Perhaps one of the greatest mini-series on TV was The Band of Brothers. This HBO special chronicled the journey of Easy company of the 101st Airborne from D-Day in WWII to victory. A telling line from the last episode was when the promoted Major Winters forced the incompetent Captain Sobel to salute him. He reprimanded him with, "Captain, you salute the rank, not the man."

I am sure there are a lot of Trump fans, especially the day after, but the statistics state that our president-elect has one of the most unfavorable ratings of anyone in office. So, how did he achieve the landslide victory that will be talked about forever more?

First, a lot of people learned to use two hands to push the red button. One hand wouldn't get the job done, it took the other hand to force the first finger down that had a total lack of enthusiasm.

Secondly, over the dislike of the person, people voted with their 'pocketbook of the past' in hopes of financial relief for themselves and their offspring — and that is real and documented.

Thirdly, they had looked for an alternative in hopes of new blood in leadership, but found one that struggled to articulate a differentiation of what they were trying to rid themselves of. Trump was horrible in making sentences but if one listened long enough, there would finally be some semblance of an answer, sometimes. We did learn some new catch phrases and wholistically, of what might have been, most just couldn't shed the Wizard of Oz scarecrow syndrome that anointed her aurora like that of Lil' Abner's Joe Btfsplk. (You youngsters can google that).

Fourthly, when the economics are what they are, one does not surround oneself with multi-millionaire celebrities who exist only on screen, TV and stage. Trump's team staged an almost goofy cameo of 45 as a McDonalds’ employee that found him surrounded with real working people- it made an impression. He motivated his base and they came out and voted.

Fifthly, Trump hit his backstretch win with a few simple points when he finally stopped calling names, again sometimes, and talked immigration, economy, security, etc., along with protecting young women's sports programs which resonated and offset the women's health arguments, again by statistics. (Michelle Obama's one hour rant on women's health did not help move the needle — more on that later.) Finally, VP Harris, admittedly, was 'tween a rock and a hard place. We all knew 3 years ago when our President wandered off in the rose garden at night and had to be retrieved by the secret service that 'Houston, we have a problem'.

She had to be loyal, but too many tried to hide the obvious for too long. So as the only Presidential candidate who never got a single personal vote, she found herself in a Cinderella role where the shoe just wasn't going to fit. Now she has to struggle with a campaign debt she had no clue of either- another issue that was quietly making itself know. I could go on, but the pendulum always swings back toward the middle.

So what effect will this have on us in the industry? We in the rural lifestyle segment might fare better than the full line dealers. 47’s team so far could at least pass Econ 101, if the egos don't prevent them from forgetting their #2 pencils. In a world full of grain and wars, and struggling numbers for the farm equipment manufacturers due to historic grain prices vs. cost, anything could happen. My thoughts are we salute the rank, and pray the officials who fill them are better than they have acted and finally mature to at least some semblance of what our founding fathers thought would never be an issue.

I also pray that in four years we have candidates we can salute because of their integrity as well as the office they hold. Promise, next time a little lighter and more optimistic. Hey, we are the United States of America.

Told from the perspective of an in-the-trenches owner/operator — Tim Brannon of B&G Equipment, Paris, Tenn. — Equipment Dealer Tips, Tales & Takeaways shares knowledge, experiences and tips/lessons with fellow rural equipment dealerships throughout North America. Covering all aspects required of an equipment dealership general manager, Brannon will inform, entertain and provide a teachable moment for current — and future — leaders within equipment dealerships.

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