David Frum has written a rather interesting op-ed for The Guardian in which he attempts to explain (probably to foreigners) what kind of people take Donald Trump seriously.

He writes:

You are 62 years old. White. Go to church on Easter Sunday. You make a good living: $75,000 a year in a strong company. Your wife earns another $45,000. The kids have grown up and moved out. If anybody had told you when you were young that you’d be signing a $120,000 tax return on 18 April 2011, well, you would have thought you’d moved to easy street… You lost a big chunk of your retirement account in the dot-com crash a decade ago. For a while, it looked as if you had recovered your wealth, thanks to the increase in the value of your house. Back in 2006, you felt so flush that you borrowed against the equity in your home to pay off your credit cards.

Then the housing market crashed, too, wiping out your equity. You now face a worrying future. You still have your job, thank God. But your boss makes it very clear that he’s expecting to replace you the instant you turn 65.

Additionally, Frum writes, you “hate President Obama; ; Michelle even more. It’s not a racial thing. AT ALL. No matter what your daughter says. You’ve worked with black guys during your entire career. But this Obama, he does not come from the America you know. He has this way of looking like he thinks he’s better than you. And the way his wife spends money! Too much flash, too much bling. All on your dime. Then she tells you not to eat at Denny’s. Hey, you’d like to eat at the fancy places she goes, but Denny’s will have to do. Every time you see her, you think: who are these people? How did they rise so high?”

You are, of course, a Republican. Still, you’re disappointed in both parties. “Your pay went up under Reagan. Under Bush, it was gas prices that went up. Then they bailed out Wall Street and GM while you got screwed.”

As such, you want to support someone who’s willing and able to shake things up. An outsider; a fresh face. Someone who is bold, courageous and outspoken, and who’s willing to take the fight to Obama.

Really fight him. Mitt Romney? He’s no fighter. He’s a CEO, and you’ve had it with CEOs. Mike Huckabee? Seems like a nice guy, but if you want a sermon, you’ll go to church. Sarah Palin? COMBATIVE sure, but too flakey.

There is, however, someone who’s different. Take Donald Trump. Yes, “he’s kind of a blowhard,” but he hates Obama almost as much as you do. You don’t take the birth certificate thing seriously, but if it annoys the liberals, what the hell. Trump says he’s going to get tough with the Chinese, the Arab oil sheikhs, everybody who’s ripping you off. A guy can’t get that rich if he doesn’t have balls, stands to reason.”

I think that there’s a lot to Frum’s analysis… but I have to take issue with his use of the word “hate.” There is political disagreement and hatred. You can be a passionate debater, but that doesn’t mean you hate your opponent.You may hate his policies, his ideas, but that’s not the same as hating the man. The political is not personal, no matter what progressives want you to believe.