In one more day the most vitriolic, nastiest and
mean-spirited presidential election in modern history will come to a
conclusion, and the winner will be president-elect of the United States; much
to the relief of almost everyone in America. There are no adequate words to
describe what the citizens have endured over these past months but bizarre,
astonishing, unpredictable, exhausting and grueling are a few of the adjectives
that can be used. This is a two-stage process where the candidate for president
wins the popular vote and then sometime around December 8th, electors will meet
in their state capitols and cast a vote for the president according to Article
II of the U.S. Constitution. The political pundits, reporters, Talk Radio
moderators and pollsters have inundated the public with minute-by-minute
coverage but they often just focus on limited talking points which generate
ratings and neglect other substantive considerations. I want to focus on some
of the things that mainstream and conservative media might not have brought to
the conversation.
Let’s begin with Donald
Trump:
The biggest thing facing
Donald Trump, if he becomes president, is about “temperament.” He has proven
over and over again that he is thin-skinned, easily provoked and has made on
more than one occasion reckless statements. Hillary Clinton was right when she
warned Trump that “words matter.” And then there is still the matter of not
disclosing his income tax, which is unprecedented for a presidential candidate
this late in the game. Also, the TRUMP brand is at risk, which if he won the
presidency, could be leveraged to advantage his business interests. There are
already signs of some backlash because Ivanka Trump’s line of clothing and
accessories carried in upscale stores like Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s
and Nordstrom’s have caused customers to threaten to not buy from that
line because of the negative association. The politicians who support Trump,
especially if he loses may face challenges in their own congressional
districts. Some evangelical preachers have put their reputations on the line,
such as Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell Jr and Mike Huckabee who have encouraged
their faithful flocks to support this born-again Republican candidate.
Now, to shine the
spotlight on Hillary Clinton:
The stakes could not be
much higher for the former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State. There is
a lot for Hillary to overcome, especially when it comes to transparency, ethics
or trust, but perhaps the biggest issue, like a millstone around her neck is
that she has “bad judgment.” With all of Hillary’s experience, knowledge and
qualifications FBI Director James Comey concluded that her handling of emails
was “extremely careless.” While this does not mean she is ‘grossly incompetent’
it should concern everyone that she could have acted this way unintentionally,
but if, on the other hand, her handling of emails was done knowingly,
willingly, and intentionally, then this should be of grave concern to every
American citizen. This is Hillary’s second attempt to secure the nation’s highest elected office but her hopes were dashed to the ground by a little-known, African-American male named Barack Obama; a U.S. Senator from Chicago, IL who was serving his second year in office. Imagine the impact of another loss on the Clinton legacy to be defeated by a brash billionaire and one-time supporter, who has insulted so many persons, even the Pope of Rome. If Hillary is defeated this will be the handwriting on the wall, the closing chapter of the Clinton name or brand in power politics in America as well as the standard bearer of the Democratic Party. This will be the swan song of a political career spanning over twenty years on the national scene, the setting of the sun, among the fading glories of the past, finally being laid to rest among the forgotten memories of obsolescence, irrelevance, and obscurity.
The winners and losers:
Whether Donald Trump
becomes president or not, Mike Pence certainly has to be a serious candidate
for a future president bid among Republicans. Trump campaign manager Kellyanne
Conway could see her status rise with a Trump victory but a loss would be
detrimental to her marketability. She managed Ted Cruz’s campaign and he didn’t
make the cut, and if this turns out badly, she will be associated with losers.
RNC Riece Priebus has supported Trump and continued to funnel resources into
the Trump campaign instead of diverting them toward congressional races when a
few Republican candidates are vulnerable. If Trump loss his decision might be
questioned by some of the establishment Republicans, especially if their
members lose seats in Congress. And then there are people like Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie who will have egg on their face from a Trump loss. In the Clinton camp, endorsements by celebrities like Beyonce and Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Adele or LeBron James really don’t matter all that much, but is does, or it should to Barack and Michelle Obama The president and First Lady have been campaigning tirelessly on Hillary’s behalf in these past few weeks, and in fact, without their impassioned speeches at the DNC several months ago, this presidential race would be a lot different today than it is now. And then there is poor Bernie Sanders, and I wonder how he really feels because he had her on the ropes during the primaries, but let her off by not wanting to hear any more about “those damn emails.” He also pressed her hard or taking exorbitant speaking fees from Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs and yet promising, if she were elected president, to rein in their behavior.
I almost forgot about former DNC Chairman Debbie
Wasserman-Schultz who already rigged the game in favor of Hillary Clinton; her
political future will be toast after all this is over. Bernie Sanders
supporters must be having mixed emotions and having been shut down at the Convention,
will those who are electors in their respective states vote for Hillary
Clinton? A person in WA State has already said he will not even if Hillary wins
the electoral votes in this Blue State. And then there is FBI Director James
Comey, whom I am sure already has his letter of resignation already written
because he has no future at the agency or anywhere else in law enforcement;
except maybe as a security guard. With his level of popularity at this point,
he probably couldn’t even get a job as a dog catcher. The vacant seat in the
Supreme Court is an issue that has caused some concern for voters, especially
when it comes to the president. What should concern everyone is what political
party controls the Senate because the president “only” makes appointments to
the nation’s highest Court but the Senate has to “confirm” or approve the
candidate. This is done through hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee,
and the Senate majority comprises the committee members and is the tiebreaker
on judicial appointments.
As a last point, if
Donald Trump is elected president the smart thing to do is set the tone for
conciliation, healing and a peaceful transfer of power, and Hillary Clinton
should concede the election and help facilitate a more orderly transition along
with President Barack Obama. If Hillary Clinton becomes president she should
try to bring people together and reassure everyone that she has a lot of work
to do to gain the American people’s trust and respect, and that she want to
serve everyone to the best of her ability; never taking their vote for granted
or her place in history. Hillary should try to build a coalition of Moderate
Republicans to be part of her Cabinet and a president Trump should behave more
seriously as it pertains to governance, and as a smart thing start listening
more to his advisors instead of going off script. Just like Hillary Clinton, he
should try to build a coalition of some Moderate or Progressive Democrats to be
part of his administration. Although it is still early, the Democrats need to
be looking for the next presidential candidate that is well-known and has some
national exposure because the Republicans are ahead of them on that one; it
seems, possibly with Cruz or Rubio wanting to give it another shot. So, this
election will answer one question: Do we, as American citizens live in a
country that live in a country where the glass is half full (“we can be
stronger together”), or do we live in one that seems half empty (“to make
America great again”)? The answer will come sometime late Tuesday night.
776 Commerce St Apt 701
Tacoma, WA 98402
November 7, 2016
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
