Our Politics are in a Bad Place

The sitting American President is a bloviating and arrogant egotist.  Whether through his conscious actions as our Chief Executive, a perfect storm of economic cycles that continues to confuse even the most accomplished economists, or a magical mystery cosmic tour that has spontaneously resulted in robust financial activity for our nation…Donald Trump is sitting pretty in regards to his re-election prospects.  Now it must be stated that the coronavirus maelstrom and the fickle winds of foreign policy may yet upset the Donald’s quest for an extended presidency; but he is certainly on smooth seas for the time being. 

President Donald Trump has actually done, or tried to do, what he campaigned on.  He deserves great credit for many of his accomplishments in both domestic and foreign policy arenas and America today is a far better country than it was when Trump took office.  The President’s actions have created wonderful opportunities for the American people to improve their lives and his foreign policy has restored respect for America across the globe.  As I have addressed in prior posts, it is breathtakingly shameless to witness the Republican Party’s love affair with a man who less than four years ago was considered a buffoonish interloper.  Everybody loves a winnah!

Watching the Democratic Party struggle with their presidential nomination process, while simultaneously coping with their chronic Trump Derangement Syndrome, has proven to be quite entertaining.  Up until the recent Super Tuesday primaries, the Democrats seemed to be living the sequel to the 2016 Republican presidential primary.  Just as the Republicans were desperate to somehow and some way deny their party’s nomination to Donald Trump; the Democrats are equally struggling with their quest for something to derail the Bernie Sanders express.  But as things stand today, the Democrats have apparently figured out a solution that the Republicans could never grasp.  They appear to have consolidated their party behind what certainly seems to be the Democratic establishment favorite son Joe Biden.  Just as there are future bumps in the road for the President; Biden may yet figure out a way to lose the nomination and be replaced by…who knows.  But as of this writing and in lieu of a very public mental breakdown or criminal indictment, it sure looks like we will be having a Donald Trump versus Joe Biden race for President in November.

And that, my friends…is very disappointing.  My personal views on the presidential primary processes of the national parties have been voiced here: http://centerlineright.blogspot.com/2016/08/question-for-our-national-parties-wtf.html .   Each of us who might be of adult age realizes all too well how times have changed.  Our society and culture have not just changed; they have changed at the speed of light.  While some processes best remain true to their original intent and content (i.e. our Constitution), other things by necessity need to adjust to the changing landscapes that influence them.  There can be little doubt that running for President in 2020 is a far different proposition than it was in 1972.  And yet the political parties have failed to make substantive changes to their primary contests to adequately address this evolution.  It is my humble opinion that as a result of these selection processes not being properly updated to reflect today’s political and social environment, the quality of our national party presidential candidates has been diluted.

While it is certainly cause for celebrating the fact that Barack Obama broke the color barrier for U.S. Presidents; it is equally certain that he came into the White House clearly unprepared for the job that lay ahead of him.  Obama was elected on the basis of Hope and Change; not on his resume.  That inexperience likely contributed in large part to his squandering of historical opportunities to accomplish momentous legislative goals.  His lackadaisical and idealistic approach to the management of government resulted in unprecedented corruption in some federal agencies.  And on the heels of that dubious presidential choice, the nation stepped up again and elected a television personality to be our nation’s Commander in Chief.  It is difficult to rationalize how one thing makes any more sense than the other. 

Politics is a strange brew.  It has never reliably led to the best person for the job being selected for the job.  It is an oxymoronic mix of personality, luck, science, money, influence, weather, world events, and karma; the percentage that each contributes to the whole remains undetermined.  Notwithstanding that sometimes the greatest leaders come from the unlikeliest places; it stands to reason that when someone is hired to do a job, it just makes good sense to hire someone who has exhibited some capacity to actually perform that job.  Our modern day primary system has largely diminished this tried and true axiom.  For various reasons, voters today seem to favor flash over substance, idealism over results, art over science, and promises over accomplishments.  Even though we might get lucky on occasion and come up with a winner using this set of values; most of the time it is going to bite us in the rear and we will get the government we deserve. 

