I am a fan of all the cooking shows. Right now Top Chef is close to naming a winner. All of the remaining chefs are outstanding at their craft. The last two to be eliminated didn’t lose because of a lack of talent. They showed poor judgment. One served chicken and waffles using frozen waffles. He should have changed to a different dish but was stubborn. The other was defeated by his arrogance. He tried something he could not possibly finish in the allotted time. Stubbornness and arrogance are among the strongest factors in exercising poor judgment.
We have many criteria for choosing our leaders but good judgment should be the top priority. What if the Confederacy hadn’t fired on Fort Sumter? What if the allies hadn’t punished Germany after World War 1? What if Bush 43 hadn’t responded to the financial meltdown? So how does our current crop of presidential candidates stack up? I’m afraid not very well. Because of his arrogance, Donald Trump can barely open his mouth without making a poor judgment. Ted Cruz has been so stubborn he has alienated virtually all of his colleagues. Unfortunately Hillary Clinton shares her husband’s belief that the rules don’t apply to them. The email scandal and her continued untruths about it are a recent example. I respect Marco Rubio but he has been doing a lot of stupid things lately. The one person in the field exercising the best judgment is John Kasich. Unfortunately, he has virtually no chance of getting the nomination. Forget about ideology. Forget about likeability. Forget about oratorical skills. Even forget about experience. Choose the candidate with the best judgment.
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The more I listen to political commentators, the more I believe many of them don’t know what they are talking about. I’ve heard a lot of speculation that if Trump doesn’t get the nomination, he’ll bolt and form a third party. Some say someone else might leave if he does get the nomination. Hogwash!
I decided to do a little research. The Republican National Convention ends July 21, 110 days before the election. Then I looked at what it would take to get on the ballot in the ten most populous states. The deadline would have passed in Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. It would take a petition with 175,000 signatures by August 12 in California. For Georgia, they would need 60,000 signatures by August 2. It would be possible to get on the ballot in Ohio, New York and Texas. We may have one or more serious third party candidates but they won’t wait until July to get started. Even though Bernie Sanders won a few states yesterday, I think it is all over but the shouting. In most states Hillary Clinton won by huge majorities. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination. She currently leads 1001 to 371 according to the Washington Post. . She has 42% of the delegates she needs and 73% of the delegates elected so far. Barring an unexpected indictment or some other scandal, I can’t think of anything that would stop her.
The Republican picture isn’t so clear. Trump had a very good day winning in eight of the twelve states. However, most states award delegates on a proportional basis or winner-take-all if the winner gets between 50-85% of the vote. Trump is yet to get 50% in any state. If he stands even a chance of getting enough delegates, he must win in Florida and Ohio, the two biggest winner-take-all states. So far Trump has only 23% of the delegates he needs and just under 50% of the delegates elected. Trump may certainly get the nomination but it is by no means a slam dunk. I’m sure that if a poll were taken, 99.99999% would say that they want us to remain a democracy. Yet many of our citizens have some very undemocratic ideas.
As many have said before, the Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders phenomena are two sides of the same coin. Many are disgusted with both parties and their inability to work together. I share that frustration. President Obama and congressional Republicans and Democrats have behaved poorly. They are not totally responsible for the gridlock. We have two vastly different ideas for the future and a divided government. Democracy is not designed to be efficient. The Constitution has checks and balances to ensure the preservation of democracy. It took eighty years to resolve slavery. I can’t get too upset with the Sanders supporters. I was once young and idealistic myself. There isn’t any chance that his socialist nirvana will ever be enacted. I am more troubled by many of the Trump supporters. They seem most concerned with getting things done and don’t care as much about the means. Their standard-bearer has run his company like a feudal lord. Many have rightly criticized Obama for exceeding his constitutional powers. He has had his hand slapped by the Supreme Court many times and accepted their ruling. Even a desperate Richard Nixon went along with a ruling that cost him his presidency. I am very concerned about what Trump might do. Preserving the Bill of Rights is vital to maintaining our democracy. Trump has already talked about making it easier for public figures to sue the press for libel. A few days ago there was a near riot on a Los Angeles campus as students attempted to block doors to keep people from hearing a conservative speaker. There is nothing wrong with strongly held opinions. We just need to make sure that a respect for our democracy is more important. |
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