I feel obligated to discuss my current thoughts about the presidential election, after Tuesday night’s primary victories by Joe Biden. Unfortunately, there are not many positive things to report.
In my opinion, the worst thing about the presidential campaign is that there is no one running who deserves to be president. On this blog, I have indicated numerous times that Donald Trump has done some positive things, but he is neither statesman-like nor inspirational and does not have the personal qualities that befit the leader of our country.
On the other side of the aisle are Biden and Sanders and all the rest of the Democratic contenders who have gone by the wayside. I believe that quality Democrats were spooked by the specter of competing against Trump. They didn’t throw their hats into the ring because they were reluctant to go head to head against the megalomaniac, and they believe Trump will surely win in November.
Note: the second perspective was more relevant before the Coronavirus pandemic began to affect America. Potential opponents of Trump worried they would not be able to overcome the president’s economic achievements. And so, Democrats ended up with a poor slate of candidates. By the way, I’m hard-pressed to offer up a liberal candidate I would find attractive.
Along came the pandemic, and its impact on the stock market and the economy. Those who shied away are now kicking themselves in the ass for not entering the race for president. Trump’s vulnerability, like it or not, is growing as the virus spreads throughout the country. His electability will rise and fall with the assessment of his performance relating to controlling the virus.
Let’s discuss Sanders. The socialist looked like he was going to run the table in the primaries until the South Carolina primary. Congressman Clyburn single-handedly ended Sanders dream by giving Biden resounding support and encouraging his followers, the black Community, to do the same. Black people have shown that when unified they are a true political force in the country. Sanders would have run away with the nomination if Clyburn had remained subdued or silent.
I never believed that Sanders could defeat Trump. As discussed in earlier posts, America is not going socialist any time soon. Sanders promised a lot of freebies, which is attractive to uninformed Americans. They graciously accepted Sanders expensive snake oil assurances. And then a lot of them didn’t show up to vote.
Biden has done less than almost any contender for the presidency has in the history of the country. Is it because he has no stamina? Basically, he just keeps saying he’s a real Democrat; was Obama’s partner, and he’s moderate most of the time. For someone who has been in politics for so long, Biden has an uninspiring resume. But the Democratic establishment and the liberal press think he has a better shot to beat Trump than Sanders.
I’m puzzled about this perspective. Biden is finding it impossible to put two coherent sentences together, and he uses vulgarity without restraint. I am embarrassed for him as he exhibits his increasing lack of mental acuity. His speeches are short and without real content as compared to endless rambling by Sanders. It’s fair to predict that Trump is going to eat Biden’s lunch when the latter is unprotected by his handlers.
I would make three observations at this point. One, the virus is going to have a meaningful impact on the election. Two, Democrats are going to regret that Biden is their candidate. Three, identity politics is becoming more prevalent in this country. Many voters are casting ballots based upon their skin color, nationality, religious beliefs, sexuality, cultural background, union membership and gun ownership. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the impending election. Voters are going to have a real difficult decision to make.