Donald Trump should not be considered a successful businessman. He has milked money out of ventures under the protection of the corporate veil. He has received government subsidies for his businesses. The businesses failed and he filed corporate—not personal—bankruptcy. Taxpayers footed the bill for the subsidies. Creditors stood empty-handed. Well, they nearly were empty-handed. They could hold their "Notice of Discharge of Debt." They also could frame the single-page notices if they wished, to memorialize the genius of the man who wrote (or maybe had ghost-written for him; who knows?) The Art of the Deal.

   These matters would be somewhat aggravating or maybe downright deserving of grand jury investigation. But they are worse because Donald Trump has taken on the mantle of what pundits like to call "kingmaker" in the Republican Party. He was rejected by people who were polled for their opinions, and decided his numbers were so anemic he would not risk embarrassment by entering the race. Instead, he wields power to help determine whom the Republican Party nominates for its candidate. Correct that: candidates. No doubt he would want a say in who runs in the VP slot.

   The media have covered the drama. Yet few ask him about the abilities for which he has touted himself. No one has asked: "Mr. Trump, if you are so gifted in matters of business, why the bankruptcies?" Or, perhaps of more relevance, how about asking: "If you were elected president, Mr. Trump, and the economy tanked, as would seem to be inevitable under a Trump presidency, from what court would the Federal government seek bankruptcy protection?"

   A "fraud" is defined as one "who makes deceitful pretenses; imposter." The American College Dictionary, 1962 ed. The definition should not have changed in the nearly 50 years since that dictionary was published. I posit that Donald Trump is a fraud, to the extent that he touts himself as a business genius. He might be adept in playing the system. He milks investors. He moves his money to safety. He understands the pliability of the corporate veil. He knows the tactical advantages of corporate bankruptcy. There are American men and women who are adept at positive aspects of running businesses. Trump is not amongst them. He is a fraud. He makes deceitful pretenses in posing as a business. He is an imposter in that he "practices deception under an assuned character." What is scary is that he was taken seriously, by some and for a very short time, as a candidate for president. What is scarier is that he has placed his buttocks in a throne-like position from which he can exercise far more sway than an average voter on the election process. I will not even address the ludicrous aspects of his selection as a moderator for what are passed off as "debates" amongst the Republican presidential candidates, two of whom—Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman—have had the wisdom to decline. The rest appear willing to participate, but, first, they venture to the top floor of the Trump edifice to kiss Trump’s ring—or, as is more likely, his ass—in their quest for power in our system of government.