What's the productive way to view this Donald Trump character at this juncture?

Two worth-your-read pieces out today provide the answer.

One, written by David Gelernter and published at the Wall Street Journal, is entitled "The Real Reason they Hate Trump."

The other, written by Suzanne Venker and appearing at the Washington Examiner, is entitled "Why Trump and the GOP Will Win Suburban Voters Like Me."

Both writers take such care to forthrightly confront the Very Stable Genius's glaring shortcomings that, were it not for the conclusion they draw, they'd probably come in for derision by the VSG's throne-sniffers as "Never Trumpers."

Gelernter's unsparing in his candor:

. . . he has no constraints to cramp his style except the ones he himself invents.

Mr. Trump lacks constraints because he is filthy rich and always has been and, unlike other rich men, he revels in wealth and feels no need to apologize—ever. He never learned to keep his real opinions to himself because he never had to. He never learned to be embarrassed that he is male, with ordinary male proclivities. Sometimes he has treated women disgracefully, for which Americans, left and right, are ashamed of him—as they are of JFK and Bill Clinton.

As is Venker (and Heather MacDonald, by way of Venker):

. . . here's the thing: Trump's boorish behavior is not specifically aimed at women. That's his modus operandi toward any person, male or female, who attacks him. Indeed, the man doesn't discriminate at all. There's no reason for women, in suburbia or anywhere else, to feel slighted due to their sex. 

Do women voters actually like Trump? That's hard to answer, but I believe Heather Mac Donald said it best: "I view Trump as an incredibly painful dilemma: I support his policies but deplore his personality. I don’t think he’s a racist and sexist. I just think he is the worst possible example of an adult male. He is thin-skinned, gratuitously vindictive, the opposite of magnanimous." 

For Gelernter, the appeal in spite of this is that Trump, unlike leftists - in particular, the last two Dem presidential candidates - doesn't look down his nose at normal Americans:

. . . my job as a voter is to choose the candidate who will do best for America. I am sorry about the coarseness of the unconstrained average American that Mr. Trump conveys. That coarseness is unpresidential and makes us look bad to other nations. On the other hand, many of his opponents worry too much about what other people think. I would love the esteem of France, Germany and Japan. But I don’t find myself losing sleep over it.

The difference between citizens who hate Mr. Trump and those who can live with him—whether they love or merely tolerate him—comes down to their views of the typical American: the farmer, factory hand, auto mechanic, machinist, teamster, shop owner, clerk, software engineer, infantryman, truck driver, housewife. The leftist intellectuals I know say they dislike such people insofar as they tend to be conservative Republicans.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama know their real sins. They know how appalling such people are, with their stupid guns and loathsome churches. They have no money or permanent grievances to make them interesting and no Twitter followers to speak of. They skip Davos every year and watch Fox News. Not even the very best has the dazzling brilliance of a Chuck Schumer, not to mention a Michelle Obama. In truth they are dumb as sheep.

Mr. Trump reminds us who the average American really is. Not the average male American, or the average white American. We know for sure that, come 2020, intellectuals will be dumbfounded at the number of women and blacks who will vote for Mr. Trump. He might be realigning the political map: plain average Americans of every type vs. fancy ones.

Venker puts it thusly:

 The same aspects of his personality that are the most offensive are the very same ones that make him an effective leader. 

Suburban women voters are smart enough to see this for themselves. Much to the media's dismay, we don't fall for their portrayal of Trump as a bigoted misogynist. We see through that rhetoric and stay focused on what he brings to the table, despite his flaws. “College-educated women want safety, security and healthcare protections — very much along with financial and economic health for themselves and our Country,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday. “I supply all of this far better than any Democrat (for decades, actually). That’s why they will be voting for me!” 

Indeed.

Matters of the economy, our courts and national security have been moving in a favorable direction in the last year and a half, not because the VSG has a coherent ideology, but because those around him who do have said, "This is good stuff that will have a positive impact," and he then just implemented it in git-'er-done fashion.

Bottom line: He's thoroughly unlikeable and often makes messes, but conservative policy is being enacted. Meanwhile, the opposition has taken its frenzied rage to levels that repel the normal people of post-America.