituents.
--There is a HUGE fear factor that even though Trump might appoint a reasonable defense adviser, he will blow up at the wrong time in the wrong audience and is far more likely to start a war because his ego and temper got in the way, ignoring his advisers. Several who have had personal and business dealings with Trump acknowledged that is very much his business persona, and believe that Trump truly sees no difference between the business world and the international politics world.
--One thought that came up more than once: it is a long shot, but it is clear that a lot of people are grasping at straws now, looking for any option that doesn’t seem as bad as the likely ones. Clinton wins, and becomes ill enough to have to resign (most believe she has medical issues far worse than what she wants to come out) and Tim Kane becomes president. There was not a lot of belief that Kane is a stellar choice, but a lot of belief that he is a better option than either of the ticket leads. To be honest, there were some follow on comments that Pence would also be a significant improvement over Trump or Clinton, but as with Kane, not a lot of enthusiasm—they just don’t see Trump’s health as an issue.
OK, piranha, start feeding.