I tried with Donald Trump, I really did.
Voting for him never has, and likely never will, seem like a viable option, to be clear, but giving a "due diligience" look always felt responsible. So, I tried to take an academic look at him -- not get sucked into all the righteous indignation -- and give him an "F" here, an "A" there and let the chips fall where they may.
But last night was the last straw. His ominous, dog whistle-laden speech saw him narrow in on cynicism when he could've broadened his base.
Trump's worst got worse, but it happened on a night the best thing about his campaign became clear: Ivanka Trump.
Just to be clear, Ivanka has always been badass in more ways than one.
First off, she's a mom of three and a businesswoman at the age of 34. Daddy's help or not, that's to be admired.
Second, she's bad. Like, the good kind. And she has the type of hotness that we can relate to -- an acquired and merited hotness, if you will.
Let me explain: Anyone who isn't blessed with an ungodly level of attractiveness (i.e. most of us) has looks that are like the swing states Ivanka's father covets; they can go either way based on how stylish we are and how much swagger we have. Ivanka has both of those qualifications, all the time.
Then, there's the fact that she's the favorite child of her father. You would think one of those cookie-cutter Richie Rich's (aka Eric and Donald, Jr.) would have been equipped to replace the douchebaggery of Donald Sr one day, and yet, you get the sense the true heir to the Trump Organization is Ivanka.
But while she has the admiration of her father and insists she was groomed by him, her ideology is refreshingly different from his.
On Thursday night, she got on the stage at the RNC and brought up things like paid leave and equal pay. Let me repeat: A Trump family member got in front of a room full of conservatives, raised traditionally liberal and feminist talking points and actually drew applause.
It's almost like she's not a Republican. In fact, during her speech, she asserted she's more of a Millennial and hasn't really sided with one particular party.
Now, I know what you're thinking.
Shut up, Dan Wolken. Thirty-four IS the cut-off.
Ivanka is a Millennial: She takes pictures like us...
...and she creates content like us.
Damn it, she is one of us.
At this point, she's basically Margaery Tyrell.
She's the first daughter of a famous house who's married into a family befitting of her class. She loves her father and siblings, and is a team player, but you know -- actually, after last night, we all know -- deep down, she has plans to break the status quo and do things differently.
Now, all we have to do is hope when Cersei blows her family's plan up, our Margaery survives and gets to become the promising leader we can all be proud of.