President Trump’s incessant bragging and crude rhetoric has no place in the vocabulary of a U.S. President.  Whether he chooses to embrace it or not, he is the top representative of our nation and a role model for generations of citizens.  Through his words and actions, he largely establishes the political tone for this country.  And while he clearly cannot control the behavior of his critics and opponents; he most definitely controls how he reacts to those actions.  The presidential pulpit lends sufficient credence to those reactions as to make them even more prominent than the original actions that create them.  The American people want to embrace their President; they want to be proud of their President.  We should not be placed in a position to celebrate good policy outcomes while acknowledging serious character flaws in the architect of those policies.  While not demanding a saint in the White House; is it entirely unreasonable to expect a gentleman?  No one should expect a President to lie down and willingly accept false or irresponsible accusation; but there are other options compared to jumping down in the mud with the pigs.

As an alternative to Trump, what do the Democrats stand up for us?  They give us Joe Biden; a career politician who has little to show for a lifetime in government and someone who has clearly demonstrated lapses in judgment that should disqualify any presidential candidate.  I am sixty seven years old and a living, breathing example of how one’s mental and physical capacities can pale over the years due to the aging process.  For the Democratic Party to place Joe Biden under the microscopic lens of a presidential campaign against a flame-throwing candidate like Trump and in a viciously partisan environment like we currently have in America is nothing short of an invitation to disaster.  The potential for the very public and painful humiliation of Biden is very real.

Many people have wondered why it is that Obama has yet to publicly and enthusiastically endorse Biden.  I believe there are two main reasons for this.  First, Obama is sufficiently narcissistic to do all that he can to make certain that his endorsement is not attached to a loser.  Once Biden gets the nomination, if Biden gets the nomination, then we will see Obama embrace Biden as the second coming and the only alternative to the evil Trump.  Secondly, Obama realizes that there is only one big splash to get out of his Biden endorsement.  Why use that single bullet in the primary?  Again, if Biden is the nominee, Obama will use that endorsement at the best strategic moment to spur Biden’s campaign. 

Just be sure of this: If Biden is the nominee; the endorsement is coming.  If he acquires the nomination, look for the Biden campaign to begin loading up on the old hands from the Obama administration.  At the end of the day, if Joe Biden is elected President; he will be little more than a cardboard cutout of a Chief Executive with Obama and his ilk pulling the strings behind the scenes.  It will be the second coming of the One.  In the upcoming campaign, we will not be hearing the wild socialist talk that Biden has used to attract the liberal wing of his party during the primary process.  It will be a morphing to a supposedly moderate stance that will actually be Hope and Change, the sequel.  The Democrats and Biden would sell their souls for the chance to beat Trump; and in this case, there is someone standing there with their hand out holding a pen. And make no mistake about it…If Biden gets the nomination…With the backing of Obamaworld and massive cover from the mainstream media…he will be a formidable opponent. 

Don’t miss the next post!

 Follow on Twitter @ centerlineright or Just Google centerlineright.

The likely presidential campaign that we will be witnessing over the coming months will not bring honor to our nation’s democratic processes.  It will not be centered around noble ideals and substantive debates on policies that impact the daily lives of Americans.  It will not be covered by a journalistic community that exhibits high standards of ethics and professionalism.  It will not be contested on the moral high ground of what is best for the nation and its people. And sadly, the two candidates that are featured in the upcoming presidential contest will in no way reflect the best candidates that were available to their respective parties. 

I am not sufficiently intelligent to respond to the obvious question: If not them; then who?   I have hired a few subordinates in my lifetime and I did not always hit home runs.  But when it comes to selecting the President of the United States and considering the awesome power and influence that accompanies that high office, can’t we somehow come up with a better system that might yield better candidates?  Our Constitution was written with the understanding that our leaders would be like us…imperfect creatures.  The brilliance and wisdom of that document is evident when considering the firewalls that are built into our government in order to mitigate the detrimental effects of corruption, greed, and criminality in our leaders and elected officials.  But our nation should not have to persevere in spite of sorry leaders.  We should not have to accept Bill Clinton’s sexual escapades in the Oval Office in return for a balanced federal budget.  We should not have to accept Donald Trump’s fraternity behavior in his official duties as President in return for a robust national economy.  And we should not have as our only alternative to this Chief Egotist a man who often forgets the day of the week, the state he is in, or exactly what he is doing there in the first place. 

We get the government we deserve.  If we are going to get better, we are going to have to do better.   We as voters are going to have to take the time necessary to educate ourselves on the candidates and their resumes.  We are going to have to listen to their policy speeches and not their sound bites.  We are going to have to surf the net for their biographies and pass fair judgments on what they accomplished in their lives.   Until we do that, we will continue to be confronted by choices similar to what we will see this November.  Don’t you think that our country and our children deserve something better than the least of two evils?