Tag: Donald J. Trump

It’s election day eve—most will vote tomorrow. Many of you have already voted. That’s great! I voted a few weeks ago.

If you have already know who you’re voting for, you can stop reading right now. I don’t have anything for you other than encouraging you to go vote.

If you’re still undecided after months and months of campaign coverage, I’m not sure I can help you. It’s not you, it’s me. I just don’t understand.

When I originally wrote this post, I tried making three main points:

1. The presidency is not an entry-level position;
2. Trump has done and said a laundry list of bad things; and
3. Trump’s temperament is not right for someone leading the largest military on Earth.

But I deleted it.

My first point doesn’t seem convincing. Obama had little government experience when he ran eight years ago, yet he was elected. This time around, Trump, with no government experience was nominated by the Republicans. At least Obama went to Harvard Law School, became a law professor teaching Constitutional Law, was a three-term state senator in Illinois, and then a U.S. senator. And Hillary’s done a lot, too. Probably even more than Obama. But people don’t seem to think being president requires any prior government experience or legal training. So, hey!

The press and many other influential people have documented Trump’s egregious behavior and how he gives comfort to the worst in our society. I can’t imagine how any listicle I might write would tip the scale on my second point. So, ignore that, too. After all, you’ve been doing a good job of that so far. Maybe you believe the press is biased, even Fox News. Maybe you think it doesn’t matter—because emails. Whatever.

My third point was maybe best made by Hillary herself:

"A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons." —Hillary

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 29, 2016

Hillary should know. She baited Trump with Khizr Khan and Alicia Machado. And he bit—hook, line, and sinker. Yet, people who should know better don’t seem to mind, including most of the Republican elites. And they’re experts at military stuff, so maybe the commander in chief’s temperament doesn’t matter. Besides, Trump claimed to have the best temperament. Maybe that confused them.

So, I give up.¹There is one point that I haven’t heard much that means a lot to me. Trump operates in a win-lose world, not a win-win world. He doesn’t feel like he’s winning unless someone else is losing. That might work fine in the business world, when you can keep finding other, new customers, but it doesn’t work in the geopolitical world. America doesn’t win because Mexico or China loses. In fact, America might do better because Mexico or China do well. Maybe this resonates with you, too. I don’t know. It was worth a shot. I can’t imagine what I might say that would finally help you make up your mind.

But still, you should vote. Vote for Hillary. Or The Donald. You can even throw your vote away to a third-party candidate or a write-in. Maybe that would be best. You could say you didn’t vote for either “evil” and feel good about yourself, yet not having made any real choice or difference in the election.

I believe our democracy is best served when people vote. So, at least do that. If you can… :-/