With the 1st presidential debate hours away, this election has become a referendum on the American voter!
What, I have it all wrong you say; it is about whether we want Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to be our president. And voting for Gary Johnson is a wasted vote since neither he, nor Green Party candidate, Dr. Jill Stein, will ever win; they are place card holders for their constituencies. Why waste your vote on them?
In order to properly frame what I mean about this election being a referendum on the American voter, perhaps using an analogy would be helpful.
You are a hiring partner of a business, small or big; rural or urban; local, statewide, national or international. Your business has placed an ad or hired a recruiter to look for the most qualified candidate to fill the leadership position of your entity. The most qualified is typically defined by one having critical experience, knowledge and background together with a measure of personality to fit into the culture of the organization, certainly with those that are the underlings running key parts of the business. After all, the hiring partner knows the business is in operation to serve its customer base but keeping in mind the bottom line in order to make a profit and that paychecks won't bounce.
Besides a resume or a Curriculum Vitae, your HR department asks for recommendations from candidates that become finalists, contacting those they list for this purpose; maybe some folks the candidates do not list.
The position comes down to two candidates, "A" and "B". "A" has considerable experience, background and experience; "B" hardly any. There are questions about both that focus on transparency and trust, though its been reported, with verification, that "B" has a reputation for disparaging various groups of peoples, minorities included, within his past business associations. "B's prior business practices have also, shall we say, a shadiness to them. "B" has also been asked to produce critical documents typically required for the position, but refuses to do so. "A" also has some issues relating to openness and candor. Further HR research uncovers that "B" and the companies he has worked for have been involved in many lawsuits. He has a personality that suggests what he says and does all the time is right and what everyone else says or does is wrong.
You know that picking the wrong candidate as the head of your company could well have disastrous consequences for the business, even bankruptcy, and certainly the jobs and paychecks for all of the workers.
The factors for deciding whether "A" and "B" would be selected could fill a volume, but I think you get where I am going with this hypothetical job posting. "A" = HRC; "B" = Trump. In the private business sector, there would not even be a doubt that Clinton would be selected for the job.
So why are millions of Americans willing to vote for Trump to be their next president when, if in the private sector, his background, lack of knowledge, and experience would be totally insufficient. And this is not even taking into account being commander-in-chief? Why, then, are millions of Americans willing to gamble their household paychecks, domestic goods and services that have risen in the last eight years, and fortifying their country's presence on the international stage when Trump otherwise has shown his incompetency in all respects? Why would millions of Americans gamble on him when his tract record with various voting blocks is abysmal? Why would millions of Americans vote for Trump when fact-checking organizations rate him a liar 70+% of the time? To his credit, what he has going for him is being a showman, a carnival barker, a reality TV "star"---but this background should never qualify anyone of this ilk to be president of the United States.
Even the run-up to the debate tonight has become farcical, as if he has turned it into a reality TV show with the American voter that is supporting him his audience. No presidential election campaign in recent memory has ever been turned into the "show" Trump has created by his mere presence, a Piñata for all. Is he counting on a voter that doesn't think through what he says or checks facts to see if he is truthful? Yup!
Given the Trump spectacle versus the seriousness about which Clinton is proceeding on the various domestic and international issues facing American voters; given the shallowness of Trump's abilities to lead against Clinton's knowledge, depth of experience and background with the issues and interaction over the last four decades with the "players" (heads of state) in the game, it all comes down to the heart versus the mind of the voter that will decide who wins come the morning of November 9. Trump may capture the hearts of Americans with his bombast, his insults, his racism and bigotry and certainly, to repeat once more, the depth of his knowledge that is as deep as the surface of any body of water. After all, we have been told that he talks what certain voters have silently thought for so long----the "Archie Bunker" view of the country in "All in the Family" that depicted a blue collar family in Queens, NY of the 1960s. Of course, there were also the views of "Meathead", Archie's son-in-law played by Rob Reiner, who challenged his father-in-law's viewpoints with facts and what his mind told him was the right thing to do. To be certain, none of us should want to go back to the future (remember those Michael J. Fox flicks?)
Regardless that Trump is trying to take the American voter back 50+ years, let's return to the job posting. Do you want your company's profits for the next four years led by bluster, bluff and lies? Do you want your weekly or monthly paycheck dependent on someone that, from all indications of past performance, swindles and cheats others for personal gain? Do you want a bigot and racist leading the way? Can you count on such a person hiring you? If you are skeptical, or your answers are "no", then why would you want that same-type person leading your country as president? Lead with your mind, not your heart; otherwise, this election becomes a referendum on you, the American voter...and that is never good.