chzel wrote: Kurplop wrote: ...such an option will surely amount to throwing away our vote.
Why is that? A vote cast is never wasted. Vote what you think is best, it sends a message. Maybe the message will get lost among the cheering of the victors, but maybe a few will hear it, and next elections will be better.
I guess in many ways I subscribe to the 'Fohat Doctrine' regarding the need to vote. However, you got me thinking about what is really important to me in choosing a president.
I don't care for the personalities of either candidate and while I can't know for sure, I question the trustworthiness of either one. I believe that the egregiousness of Trump's juvenile insults are equalled by the slippery dishonesty of Ms Clinton. When I look beyond character and address stated policies, I reluctantly have to lean toward Trump, though just barely.
While I think Trump's bombast about immigration is inflammatory and I have a lot of empathy for those trying to better their lives by seeking opportunities, the virtual open door policy that we have now is a national mockery. Your hospitality invites a guest into your home but when they enter through a closed window it's trespassing. I wonder how many open border advocates go to bed at night with the front door unlocked?
While I am very uncomfortable with abortion, in our pluralistic nation I will give a degree of latitude for those who have differing opinions about when personhood begins. I believe however that Ms Clinton's strong stance protecting abortion rights up to mid-birth at 40 weeks is an effrontery against the value of human life. As for gun rights, I don't have a strong opinion except that I see a lot of pandering on both sides. Both of these issues could be where the next president will have their greatest legacy because of the 3-5 Supreme Court appointments they will oversee.
I think while Trump's foreign policy is unclear and his personality makes him a wild card, with Clinton we have a proven history, I think mostly of failure and irresponsibility.
As far as global issues go, I'm tired of President Obama's frequent global apologies even though we have been quite generous to the rest of the world. We are rich and I think morality dictates our giving, but generosity is giving of your personal wealth, not taking from the unwilling to distribute and then feeling good about yourself for your altruism. I don't know Trump's position on this but having been Secretary of State to the current administration, Clinton's probably represents more of the same.
I will be the first to say that I'm not of a policy expert on political matters. I question those who think they can know with certainty which ideology will work best in a given time and country, but we should try to do the best we can.
